Youth Take Action

On October 5, 2009, the Living Buddhism Organization (LBO), a Soka Gakkai International (SGI) student organization at Yale University, organized an event consisting of a discussion session with a hibakusha (an atomic bombing survivor) and a showing of the exhibition “From a Culture of Violence to a Culture of Peace: Transforming the Human Spirit.”

At the beginning of her presentation, Mrs. Setsuko Thurlow, a Hiroshima atomic bomb survivor, said that the fact that a small group of students initiated the event and were making the issue more known to the people really excited her. When I heard this, I thought no matter how many times Mrs. Thurlow has shared her experience with young people, seeing youth taking action toward nuclear abolition still makes her happy and excited even to this day.

I also had the chance to hear what LBO student organizers learned before and after holding the event. One of the members said that to be honest the issue of nuclear abolition did not seem close to her before.

However, as she and her team interviewed people with war experiences, they noticed that their interviewees remembered the events of the war, the feelings and kind of emotions they felt as if it had just happened yesterday. And because there will be fewer and fewer atomic bomb survivors, the students felt that conveying their stories, studying about them, and having dialogue among people are some things that youth of our generation could do. Lastly, she also mentioned that there’s no other way to abolish nuclear weapons but to change each person’s awareness through continual dialogue.

Name: Emily
Age: 27
Gender: Female

A few days ago I came across this People’s Decade website. It reminded me of an experience I had some years back.

I remember sitting in my high school U.S. History class, listening to my teacher explaining about the nuclear bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and claiming that they were “a necessary evil to stop the war.” I instinctively knew that I couldn’t agree with the idea that the use of nuclear weapons could be justified under any circumstances, but I couldn’t muster the courage inside to voice my opinion at that time.

Being Japanese-American, at times I have found myself in an awkward position: though I am undoubtedly opposed to nuclear weapons at heart, it’s often difficult to speak out. Therefore, I was moved by President Barack Obama’s courageous declaration calling for a world without nuclear weapons and his actions toward this goal. He must have been prepared to be attacked for his stand, but one person’s courage can appeal to other leaders’ conscience and build a strong current toward nuclear abolition.

I know that regardless of my background and circumstances, I must always maintain the courage to speak out against nuclear weapons. Everything–no matter how daunting the issue may seem–begins with one person’s courage from within.

Name: Julie
Age: 25
Gender: Female