Dear Friend, 

In these times of heightened global nuclear dangers, your support for ICAN’s work is more crucial than ever. Thank you!

This August will mark 80 years since the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – an important moment for raising public awareness about the grave and growing threat that nuclear weapons pose to humanity and our planet.

More than a quarter of a million people were killed in the two attacks of 1945, with weapons that are considered “small” by today’s standards. Among the dead were an estimated 38,000 children. Each had a name, favourite activities and foods, and hopes and dreams for the future. Many were incinerated in a flash. Others died in excruciating pain days or weeks after the bombings. More would succumb years later to the after-effects of radiation exposure.

To honour their memories, and to help shift public attitudes towards nuclear weapons in this 80th anniversary year, ICAN will establish an online Children’s Peace Memorial featuring hundreds of their profiles. In many cases, it will be the first time that the children’s stories have been told in English.

Hiroshima surivvor Setsuko Thurlow holds a banner displaying the names of her schoolmates killed in the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
Photo: ICAN | Orel Kichigai

It is an ambitious and timely project, aimed at changing hearts and minds globally. We want people everywhere to grasp the true horror of nuclear weapons – and understand why no country should possess them, let alone use them.

80 years after the bombings and with the current geopolitical tensions we witness, we need to make sure that the stories of these children and the testimonies of the survivors continue to be shared to remind the world of the real and horrific impacts of these weapons of mass destruction.

I hope that you will consider supporting our work and help us ensure that future generations of children grow up in a world free from the scourge of nuclear weapons.

“Whenever I remember Hiroshima, the first image that comes to mind is of my four-year-old nephew, Eiji – his little body transformed into an unrecognisable melted chunk of flesh. He kept begging for water in a faint voice until his death released him from agony. To me, he came to represent all the innocent children of the world, threatened as they are at this very moment by nuclear weapons.”

– Setsuko Thurlow, atomic bomb survivor

 

Sincerely,

Tim Wright
Treaty Coordinator and Memorial Project Lead
ICAN