Pass the Baton – 80th Anniversary of the end of WW2 

In our today’s world of increasing political uncertainty, it has become more important than ever to guide future generations towards empathy, diplomacy, and mutual understanding. Understanding history and its monumental lessons is key to maintaining peace across the world and making sure tragedies such as the bombing of Hiroshima will never happen again.

On the 16th of August students from all across Sydney, including myself, were privileged to attend Japan Club of Sydney’s commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the ending of WW2. This event was especially impactful due to the presence of 88 year old Hiroshima bomb survivor, Ms Keiko Ogura. Ms Ogura was only 8 years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on her city, she survived the bombing being only 2.4 kilometers away from the hypocenter. She later graduated from the English Literature Department at Hiroshima Jogakuin University. After her husband’s sudden death—who had served as the third director of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum—Keiko Ogura dedicated her life to share her testimony across the world. She has spent 40 years spreading her messages of peace and hope, urging us to pass along her story to those around us, just as she has.

Ms Keiko Ogura talked of the quiet and peace before the bombing, the families who started their morning, unaware of the horrors that would unfold. She talked of the agony and confusion she felt walking through her city, unrecognizable and plagued with death everywhere you looked. But the suffering did not stop after the bombing, for years and decades, the tragedy still devastated many. Ms Ogura recalled sudden seemingly healthy peoples unexplainable deaths caused by radiation and the slow healing and reconstruction of the city.

Even 80 years after the bombing, the impact of Hiroshima is still felt across the world. Ms Kieko Ogura’s wish is for us to pass down her baton to our friends and family, war and conflict is ever present in our world, but that doesn’t mean we should lose hope. Instead, Ms Ogura’s story should intensify our desire to maintain peace and hope.

Sophie Wang from the SRC