A-bomb survivor tells of torments, appeals for peace

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

A-bomb survivor tells of torments, appeals for peace

TOKYO, Aug. 2 (Kyodo) - By: Maya Kaneko A survivor of the 1945 
atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Wednesday told of the torments 
she suffered as a result of the bomb and issued an appeal for 
peace ahead of the 55th anniversary of the A-bomb attack on 
Sunday. 

Seiko Ikeda, executive vice president of the Hiroshima Prefectural 
Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations, told reporters at 
the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan how she survived the 
attack by the ''devil's weapon'' and called for world peace. 

The atomic bomb attack claimed the lives of more than 200,000 
people, the vast majority of whom were civilians. 

Ikeda, who suffered serious burns and lost her original appearance 
at age 12 after the bomb hit the ground 1.5 kilometers away, said 
she can remember the scene 55 years ago ''more clearly than a 
dream she had this morning.'' 

''No artists could correctly depict the color of blood and the victims' 
screams seen and heard under the mushroom cloud,'' she said, 
adding that the city of Hiroshima, with its population of 350,000, 
was instantly reduced to ashes and that bodies were piled up in 
the city ''like roasted fish.'' 

Ikeda received medical treatment at the time and was reunited with 
her father later on Aug. 6. But she hovered between life and death 
immediately after the bombing -- her skin had peeled off and she 
suffered such symptoms as nausea, diarrhea and high fever. 

Even after her condition improved, Ikeda suffered mental agonies 
over her completely changed face, which now had thick scars, and 
she thought about committing suicide. But with support from her 
family, she gained the strength to live and underwent plastic 
surgery as many as 15 times. 

''Even today, people die from the aftereffects of the atomic 
bombing. The threat of death always haunts me,'' said Ikeda, who 
is now a grandmother of five children, none of whom suffered any 
birth defects. 

Ikeda said that she does not hate the United States for dropping 
the atomic bomb but rather detests war which destroys humanity, 
and that as a Japanese citizen she feels remorse for the pains 
inflicted by Japan on people in other Asian countries before and 
during the war. 

Ikeda, who has been engaged in peace activities for about 45 
years, has traveled overseas to spread her peace message. 
Among the countries she has visited are the U.S., China, India and 
Pakistan, all of which possess nuclear weapons. 

She also said that nowadays victims of exposure to radiation can 
be found not only in Hiroshima and Nagasaki but in other sites 
such as the former Soviet nuclear test site Semipalatinsk in 
Kazakstan, and called for global action to bring about peace. 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Division		Fax:(714) 668-3149 	                   		    
ICN Biomedicals, Inc.				E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 				                           
ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Avenue  		E-Mail: sperle@icnpharm.com          	          
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Personal Website:  http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/1205
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com
************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html