Yesterday TGS and HIS had the opportunity to meet Robert Jacobs, a Harvard graduate working here in Hiroshima. He is a specialist in research about nuclear weapons and their social and cultural affect. Here is his website.

Following are my notes on from the talk…

-over 2000 nuclear tests a year

-younger generations –> need to care about this history

-his company would go to societies forced to move due to nuclear testing and get the stories of the people

-then he thought, why not have the youth of these villages collect the data?

-teaches young and people would be more willing to share

-these people live difficult lives due to tragedy of bombs and bomb testings

-due to circulation of air in the atmosphere, everyone is exposed to radiation

-A-bomb and H-bomb

-H-bomb is bigger and thermal

-USA has tested the most with Russia close behind

-What do nuclear bomb obtaining countries have in common with the UN?

-these countries have a permanent place in the UN: USA, Russia, Great Britain, China, France

-when groups of people are colonized and forced to move for testing purposes they never go back home, even if they were told they would

-nuclear companies always start first for bombs, second for energy

Reflection: There are more than medical tragedies to a nuclear bomb. There is more than an empty city and more than a killed environment. The mental strain of the people affected is often overlooked because of how great the first two are though. It is hard to focus on emotion when you see the facts at times like this. Should we be testing nuclear bombs? Considering the radiation AND the emotional distraught? Will we ever be able to move forward? Should we?

I think it is possible to move forward if we go with consciousness. We need to be more aware and more understanding, we need to wear the shoes of the people who will be affected, and we need to ask the question, “What will we accomplish by doing this?” If we can’t do that, than what is the point? This process can relate to any decision we make, not just ones related to fatal weapons. If as a society we make a greater effort to be more conscious, then we can work towards an understanding world.

Until then, we will live in fear and that fear will keep us from the first step towards acceptance and opening up to the rest of the world.