07/10/2026
I was eight years old and living in Hiroshima
Yesterday I had the privilege of meeting Yahata Teruko, who was 8 when she survived to nuclear attack on Hiroshima on Monday 6 August 1945. She lived with her family around 2500 meters away from the epicentre of the nuclear bomb.
Teruko is 89 years old today, but she spoke vividly about the day and the aftermath.
- The sky turned bright like it was on fire
- Then there was a blast that hit us with the force of a spear
- My mother was covered in glass and many shards were in her back
- We didn’t know what it was and expected more bombs
- My mother collected us all under a blanket, so we could be together when the other bombs came and could die together
- My father came and we went to the hills and then rain started falling, I know now that was deadly black rain
- In the evening may father took me to an aid station, I had minor wounds, but there were people there, they were all red from burns, they could not sit or lie down, everything was painful
- Then we saw the people coming from the city, like zombies, some were melted
- I was so hungry, and I was so glad when people gave us fishcakes covered in rice
- We tried to go back to our home, but there was no home
- My family sent me to relatives, as there was no food
- Later my friend from school Suetsugu, she died at 25 from leukaemia. There were many others who died that way. First leukaemia, then other cancers
At the same time there was an exhibition opened about the nuclear attack form the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. It was the opening so there a few people about and refreshments. I noticed that no one was talking to Yahata Teruko and we enjoyed a nice conversation. I am a volunteer for the War Graves in Reykjavik, looking for the memory of the soldiers who died in WW2. I am also a Police Detective and for a woman like Teruko that is a respectful job with social standing. We got well along. This is the first time I have had the honour of speaking with hibakusha. I was a moving moment.
