Peace Day

The story of

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes

written by Elizabeth Coerr

....tells the story of a small girl's determination to get better once she is told she has leukemia. As the legend goes in Japan, if you fold one thousand paper cranes any wish you make will be granted. It was Sadako's friends who managed to fold the remaining cranes to make up the thousand needed

....and many children throughout the world, not only those in Japan, now fold paper cranes

....but they fold them because they wish for peace.

Near the end of World War II, on August the 6th, 1945, an Allied Forces' plane dropped one single atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima in Japan. Then, three days later, another bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. In Hiroshima alone about 13 square kilometres of the city were destroyed and between 70,000 and 100,000 people are believed to have been killed in the explosion. Many more people died afterwards from the effects of atomic radiation. The city, Hiroshima, has been rebuilt and now has a population of 1.1 million. The city is prosperous and serves as an inspiration to our world. Sadako died of radiation poisoning which caused her to get leukemia 10 years later.

But we must not forget the terrible day in an act of war 55 years ago that devastated these cities and destroyed the lives of so many people, even in the years that followed the explosions.

On 6th of August every year the citizens of Hiroshima celebrate

Peace Day

to learn how to fold paper cranes go to.....

http://www.jwindow.net/KIDS/SCHOOL/ART/origami/kids_origami_crane1.html

Peace Links

Find out more about Hiroshima.

http://www.city.hiroshima.jp/

Explore the Peace Park and peace memorials

http://www.city.hiroshima.jp/peacesite/

Examine photographs taken of Hiroshima after the bomb was dropped.

http://www.lclark.edu/~history/HIROSHIMA/gallery.html

Find out more about the story of Sadako.

http://www.sadako.com/ http://www.sadako.org/