Gorgeous Paper Cranes
On a school trip to Hiroshima, we visited the A-Dome. The A-Dome is located at the epicenter of where the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Nearby the A-Dome there are monuments and the Hiroshima Peace Museum. There was a significant monument there that represented the hope for peace and the banishment of nuclear weapons. By this monument there were these gorgeous, vibrant paper cranes. There were so many!
These paper cranes are significant because they represent hope and good luck. Paper cranes have become a symbol of world peace because of Sadako Sasaki, a 13-year old Japanese girl. Sadako suffered from leukemia, as a result of the radiation poisoning caused by the atomic bomb. Optimistic, Sadako aimed to fold 1,000 paper cranes, to help her get better. I learned in the Hiroshima Peace Museum that Sadako stayed in the hospital for a long period of time, so she got creative by folding very small paper cranes. They were so small that she needed a needle to fold them! Sadako died in the hospital surrounded by paper cranes, gifts, and her loved ones. She was buried with her paper cranes. The museum says that she did complete the 1,000 paper cranes but other stories indicate that she did not finish all 1,000.
The story of Sadako has touched many around the world. Many visitors of the Hiroshima peace museum leave paper cranes and local children at schools make them as well for the monument. Hopefully one day, we will live in a world free of nuclear weapons.
At first, I honestly felt a little odd about coming to the epicenter of where the bomb was dropped. I thought, "Would we get stared at? Will they hate us?" But the people there were nothing but friendly and welcoming. I learned that all they want is for a horrific event like this to never happen again. They built the peace museum and the monuments as a reminder of what has happened, and as a hope for peace.
These paper cranes are significant because they represent hope and good luck. Paper cranes have become a symbol of world peace because of Sadako Sasaki, a 13-year old Japanese girl. Sadako suffered from leukemia, as a result of the radiation poisoning caused by the atomic bomb. Optimistic, Sadako aimed to fold 1,000 paper cranes, to help her get better. I learned in the Hiroshima Peace Museum that Sadako stayed in the hospital for a long period of time, so she got creative by folding very small paper cranes. They were so small that she needed a needle to fold them! Sadako died in the hospital surrounded by paper cranes, gifts, and her loved ones. She was buried with her paper cranes. The museum says that she did complete the 1,000 paper cranes but other stories indicate that she did not finish all 1,000.
The story of Sadako has touched many around the world. Many visitors of the Hiroshima peace museum leave paper cranes and local children at schools make them as well for the monument. Hopefully one day, we will live in a world free of nuclear weapons.
At first, I honestly felt a little odd about coming to the epicenter of where the bomb was dropped. I thought, "Would we get stared at? Will they hate us?" But the people there were nothing but friendly and welcoming. I learned that all they want is for a horrific event like this to never happen again. They built the peace museum and the monuments as a reminder of what has happened, and as a hope for peace.