Koko Tanimoto Kondo, writer, speaker and educator from Hiroshima, talks about the effects of the bomb on her life, and her ongoing work for peace at the University of Victoria on Jan. 31.
Kondo, daughter of Rev. Kiyoshi Tanimoto and Chisa Tanimoto, was an eight-month-old baby and was 1.1 kilometres away from the hypocenter on Aug. 6, 1945 when the first atomic bomb fell on HiroshimaB次元官网网址檚 people.
Kondo, who miraculously survived the bombing, grew up with victims who came to her fatherB次元官网网址檚 church on a daily basis. Seeing the terrible scars on the faces of young women, Kondo hoped someday to meet the "bad guys" who did this to them, and take revenge.
One day an opportunity arrived, when she met the co-pilot of Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the Hiroshima bomb.
This lecture is presented by the Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives and Neil Burton Commemorative Fund. The second annual Burton Commemorative Lecture is done with the co-operation of Satoko Norimatsu and the Peace Philosophy Centre.
Living with Hiroshima: My Memories of 66 Years with Koko Tanimoto Kondo is on Jan. 31 at 7:30 p.m. in the Clearihue Building, Room A127 at UVic.
