By Jackie Bonasia
Sadako Sasaki was two years old when Americans dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Sasaki’s home was located just one mile from ground zero. When the bomb hit, Sadako was blown out of her window. To her mother’s surprise, she was found alive outside of her home and they fled the city together. While they were escaping the aftermath of the bomb, they were exposed to “black rain”, or, the residual radioactive material that follows a nuclear blast and has a large quantity of contamination that causes a plethora of health issues.
Sasaki grew up like any normal girl until she began to experience the aftermath of the atomic bomb in physical ways. For example, she developed swellings on her neck and behind her ears. Furthermore, in 1955 she developed purpura on her legs, which is caused by bleeding underneath the skin. She was subsequently diagnosed with leukemia caused by her exposure to radiation (although this was not known at the time, it was branded “atomic bomb disease”) and was given at most, a year to live.
Sadako was a patient at the Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital and was roommates with a young girl named Kiyo. Kiyo’s high school had had paper cranes delivered to her room. The legend of the paper cranes stated that if one folded 1,000 of them, one’s wish would come true. Once Sasaki knew of this, she set out on her goal to fold 1,000. The story of Sadako and her goal were written about in the book Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. To this day, she is a symbol of the innocent victims of nuclear warfare.