Sadako Sasaki was a Japanese girl who was one of the c.100,000 people killed by the atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima. She was two years of age at the time and was severely irradiated. She survived for another ten years and became one of the most widely known hibakusha - meaning "bomb-affected person". She is remembered through the story of the more than one thousand origami cranes (thought to bring good luck) she folded before her death. Died at the Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital.
Sasaki became a leading symbol of the effects of nuclear war and became an international symbol for peace. There are statues of her in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and in the Seattle Peace Park.
2024: We learnt that there was / used to be a statue of Sasaki when we read this headline: "Thieves Stole The Bronze Statue Created To Commemorate A 12-Year-Old Japanese Girl Who Died Of Leukemia A Decade After The Atomic Bombing Of Hiroshima." The bronze statue called 'Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes' was in Peace Park, Seattle, Washington state, USA. It depicted Sasaki with her arm outstretched, holding a paper crane but thieves have stolen the statue, leaving behind nothing but her small, sandaled feet.
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