Documentary explores legacy of atomic bombingThe Last Atomic Bomb

Directed by Robert Richter

Produced by Kathleen Sullivan

and Robert Richter

Showing on August 9

at the Clinton Street Theater

By Maileen Hamto

The Asian Reporter

More than 60 years after humanity

witnessed first-hand the

destruction of the cities of

Nagasaki and Hiroshima, widespread

nuclear proliferation among the world’s

economic superpowers continues to

dominate international politics.

In the film The Last Atomic Bomb, the

imminent threat of another nuclear

catastrophe is viewed through the life of a

Nagasaki hibakusha (survivor), who is

accompanied by Japanese college students

dedicated to spreading the truth about the

aftermath of the bombings. Informative

and compelling, the film underscores the

experience of young people whose lives

were forever altered and families that

endured lasting emotional, mental, and

physical scars.

Director Robert Richter relates the story

of Sakue Shimohira, who was 10 years old

at the time of the bombing. Along with

other Nagasaki civilians, Shimohira hid in

a shelter near ground zero when the bomb

exploded 60 years ago. Her emotionally

wrenching experiences are interwoven

with rarely seen archival footage and

never-before-told accounts of what

happened to her in 1945 and in subsequent

years.

Many documentaries have been

produced about the bombing, most from a

Western perspective, expressing the guilt

of the conquering Allied forces. This film

documents the sorrowful yet inspirational

experiences of hibakusha such as

Shimohira — now age 70 — and Koichi

Wada, who was 17 and working at a trolley

station when the bomb dropped.

Footage of hordes cheering the U.S.

victory over Japan provide a stark contrast

to the destruction and loss of human life in

the Pacific. Shimohira and her sister lost

their mother to the bomb, and the siblings

were left to live among the dreaded

survivors. The film also touches on

censorship of media during the Press Code

period in the U.S. and Japan, and

underscores the regrettable reality of

discrimination against survivors by other

Japanese. Because the public lacked

reliable and accurate information about

radiation sickness, the walking wounded

in post-war Japan suffered prejudice,

mistrust, and disdain among their

countrymen.

Not too long after the bomb, Shimohira

lost her sister to suicide. While her sister

found “the courage to die,” Shimohira said

she found “the courage to live” and

dedicate her life to abolishing nuclear

weapons.

Shimohira’s accounts of health problems

and encounters with prejudice are

interwoven with expert testimony about

the controversial U.S. decision to use the

bomb. Interviewing war historians and

experts, the film unveils a plausible and

very disturbing view of the real motivation

to drop the bombs in the summer of 1945.

The film highlights the Northwest

connection in the history of the atomic

bomb, as it cites Richland, Washington

among the U.S. communities that were at

the forefront of a $2 billion research and

development project to build the bomb.

Filmmakers also followed Shimohira

and two college students to Paris, London,

Washington, D.C., and New York, where

they presented letters to Presidents

George W. Bush and Jacques Chirac and

Prime Minister Tony Blair, inviting the

government leaders to come to Nagasaki.

One of the film’s most memorable

moments occurs in Paris, when Shimohira

shares memories of the war with an

Auschwitz survivor. Providing a peek into

the burgeoning antinuclear movement,

Shimohira continues her work in putting

nuclear proliferation issues in front of high

school and college students throughout the

world, in an effort to raise awareness

about the threat and terror of nuclear

weapons.

At the film’s life-affirming conclusion it

is clear that student Haruka has become

motivated to carry on Shimohira’s nuclear

abolition message to young people around

the world. Her work is important: the

buildup of nuclear weapons has only

expanded from the Cold War to the present

day. Unfazed by the needless devastation

of the atomic bomb, many countries that

aspire to be regarded as important players

in the world stage are adamant about

building a nuclear war machine.

Richter triumphs in conveying a stark

message: the impact of the last atomic

bomb will never be forgotten.

The Last Atomic Bomb will be shown on

at 7:00pm and 9:10pm on Wednesday,

August 9 at the Clinton Street Theater,

located at 2522 S.E. Clinton Street in

Portland. For more information, call (503)

238-8899 or visit <www.clintonsttheater.

com>.

SURVIVOR. Pictured above is Koichi Wada during filming of The Last Atomic Bomb. (Photo courtesy of the

Northwest Alliance for Alternative Media & Education)

August 8, 2006 Community THE ASIAN REPORTER � Page 11

“Under the Autumn Moon” eventcelebrates unveiling of Festival Streets

Continued from page 9

executive director of the Portland Classi-

cal Chinese Garden.

The project area includes N.W. Third

and Fourth Avenues from West Burnside

to N.W. Glisan Street. Improvements

focus on new streets, concrete sidewalks

with granite paver accents, the planting of

more than 100 new street trees, and

installation of street lights throughout the

area. According to project coordinators,

construction of two festival streets will be

unveiled at the event. N.W. Davis and

N.W. Flanders Streets will allow traffic,

but can easily be closed to traffic for

neighborhood and citywide festivals.

To commemorate the opening of the new

festival streets, Portland’s most

significant Mid-Autumn Festival will be

held in the Old Town-Chinatown neigh-

borhood. The festival is produced by the

Portland Chinese Times. “Combining

these two events will serve to unite the

community in the spirit of collaboration

and create an even more substantial

celebration,” said Lee.

Bank of America is the presenting

sponsor for the event, which also is

supported by a number of local companies

and agencies. Sponsorship opportunities

are still available in exhibit areas.

For more information about the event,

visit <www.oldtownchinatown.biz> or

e-mail Cindy Thompson at <cindy@

ctevents.biz>.

White Prawns, 31/35 Ct.Vannamei species from Indonesia, prev. frozen

$5.99/lb.

Lumpia Wrappers“Simex” brand, 21 oz. pkg.

$1.79/pkg.

August 9-15, 2006

Zoo saddened by death of elephant matriarchSuffering from a variety of ailments

associated with advanced age, Pet, the

Oregon Zoo’s oldest Asian elephant and

matriarch to the zoo’s herd, was humanely

euthanized on August 2. At age 51, Pet was

one of the oldest female Asian elephants at

any zoo accredited by the Association of

Zoos and Aquariums.

“Zoo staff and volunteers are devastated

by the loss of our beloved Pet,” said Mike

Keele, the zoo’s deputy director and former

elephant keeper who worked directly with

Pet.

“She enjoyed spending time with her

daughter Sung-Surin and the other cows,”

Keele added. “She was a wonderful ambas-

sador for her species. Millions and millions

of zoo visitors have made a connection with

Asian elephants because of her.”

Pet was born near Bangkok, Thailand

and boarded at the Oregon Zoo

intermittently from 1959 until the zoo

officially acquired her in June 1962 from

Morgan Berry, a private owner. She gave

birth to six calves at the Oregon Zoo,

including her daughter, Sung-Surin.

The zoo has set up a Web page to honor

Pet’s memory at <www.oregonzoo.org/

Cards/Elephants/Remembering_Pet.htm>.

Visitors can share thoughts and remem-

brances of Pet or leave a message for the

zoo’s elephant keeper staff.

Pet, the Oregon Zoo’s oldest Asian elephant, died on

August 2. (Photo courtesy of the Oregon Zoo)

Providence hospitals in metro areato offer free emergency contact cards

The Portland area has seen a number of

cases recently in which an unconscious

person carrying no identification was

taken to a hospital emergency room. In

response to this too-common phenomenon,

Providence Health System has announced

it will provide free wallet-sized emergency

contact cards to anyone who wants one —

whether a patient, a Providence employee,

or a member of the general public.

The cards were designed with the help of

emergency-department experts and

provide space for a person’s name, address,

phone number, date of birth, major health

conditions or illnesses, medications,

allergies, physician, hospital of choice, and

emergency contact information.

“The difference this can make during an

emergency is immense,” said Chris

Andrews, M.D., Providence St. Vincent

Medical Center Emergency Department

medical director. “Knowing a patient’s

medical history alone means faster, better

care. Even if a patient is conscious or has a

family member with them, they are often

so distressed during their visit they can

easily forget pertinent information about

allergies or medications. These cards will

help save lives.”

The information on the cards will also

help the Emergency Department contact a

patient’s family, easing the stress of

worried parents, spouses, or children. The

free Emergency Contact Cards will be

available at the main desk and emergency-

room desk of every Portland-area Provi-

dence Health System Hospital. Cards can

be picked up at the following locations:

� Providence St. Vincent Medical

Center, 9205 S.W. Barnes Rd., Portland.

� Providence Portland Medical Center,

4805 N.E. Glisan St., Portland.

� Providence Milwaukie Hospital,

10150 S.E. 32nd Ave., Milwaukie, Ore.

� Providence Newberg Medical Center,

1001 Providence Dr., Newberg, Ore.

The cards will also be available at many

Portland-area Providence Medical Group

clinics and at upcoming community events

including the Providence Bridge Pedal.