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In Hiroshima Peace Park, Visitors Hope Nobel Win Will Boost Peace Efforts

People pray in front of the cenotaph at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima city on October 12, 2024. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)
People pray in front of the cenotaph at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima city on October 12, 2024. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)
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In Hiroshima Peace Park, Visitors Hope Nobel Win Will Boost Peace Efforts

People pray in front of the cenotaph at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima city on October 12, 2024. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)
People pray in front of the cenotaph at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima city on October 12, 2024. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)

Visitors to the memorial park for Hiroshima's atomic bombing said they hoped Friday's Nobel Peace Prize for Japan's atomic bomb survivors would boost efforts for world peace and spur world leaders to visit the site.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the prize to the Nihon Hidankyo group, representing survivors of the 1945 US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, for its decades-long efforts to abolish nuclear weapons.
"As Japanese people, I believe we need to ensure that the same thing doesn't happen again," Ui Torisawa, a 21-year-old student who was visiting the Peace Memorial Park with her friend, told Reuters.
"Since Japan is the only country to have suffered atomic bombings, and because similar things could be repeated in other countries, I think Japan is probably in the best position to stop that."
August next year will mark the 80th anniversary of the bombings. It is likely to draw focus on the legacy of its survivors, known as "hibakusha,” and could set off a renewed debate about nuclear weapons.
Yasuhiro Suzuki, who was visiting the Peace Memorial Park with his wife, son and daughter from Fukuoka prefecture in southwest Japan, called it "groundbreaking" that the group representing the atomic bomb survivors was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
"Nuclear power is incredibly beneficial to the world, but we must be careful not to misuse it," Suzuki said. "I hope this becomes an opportunity for people around the world to think about various aspects of this issue."
Hiroshima's peace park has long drawn not just Japanese visitors but also foreigners, including world leaders such as Barack Obama, who spoke at the site as US president in 2016 and hugged a tearful hibakusha.
"I believe there are still many prime ministers and leaders in the world who could come (to Japan), and I hope they will make the effort to visit," said Hiroshima resident Hirokazu Tanabe, who works as a driver and who came to the park to show around a friend.
Many Japanese feel the US should apologize for the bombings, which killed hundreds of thousands and prompted Japan's surrender days later. Japan has since relied on the US for protection, renouncing the right to wage war and defining its military as only for self-defense.
Twenty-two-year-old student Ayane Takiguchi, who visited the park with Torisawa, said it was an honor the group representing atomic bomb victims was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
"I myself am studying education, and I've recently recognized the importance of achieving peace through education," she said. "In that sense, I'm happy that this has such a big impact."

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France’s Mayotte Struggles to Recover as Cyclone Overwhelms Hospitals

This aerial view shows damaged buildings in the city of Mamoudzou, on the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, on December 21, 2024, after cyclone Chido hit the archipelago. (AFP)
This aerial view shows damaged buildings in the city of Mamoudzou, on the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, on December 21, 2024, after cyclone Chido hit the archipelago. (AFP)
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France’s Mayotte Struggles to Recover as Cyclone Overwhelms Hospitals

This aerial view shows damaged buildings in the city of Mamoudzou, on the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, on December 21, 2024, after cyclone Chido hit the archipelago. (AFP)
This aerial view shows damaged buildings in the city of Mamoudzou, on the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, on December 21, 2024, after cyclone Chido hit the archipelago. (AFP)

One week after its worst cyclone in nearly a century, and a day after a testy presidential visit, France’s impoverished Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte is still grappling with counting the dead, restoring essential services and aiding a beleaguered population.

Cyclone Chido wreaked devastation across the archipelago. Already stretched thin, hospitals are overwhelmed with patients suffering not only from cyclone-related injuries but also from dehydration, malnutrition and disease.

At Mayotte’s main hospital in the capital, Mamoudzou, doctors faced a cascade of crises.

“We lost 40% of patient rooms, about 50 to 60 beds,” said Dr. Roger Serhal, chief of the obstetrics and gynecology department. “There are so many patients coming to the hospital, and we don’t have space to admit them.”

As Chido battered the archipelago last weekend with 220 kph (136 mph) winds, Serhal and his team delivered three babies, including by cesarean section.

The hospital’s structural damage has forced staff to triage patients, prioritizing the most severe cases. Though the official death toll remains 35, according to the French Interior Ministry on Saturday, the number of seriously injured has risen to 78, with 2,432 others sustaining minor injuries. Health Minister Geneviève Darrieussecq has warned that any estimates are likely major undercounts “compared to the scale of the disaster.”

Emergency aid was being delivered by air and sea. Since the cyclone, 31 tons of food and 108 tons of water have arrived, with an additional 1.6 million liters of water expected Monday aboard a container ship, according to the Interior Ministry.

The hospital is operating at 50% capacity, while 109 patients have been evacuated to mainland France for urgent care. Three advanced medical posts have been established on Grande-Terre, Mayotte’s main island, to address the surge in need.

The storm has devastated entire neighborhoods. Many people ignored warnings, thinking the storm wouldn’t be so extreme. Even worse, many migrants avoided shelters out of fear of deportation, authorities said, adding there could be hundreds or possibly thousands of fatalities.

Doctors fear that the lack of clean water and electricity — compounded by overcrowded living conditions — is setting the stage for a health crisis. “Patients are coming because their illnesses are untreated, there’s no water, and no electricity. We’re concerned about epidemics, like the cholera outbreak we stopped just months ago,” said Dr. Vincent Gilles, the hospital’s emergency medical director.

The hospital staff continues to work tirelessly, but resources are running dangerously low. “If we have rain it will be catastrophic,” Serhal said.

Among the patients struggling to recover is Saindou Mohamadi, 54, who fractured his arm and sprained his ankle during the storm that left his home completely destroyed.

Speaking from his hospital bed, Mohamadi expressed despair for his family. “My mother is sick, I’m sick, and my child is sick,” he said. “They need to eat, but I’m the one who takes care of the food, and now we have nothing.” With six children to support, Mohamadi is among countless residents left homeless and destitute.

“I’m not alone,” he said. “There are many of us who have lost everything — our houses, our food. I want the government to care about us, to give us food and a place to sleep.”

Mayotte, a densely populated archipelago of over 320,000 people, is also home to an estimated 100,000 migrants, many living in precarious conditions.

The poorest overseas region of France and, by extension, the European Union has long struggled with systemic neglect and underinvestment. Around 75% of its population lives in poverty, and the archipelago’s infrastructure was ill-equipped to withstand a disaster of this magnitude. Chido’s destruction has compounded these challenges, leaving many residents with little faith in the government’s ability to provide timely and adequate relief.

Efforts to deliver emergency aid, including airlifts of water and food, are underway, but the scale of the need is staggering. Mayotte’s airport remains closed to civilian flights due to damage, further complicating logistics.

French President Emmanuel Macron, during his visit on Friday, acknowledged the gravity of the situation and pledged to rebuild but faced criticism from residents frustrated by the slow pace of aid.

Calling the archipelago “totally devastated,” Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau painted a bleak picture — with some 70% of the population gravely affected by the catastrophe, and many left homeless and vulnerable. For now, the island’s residents and its overstretched medical staff are left to confront the daunting aftermath of Chido, one day at a time.