Sadako
Sadako was a girl who lived in Hiroshima, Japan, with her beloved family. One day she climbed out of her bed which was a quilt on the floor, and said to her mother, “I'm so excited about the carnival!”
Mother replied, “Oh, you must not call it a carnival, it is a memorial for those who died in the atomic bomb in 1945.”
“Oh, sorry,” said Sadako but she enjoyed the day anyway.
Sadako’s grandmother had been killed when America dropped an atomic bomb on her city of Hiroshima. It was done to try and finish the second world war. As well as hundreds of thousands killed instantly, thousands of children and adults died over the many years from the deadly effects of the radiation from the huge atomic bomb. When the bomb was dropped, Sadako was only a little baby.
Sadako loved running in the relay team at school, and she wanted to be famous. She ran to school and back every day. One day at school athletics her team won the relay race, but after she felt dizzy.
Another day she was running, collapsed and then woke up in hospital. She had had blood tests done and it was bad news, she had leukemia which was deadly.
Her best friend said to make 1000 cranes and she would live for ever, which was a Japanese legend. Sadako made 644 cranes but then sadly passed away at only 13 years old.
Her class made the last 356 cranes and there is now a memorial and statue of Sadako in Hiroshima, Japan, in a special place called The Peace Park. Thousands of children visit there and leave garlands of paper cranes to symbolise peace, not war.
By Ben Room 8
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