Excerpt:
HIROSHIMA, JAPAN - July 6, 2000 - Every year, in Hiroshima, Japan, people float lanterns with prayers, thoughts, and messages of peace down the rivers in commemoration of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Until 2000, the only way to join this celebration was to go to Hiroshima personally, but now a group of volunteers have started a website that will allow people from around the world to join in. The site, URL, allows visitors to both write in messages and view messages that others have left from across the planet. On August 6th, during the Lantern Floating Festival, the messages will be printed out and assembled into a series of lanterns that will be floated down the rivers.
Annotation:
This large site has two goals: to provide a history of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and the impact it had locally and globally, and to provide a forum for the discussion of anti-nuclear efforts. The section of the site devoted to the history of the topic, has an introductory essay about the Enola Gay and the bomb drop, while subsections examine the destruction of the city with graphs, scientific studies, dozens of photographs of the devastation, and, most powerfully, the recollections of five survivors. In addition, there are photographs of memorials in Hiroshima and artifacts from the local museum. The other sections of the site contain interviews with second generation Japanese who live (or lived) in Hiroshima and surveys of children to understand their views of the bomb and its aftermath. Artwork is also included. Finally, an extended (and sometimes unruly) online forum contains the observations and comments of visitors to the site.