This is not the first time to comment on Samantha Smith, who at age 10 in 1982, wrote a note to Yuri Andropov, then Soviet leader, when the U.S and the U.S.S.R were locked in the hostilities of the Cold War. At the time, U.S president Ronald Reagan had embarked on massive military build-up, supposedly to counter communism.
In her letter, Samantha Smith asked Andropov if it was true that the Soviet Union was planning a nuclear war. She must have been influenced by the anxiety that prevailed at home. She also wanted to know if the Soviets had the intention of preventing a nuclear war.
Here is Andropov's response in a letter released by the Soviets on April 25, 1983: “Yes, Samantha, we in the Soviet Union are endeavoring and doing everything so that there will be no war between our two countries, so that there will be no war at all on earth”.
The horrors, fear and anxiety of the “nuclear monster” are still present today. Tomorrow, April 26 is the anniversary of the Chernobyl Accident (see the following article).Japan is still struggling to return to normal life after the nuclear accident at Fukushima-Daichi last year.
In the midst of these horrifying accidents from peaceful “nuclear energy” the world is locked in a struggle to contain North Korea and Iran in their quest for nuclear weapons. And what was that missile India tested last week?
Sometimes one wishes that there would be more Samanthas to soften hearts and reign in sanity.
No comments:
Post a Comment