At first, there might not seem to be any immediate similarities between a  devastated Nagasaki after the US  atomic bombing in 1945 and Gaza today, aside from massive destruction.

But in considering Gaza’s recovery from war — should the current ceasefire hold — much may be gleaned from Nagasaki’s experience and how it managed the painful process of starting over and rebuilding from virtually nothing.

Damage and destruction

The  estimates of those killed from the atomic bombings in 1945 range widely from 70,000 to 140,000 in Hiroshima and 40,000 to 70,000 in Nagasaki.

In Gaza, the  Palestinian health authorities say more than 67,000 Palestinians have died, with many more perhaps buried in the rubble.

In 1945, the US Army dropped an atomic bomb close to the centre of Hiroshima. But in Nagasaki’s case three days later, the plutonium bomb fell a few kilometres to the north of the city in a suburb called Urakami.

The bombing destroyed an area that was socioeconomically less well-off, which had an impact on Nagasaki’s recovery, compared with Hiroshima.

Many of those who lived there were minorities, including colonised Korean people, Catholics and outcasts known as  buraku.

And, just as in Gaza, much of the city infrastructure was decimated.

© Pearls and Irritations