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School system cancels visit by Japanese delegation

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Posted 5:50AM on Thursday 2nd May 2002 ( 23 years ago )
DECATUR - The DeKalb County school system canceled a high school visit by a Japanese peace delegation whose members believe the United States might use nuclear weapons again. <br> <br> The last-minute cancellation Wednesday did not deter part of the delegation, which included survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, from talking to Towers High School students as they left for the day. <br> <br> DeKalb schools official Crawford Lewis said the visit was canceled because it seemed to focus ``on personal and political opinion.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> ``I think when the invitation first went out on the part of the school, it was to provide students with an eyewitness account of Hiroshima and give them a real-life experience,&#39;&#39; Lewis said. <br> <br> But a flier distributed about the group identified them as activists and said they would discuss their belief that the United States will someday again use nuclear weapons. ``That&#39;s where it got really salty for us,&#39;&#39; Lewis said. <br> <br> Host Steve Leeper said any discussion of possible U.S. use of nuclear weapons would have come at other events. ``At school, we are just going to tell the stories of A-bomb survivors and what they suffered and experienced,&#39;&#39; Leeper said. <br> <br> Delegation member Haruko Moritaki twice skirted past a security guard to talk to students and pass out paper cranes symbolizing peace. <br> <br> ``She told me about the atom bomb, shook my hand and said thank you,&#39;&#39; said Darrell Brown, 18. ``We&#39;re in a war right now, and it&#39;s no telling what will happen. I want to know what they did to survive.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Hiro Yuki, 70, said he was not surprised the visit was canceled. <br> <br> ``The United States has an advanced way of thinking, but at the same time it has a very conservative way of thinking,&#39;&#39; he said.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/5/195185

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