I still remember the first picture I saw of a mushroom cloud from a nuclear explosion. The caption under it said “August 6th, 1945: the first atom bomb is dropped on Hiroshima.” The bombing of Nagasaki took place a few days later, on August 9. Now, 62 years later, that image of the mushroom cloud is more significant to me than ever before.

It was almost the end of the Second World War, and the Allies needed a powerful act to force the Japanese resistance to come to an end. The Japanese had vowed to fight to the last man, woman and child. The entire nation was braced to commit mass suicide if they were invaded and conquered. It was against this situation that the decision was made to drop the first atom bomb on Hiroshima. It's a decision that will always be hotly debated.

The bombing is an uncomfortable reminder to us of what destruction man can unleash with the help of modern technology. This destruction created a great psychological problem in many societies. Hiroshima made generations afterwards, no matter where they lived, live with the knowledge of an impending doomsday just about to explode. It created a fear, doubt and anxiety that developed into a mistrust of human beings, that embedded itself in nuclear bunkers and nuclear fallout drills in schools. It was what made us believe, when we were growing up through the Cold War, that the world would just evaporate in one of those mushroom clouds.

Some say that Hiroshima was just a one time reminder to mankind, and now that human beings know the consequences of their knowledge of destruction, they will never repeat it again. I sense that with the world changing as it is, there is still a fear. With the global threat of terrorism and more countries acquiring nuclear weapons, the stakes have gone up. Unfortunately, what’s at stake is the very existence of mankind.

On August 6th we pay silent tribute to the victims of the atomic bombings in Japan. And on every other day, may we never forget.