Wilfred Burchett : A Man With A Mission

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Celebrated journalist Wilfred Burchett undertook an ardous journey to report the plights of atom bomb victims of Hiroshima after a lapse of 30 days it was bombed. He risked his life while trekking between Hiroshima and Tokyo for 5 days at a stretch without much food or sleep. His eyes became red and unwashed clothes beccame stiff with sweat. While he was walking past the Tokyo railway station, one of his colleagues saw him and congratulating with no uncertain terms said, "You have made it. Come with me to the Imperial Hotel. The top brass are giving special briefing on Hiroshima." He answeed, "I only need a bath and deep sleep." - Mind it, the briefing is to especially deny your story on radiation sickness in Hiroshima. From him only he got convinced that his report had managed to get to the public through Daily Express. To refute his story, the nuclear bigwigs had called a press conference. They totally rejected burchett's radiation theory. At that time atomic radiation was unknown to the most of the people. He said in his story titled "The Atomic Plague" in Daily Express that the survivors of Hiroshima would envy the dead. He visited the sick in hospitals and remarked, "In these hospitals I found people who when the bomb fell suffered absolutely no injuries but now are dying from uncanny aftereffects." Any way, from the press conference he was brought to a US Army Hospital for medical test. Blood tests showed an abnormal reduction in his WBC conts. But actually it should haven otherwise, He had sustatined injury on the knees. This injury should have increased the total count. For the record,it might be said that low WBC is the outcome of radiation sickness.One more funny thing was that his undeveloped negetive flms containg the historic images of Hiroshima victims were totally washed out. Because of his visit to Hiroshima, he was unceremoniously deported from there. General MacArthur had withdrawn his press accredition. Burchett faced many other hostilities at the hand of US authority. While journeying to Tokyo, arequest for a lift back by US Army plane was denied. Request to deliver a copy of his reprt to newspaper colleagues at press headquarter in Tokyo was also not complied with. His story of the awesome atomic genocide first published the New York Times was later syndicated all over the world.