The war between Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas has stopped. If we go by the plan of the US that is mediating, then after the removal of the troops and the surrender of Hamas’ weapons, a very important phase will come – the reconstruction of Gaza. This city, which was the headquarters of Hamas, was badly destroyed in the two-year attack. Now it will be rebuilt from scratch. Meanwhile, at many places it is being compared to Nagasaki.
Gaza And the methods of attack on Nagasaki were different, the enemies were also different, and so were the reasons – but both got wounds.
During the Second World War, about 1.5 lakh people were killed in Hiroshima in America’s nuclear attack, while about seventy thousand people lost their lives in Nagasaki. Today the situation in Gaza is more or less the same. According to Palestinian health officials, there have been more than sixty-five thousand deaths there in two years. It is believed that many people may still be buried under the debris.
Going back, the US had dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Whereas three days later, the bomb dropped on Nagasaki fell on the outskirts of the city. This part named Urakami was already economically weak. The nuclear attack there further deepened the devastation. This city had to face more struggle than Hiroshima to get back up. Today the situation in Gaza is also somewhat similar. It is already in bad shape financially, and the war has ruined it further.
Even if we look at the social structure, many similarities will be found. The area of Nagasaki where the bomb fell was mostly inhabited by minorities. These included Korean laborers and people from the Buraku community, which was considered separate from society. A large part of the city was reduced to dust in the bombing. According to a report, about 61 percent of the buildings in Nagasaki were destroyed.
The situation in Gaza Strip is also the same. According to the estimates of the United Nations Satellite Centre, about 83 percent of the buildings there have been destroyed in the bombing, that is, the entire structure has almost been destroyed.
The most difficult task is to remove dead bodies from the debris after the war. This was realized for the first time after the bombing of Nagasaki. The survivors of the attack told in a survey conducted a decade ago how bodies were taken out from the debris after the bombs fell and how they kept themselves alive amidst fear, hunger and devastation. After removing the dead body, the debris will be cleaned. Reconstruction can happen only after this.
A report in The Conversation estimated that as many as fourteen thousand bodies may still be buried under the debris, many of whom may never be found. Many of them have also been evacuated after the ceasefire.
Now let us come to the political issues in reconstruction.
After the explosion in Nagasaki, many survivors had to live in caves. Later, when they came out, the remains of their houses were also made to disappear in the name of building a road. Especially those families where there were no adults left, or there were only women and children, a lot of injustice was done to them. Their lands were taken at low prices. Since this section was already a minority or weak, their voice remained suppressed for a long time. Anyway, that was the time after the World War, in which the entire country was struggling with devastation. Therefore, Nagasaki remained neglected for a long time.
Similar situations can be seen in Gaza Strip also. Now there are no residential buildings there, hence land can be taken over at throwaway prices in the name of widening the road or building a school-hospital. At such times, local mafia also becomes active. There is hardly any permanent government coming to power in the Gaza Strip after Hamas, hence the fear of disturbances is even greater.
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