PEACE WALK in MONTPELIER, Vermont, USA
REMEMBERING HIROSHIMA
75 Years ago the U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb ever on this Japanese city. We gather to acknowledge its horrific immediate and lasting effects, and to support each other in creating peace in whatever ways we can. The Peace Walk will start from the Kellogg-Hubbard Library lawn at 6:45pm, proceeding silently down State St. to a field at Montpelier High School.
There we will invite your thoughts about war and peace, and make our commitments to building peace as we stand in a circle of lights. We ask that you wear masks and maintain 6′ distancing. Cancelled in case of rain.
For more information, contact
Neville Berle (nmbe1022@gmail.com, 249-590).
Additional Community Events
Friends, July 16, 2020, is the 75th anniversary of the Trinity test of the atomic bomb.
Japanese Peace Cranes to fly on Church St., Burlington VT
Observation of first nuclear explosion in the world: July 16
You are invited to take part in the mounting of a display of small peace cranes, sent from the Japanese peace movement to the American peace movement, in observance of the 75th anniversary of the use of nuclear weapons over Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan on August 6 and 9, 1945. The event begins at 2:00 PM on July 16 in front of Burlington City Hall.
Two poles will be mounted in the garden in front of City Hall, near the firehouse (BCA). The small cranes will be suspended from a clothesline between them, with an explanatory card, and passerbys will be invited to take one and share it with others. We will be maintaining the display and replenishing the cranes for the three weeks between Trinity day (the name for the bomb that was tested in southern Mexico) July 16 and Nagasaki August 9.
The folding of origami peace cranes has been a ritual during observances of the nuclear bombings for many years. It is based on the story of Sadako Sasaki, a young girl who was diagnosed with leukemia from radiation caused by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Her friends told her that if she folded 1000 cranes she might be granted a wish. Stories differ as to whether she succeeded in folding 1000 cranes, but she did die, and a memorial was created for her in the Hiroshima Peace Park. We remember her and all victims and survivors, and we join in the statement on the memorial that reads: “This is our cry. This is our prayer. Peace on Earth.”
This event is sponsored by the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF-US) who was the recipient of the cranes from Japan. In a effort to raise awareness of the events 75 years ago WILPF Disarm created a 1945 Timeline that documents the two major events that happened that year: the dropping of the bombs and the creation of the United Nations. As our timeline says, “Ever since 1945, that most dramatic year at the end of WW2, people, governments and civilization itself have been faced with a momentous dilemma: whether to choose law and cooperation over power and domination. “ Please visit our timeline here: https://wilpfus.org/our-work/disarmend-wars.
We will also be holding a webinar On July 13 at 8 pm ET / 5 pm PT – Tina Cordova, a founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, and Joni Arends, Director of Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety, will share their struggles to get compensation and health care for victims of the July 16, 1945, Trinity A-bomb test near Alamogordo, New Mexico. Joni will also discuss the radioactive waste disposal problems faced by New Mexicans.
And finally, there will be a film and discussion series on war and nuclear weapons starting now. It will continue to Nagasaki Day. It is organized by John Reuwer of PSR, Arly Yadin of VTIFF and myself, Robin Lloyd of WILPF-Disarm: https://vtiff.org/events/war-and-nuclear-weapons/.
For more information: Robin Lloyd at 802-355-3256.
Joseph Gainza
Producer and Host
Gathering PeaceTuesdays 9-10:30 AMWGDR 91.1 FM; WGDH 97.1 FM
www.wgdr.org live streaming & archive
“At the risk of sounding ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love.” Che
“Love has hands to help others. It has feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of others. That is what love looks like.” St. Augustine
Buddhist Peace Action Vermont 