This year the 66th anniversary of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 underlines the need for a nuclear free world.
On the evening of August 6th, 2011, at Friends House (Quakers) in Ottawa, Ontario, some 50 people met to hear speeches, see short films, participate in singing, and made peace lanterns then walked to a local pond where they floated the lanterns at dusk. This was a symbolic gesture that we must not repeat a nuclear terror again and in fact we should never forget that all wars are terrible.
Ambassador Ishikawa |
Featured speaker Japanese Ambassador Kaoru Ishikawa reminded us to cherish our survivors (hibakusha) of Japan's first ever nuclear disaster in 1945. Officially the US attack almost instantly killed 220,000 and led to the death from radiation of many more.
Ambassador Ishikawa especially thanked the Physicians for Global Survival (one of three organizers; along with the Quakers and Project Ploughshares) for playing a leading role in working for nuclear disarmament and for hosting the evening event. 'We need to ensure that a dark part of our history is never repeated,' he emphasized.
Yasir Naqvi, MPP Ontario |
Let's stop the nuclear threat. Let's stop all wars!
- See my photos for this event: Hiroshima-Nagasaki Commemoration 2011. (Offline)
- See Physicians for Global Survival event photo album for 2009 event.
- See my previous article: Hiroshima and Nagasaki Remembrance August 2009.
- See all my reports since 2009: 1945 A-bombing of Japan Memorials.
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