79th Anniversary of the Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
On Tuesday August 6, 2024, at the Fountain on the South Side of the Legislative Building, over 80 people gathered to commemorate the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to honour the lives of innocent victims who perished from these horrific assaults, and to work towards the abolition of nuclear weapons for global peace. This event was sponsored by Peace Alliance of Winnipeg, JCAM, Winnipeg Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of friends (Quakers) and the Mennonite Central Committee.
Junko Bailey, MC’d the event. Speakers included, David Pankratz, on behalf of Premier Wab Kinew, Tina Mai Chen, Vice Provost (Equity), University of Manitoba, Kristine-Claire Bolisay, student, Steinbach Regional Secondary School, Marta Bunnet Wiebe, Mennonite Central Committee.
Other speakers included Momoko St. Louis, who read the story of “Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes” and Terumi Kuwada, who read the Peace Declaration from the Mayor of the City of Hiroshima, Katsumi Mitsui.
The Lantern ceremony is a solemn event, derived from a Buddhist ceremony (Obon), when loved ones return from the spirit world, to visit their families. Attendees to the Lantern Ceremony are asked to make a lantern that represents their thoughts and feelings regarding personal losses, global concerns of peace, nuclear disarmament and any other issues relevant to keeping our planet safe. The lanterns are then launched in water, as a symbol of returning lives lost, on a safe journey back to the spirit world.
This yearly event honours and remembers the victims of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, who are known as hibakusha. It is their plea to the world to abolish nuclear weapons so that no one will ever experience the horrific suffering that they have endured and the long-term effects of the atomic bomb. We gather to answer their plea to the world to abolish nuclear weapons.
We stand together as global citizens to work towards world peace and make a brighter future for our children and generations to come.
Terumi Kuwada
