In Greenfield, nearly forty activists gathered in the city’s common at 9 am on Tuesday to honor those killed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and demand an end to nuclear weapons globally. Central at the rally were banners that stretched more than ten feet in the air and were emblazoned with the phrase “Imagine Peace.” Also featured at the rally was a Japanese painting of the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima and a collection of lanterns that are released annually in Easthampton in a call for peace: an homage to a similar tradition started in Hiroshima after the bombing.
At 9:30, a group of Buddhist monks from the Leverett Peace Pagoda led the activists on a march to the Greenfield Library where the Traprock Center for Peace and Justice is housed. At the center, a proclamation declaring August 6th to be A World Free of Nuclear Weapons Day in Greenfield was read by the mayor’s chief of staff. Separately, the mayor of Easthampton has also issued a similar proclamation. After the proclamation was read, speeches were given on nuclear disarmament, NATO, and global peace. Several speeches honored Western Massachusetts peace activist Randy Kehler, who passed away on July 21st after a lifetime spent in the peace movement. Kehler was the co-founder of the Nuclear Freeze Campaign, a predecessor of Peace Action. He spent 22 months in jail after refusing to be drafted in the Vietnam War, and he famously refused to pay federal income tax during the 1980s because it funded war, resulting in his house being seized in 1989. After commemorations, the event closed with a moment of silence. – Soren Anderson-Flynn, MAPA intern
Tuesday afternoon outside Springfield City Hall, another event was held to commemorate the bombings and advocate for nuclear disarmament. The event, which was co-sponsored by MAPA, began with monks from the Peace Pagoda leading a solemn march to the city hall, following the beat of a drum. After the march, more than six dozen rallygoers listened to members of local Christian, Jewish, and Muslim communities perform a dramatic reading of the long-form poem The Original Child Bomb by Thomas Merton. The poem, written in 1961, describes the events leading up to and following the bombing of Hiroshima in an objective and dispassionate manner that only serves to heighten their horror. After the reading, speeches were delivered discussing the civilization-threatening dangers of nuclear war and the role that all of us, especially working people and laborers, have in advocating for global disarmament. The rally finished with an interfaith prayer and more drumming from the monks. – Soren Anderson-Flynn
We had a small gathering in Edgartown to remember the morning of 6 August 1945, and the rain held off. A number of people who usually gather with us were away. Ellen Katz (Physicians for Social Responsibility) came across from Woods Hole to join us again, as she has done for a decade or so. Sally Snipes of Chappaquiddick brought Karla with her, a young WWOOFer from Germany. Bruce and Sarah Nevin were there. As always, we passed a ‘bell’ around and each rang it and spoke words of remembrance and rededication to the cause of peace, then we sang several songs. There are two pictures, differing in who is behind the camera. The sign under the banner says “War is obsolete”. The brass bowl rung as a peace bell rests on a sign that asks “Have you made peace today?” – Bruce Nevin, Martha’s Vineyard Peace Council
In Watertown, the event was moved because of rain from the Charles River Dock to the First Parish of Watertown Unitarian Universalist. 30 people gathered to solemnly commemorate the anniversary of the first (and hopefully only) use of atomic weapons in 1945. We were welcomed by Tony Palomba, then together sang songs of peace, led by Suzy Giroux on guitar and Sue-Ellen Hershman-Tcherepnin on flute. Lillian Koizumi introduced our invited speaker Kevin Maher from the Soka Gakkai Buddhist Community. His talk was inspirational. He said that from the Buddhist perspective, nuclear
weapons embody the darkest aspects of human nature. In 1957 Josei Toda, the second president of the Soka Gakkai, not only condemned the use of nuclear weapons by any nation but also called upon the younger generations to carry this vital cause forward. “Let us abandon the habit of ignoring the menace posed to Earth by nuclear weapons and instead demonstrate that a world without nuclear weapons can be realized.”
Diana Barlow read a haiku she had written; Tony Palomba urged us to sign the petition asking our city council to call on our federal leaders to support nuclear disarmament. As we left, all felt that the evening had been impactful. – Jeanne Trubek, Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment
Monday evening, August 5, Be Seriously Scared was presented at the Cambridge Public Library. To help us be scared, we were greeted on entering by two people wearing HazMat suits and holding clicking geiger-counters.
At 7:15pm (8:15am Tuesday, Japan time) we watched by livestream the annual moment of silence in Hiroshima marking the dropping of the first atomic bomb that has been used to kill millions of civilians. It was an emotional moment for us as we watched the people in the Hiroshima Peace Park stop whatever they were doing for reflection.
Larry Jay Tish presented the tragedy of the fishing boat Lucky Dragon #5 and the radiation poisoning of it’s fishermen and crew. One of the fishermen, Oishi Matashichi, wrote a memoir that brings to life the horrors the crew faced. His last words were “Be seriously scared.” Tish is working on a film about the Lucky Dragon.
Michael Dwyer presented a film telling the story of Tomiko Morimoto West, who as a young child saw her family cremated by the bomb. Although she bears the scars of the bombing, she built a new life for herself in the United States and now, at 90, has only one wish: that world leaders work together for global peace.
The evening concluded with Dr. Ira Helfand discussing the impact of nuclear war. He fielded many questions and reminded us that if we do have a nuclear war, all of our disagreements about who caused what would not matter because we would all be dead.
Yes, we were seriously scared! – Jeanne Trubek
