To mark the 75th anniversary of the first use of atomic (nuclear) weapons in war, Pax Christi Maine joined with Peace Action Maine, to organize a commemorative event on August 8, 2020 in Payson Park, Portland. This important remembrance was co-sponsored by Peaceworks, the Maine Chapters of Veterans for Peace and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF).
“Never again!” has been the plea heard over these 75 years from the Hibakusha, the survivors and witnesses of those bombings, their children & grandchildren and the many groups throughout the world that work tirelessly for the abolition of all nuclear weapons. As Pope John Paul II said when he visited Hiroshima, “To remember the past is to commit oneself to the future.”
The well attended event featured a self-guided tour of several large commemorative photo panels; comments by representatives of co-sponsoring groups, including a reflection and very moving poem read by Denny Dreher,
Pax Christi Maine Co-Coordinator (pictured above); distribution of paper cranes especially made by people in Japan for this occasion and requests for phone calls to legislators plus requests for signatures on a petition calling for the prohibition of all nuclear weapons. To hear Denny’s comments and more, click on this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbP8f5e-cLc Photo credits: Martha Spiess
