Local Greens councillors are inviting the community to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the nuclear bombings in Japan with a candlelight vigil at Oxford Falls Peace Park on 9 August. Hundreds of thousands of Japanese residents died and suffered lifelong injuries as a result of the 1945 attacks, which took place at Hiroshima on 6 August followed by Nagasaki on 9 August.
“The vigil will be an opportunity to reflect on the tragedy wrought by these atomic weapons, but we hope also to make this an uplifting event, to give young people especially a sense of hope,” Pittwater Greens Councillor Miranda Korzy said.
“Whilst we will pay our respects to those who died, we’ll also be listening to poetry and storytelling as well as making Japanese paper cranes together as a pledge for peace,” she added.
Frenchs Forest Greens councillor Ethan Hrnjak moved a motion seconded by Ms Korzy at the July council meeting for a council commemoration of the 80th anniversary, and was disappointed that it was lost.
“We know many residents feel it is important to recognise the events of August 1945,” Mr Hrnjak said. “As a result of the two atomic bombs dropped on Japan, between 150,000 and 246,000 people were killed. The number of wounded and those who would go on to suffer from long-term radiation sickness is incalculable.”
The vigil will take place at Oxford Falls Peace Park on Saturday, 9 August at 4.45pm. The ceremony will last about an hour, with a light supper to follow.
