The wartime bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki will be commemorated in Bristol with a Peace Gathering.
From Friday August 6, XR Peace will run four days of events, including two die-ins marking the exact times the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan.
Speaking for XR Peace, Rowland Dye said: ‘The atomic bombing of Japan in 1945 led to the death of over quarter of a million people, almost all of them civilians.’
Dye goes on to say, ‘it’s so wrong our Government is increasing the UK nuclear arsenal and military spending at a time we should be reversing austerity cuts, funding the NHS, and fighting climate change.
‘Join us at the Peace Gathering over these special four days…Join us for an hour, for a day, or as long as you like.’
Activities across the weekend include daily workshops on campaigning skills, street theatre, and public engagement through the use of humour
Also on offer are peace art, decorating a peace tree and banner painting. Attendees can sign a petition supporting the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which will be presented in the form of a peace dove.
Each evening, weather permitting, will feature visiting musicians, lantern-lighting, and a pop-up cinema showing peace-related films.
The event concludes on Monday August 9 when the petition will be carried in a procession to City Hall.
XR Peace is a branch of Extinction Rebellion (XR) Bristol that focuses on the connections between climate change and war. Find out more about the Peace Gathering here.
Feature image credit: Simon Holliday / simonholliday.com
Let’s not forget that many of those that died were not even Japanese. Very many were prisoners of war from places like Burma. Worked more like slaves for the Japanese war machine. Killed by Americans.
History has many lessons but few chose to learn from them.