WHAT is a PILGRIM?The dictionary defines PILGRIM as, “A person who journeys to a sacred place for religious reasons.”
I believe it is certainly a person who travels a long distance, making it a journey if not to somewhere, then perhaps in search for some (spiritual) place or knowledge. WHY is the most common question asked of a pilgrim along his or her journey. It is unanswerable because the true WHY is a surprise to be discovered along the way. CLICK HERE to view interview with Nisei Veterans Memorial Center in observance of Hiroshima/Nagasaki Day. |
|
WAYMAKERS for PEACE:
Hiroshima & Nagasaki Survivors Speak
by Melinda Clarke
Excerpts from "WAYMAKERS for PEACE"
…. “of the 9,600 seventh and eighth grade students in Hiroshima at that time, 8,050 were killed instantly. Only 550 students survived. For me that is the most unforgettable event of that day."
…"There is no time for anger. No room for anger. If we want Human Kind to survive we must seek another direction. ….I believe that the ultimate poser to stop the arms race, to crate a nuclear free world…is the non-violent power of the grass-root peace movement.”
“….a man ran up to me and asked me to grab a shovel and help him rescue his neighbor’s wife who was trapped under a collapsed house. I went the short distance with him and saw a small boy, perhaps three or four years old who was standing there trying to get help to save his mother. …..the fire was coming fast. ….after digging a few moments we realized we had no time to help. We ran away, The small boy begged us to try longer, but we ran. ….when I think of that day and those scenes….I feel very sad and wonder what became of them. …I don’t blame America for bombing. The issue, it seems to me, isn’t That Day. The real question is war. War is the unpardonable crime against heaven and humanity. WAR IS A DISGRACE TO CIVILIZATION.”
Click Here for recent KAOI Radio interview with Cindy Palos and Melinda Clarke
…. “of the 9,600 seventh and eighth grade students in Hiroshima at that time, 8,050 were killed instantly. Only 550 students survived. For me that is the most unforgettable event of that day."
…"There is no time for anger. No room for anger. If we want Human Kind to survive we must seek another direction. ….I believe that the ultimate poser to stop the arms race, to crate a nuclear free world…is the non-violent power of the grass-root peace movement.”
“….a man ran up to me and asked me to grab a shovel and help him rescue his neighbor’s wife who was trapped under a collapsed house. I went the short distance with him and saw a small boy, perhaps three or four years old who was standing there trying to get help to save his mother. …..the fire was coming fast. ….after digging a few moments we realized we had no time to help. We ran away, The small boy begged us to try longer, but we ran. ….when I think of that day and those scenes….I feel very sad and wonder what became of them. …I don’t blame America for bombing. The issue, it seems to me, isn’t That Day. The real question is war. War is the unpardonable crime against heaven and humanity. WAR IS A DISGRACE TO CIVILIZATION.”
Click Here for recent KAOI Radio interview with Cindy Palos and Melinda Clarke
FOLLOW ME ON A PEACE JOURNEY
Melinda will be sharing her "Peace Journey" story at various locations in the summer of 2018 starting in Hawaii. Ms. Clarke's talk includes a screening of the documentary "Lost Generation" as well as interviews she conducted in the early 1980s with Hibakusha (A-bomb survivors) from Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
“Lost Generation” contains footage taken by the U.S. Occupation Forces after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. The enactment of the Freedom of Information Act in 1976 allowed for the movie footage and photographs to become available for purchase and in 1980 Messrs. Tsutomu Iwakura and Kazumitsu Aihara formed the “10 Feet Movement”. With the help of NHK and a civil campaign of citizens from all over Japan sending in 3,000YEN per person, the men purchased 100,000 feet of footage and photos that were later used in three different movies. Ms. Clarke was gifted those films while she was conducting interviews of A-bomb survivors in Japan in the early 1980s.
Watch "Lost Generation" HERE
(Photo Above: Melinda Clarke speaking at the Nisei Veterans Memorial Center in Maui Hawaii, August 4, 2018 for
"Hiroshima/Nagasaki Remembrance Days")
|
“It is really just a thought that built….a war establishment, and a thought shall also melt it away."
|
