Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki: No More Hibakusha, Burlington, VT, August 6 & 9

Start: Monday, August 06, 2018 8:00 PM

End: Thursday, August 09, 201811:00 AM

Events listed below are free and focused on educating individuals to the inhumane and destructive powers of nuclear weapons and on urging everyone to work toward a world without these weapons.

On Monday, August 6 from 8:00 to 9:00 am, on the corner of Main and South Prospect St., Burlington, there will be a Silent Vigil to remember the victims (hibakusha) of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and a call for the worldwide abolition of nuclear weapons.

On Thursday, August 9 from 11:00 am to noon, Pax Christi Burlington will hold a Nagasaki Silent Vigil at the top of Church Street in front of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Burlington.

Here’s a little history. During the final stage of WWII, the U.S. detonated two nuclear weapons over Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945, respectively. The two bombings killed at least 129,000 people, most of whom were civilians. The survivors are called Hibakusha. These two bombings remain the only use of nuclear weapons in the history of warfare. Since then, there have been at least 99 (civilian and military) recorded nuclear accidents from 1952 to 2009; over 50 in the US alone.

We have reason for hope today. The Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons Treaty was adopted by an overwhelming majority of the world's nations at the United Nations on July 7, 2017. It will enter into legal force once 50 nations have signed and ratified it. To date, 59 nations have signed the Treaty and 10 have ratified it. The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) of which WILPF is a member, won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize for its work on this important treaty.

This nuclear ban treaty delegitimizes nuclear weapons globally and renders them unacceptable. It establishes both new law and a new norm, outlawing nuclear weapons development, testing, possession, use, transfer and/or any offer of assistance in a prohibited activity. Moreover, it bans the threat of use, which is the basis for “deterrence” policy.

Join us in getting rid of nuclear weapons!

Add your support to the treaty at http://nuclearban.org/

Contact:       Marguerite Adelman                        

Phone:           518-561-3939 (home)

Email:           madel51353@aol.com

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