THE COMMUNITY gathered for a poignant memorial vigil to mark Hiroshima Day and Nagasaki Day.
Saddleworth Peace Group organised the event in front of Uppermill Methodist Church, with around 20 people coming together for the occasion.
On August 6, 1945 the US warplane Enola Gay dropped a bomb on Hiroshima. Estimates of how many died, either instantly or in the following months, range from 90,000 to 166,000.
Three days later a second bomb was detonated on Nagasaki, leading to an additional 70,000 deaths.
The after-effects of the nuclear warfare have been passed on to generations even now and the impact of the bombing was so intense that it caused genetic mutations for humans and animals.
Speaking at the vigil Saddleworth Peace Group member Magda Sachs quoted Tomihisa Taue, the Mayor of Nagasaki, saying: “Under the notion of trying to protect nations with nuclear weapons, the number of nations dependent on them increases and the world becomes a more and more dangerous place.
“The belief that even though nuclear weapons are possessed, they probably will not be used is a fantasy, nothing more than a mere hope. They exist, so they can be used.
“We must recognise that ridding ourselves of nuclear weapons is the only realistic way of protecting the Earth and humankind’s future.
“Every day we see and hear the reality of war through the television and social media. War always causes suffering for us, the ordinary people living in civil society. And that is precisely why it is so important that we raise our voices and say war is no good.”
Saddleworth Peace Group member Liz Green read three very moving poems written by Nagasaki and Hiroshima survivors.
The group then took a few minutes to reflect in silence before reading together the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Day Affirmation, adapted from the declaration delivered outside the United Nations Second Special Session on Disarmament in 1982.
The affirmation declares hope in the future, with the earth’s security resting not on the continuing production of armaments, but on – for example – adequate housing and food, education and work, renewable energy, and human relationships nourished by cooperation.
It closes with an affirmation of people over property, community over individualism, respect for others in all their diversity, and the choice of a nuclear free future.
