Peace forever!
Nagasaki and Hiroshima continue to remind everyone throughout the world about peace. No to weapons of war, no to wars, yes to peace forever!
It is not easy to walk through the areas in these Japanese cities without tears welling up in one’s eyes, without this heaviness and pain in one’s heart.
There are the bombed structures, remnants of buildings, rivers, communities. One feels the pain and the grief upon learning that children were inside school buildings, people were at work, in the streets, or in their homes when the bombs were dropped.
Amidst the preserved reminders of the destructive power of nuclear weapons, amidst the hope and prayers that never again should war and weapons be used against people and countries, fountains of hope, eternal flame, gardens, statues of peace, and other modern settings have been constructed within the bombed areas.
Guests take pictures of the bombing reminders. They also take in the beauty of the now-peaceful surroundings - the hills and mountains as background, the beautiful peaceful river lined up with trees and their red and gold leaves of autumn. One hears the excited voices of various foreigners asking their friends to take their pictures with the beautiful natural and human-constructed structures at the background.
There were foreigners who brought along their children. As they joined the now-silent crowd that slowly viewed the photos and exhibit at the memorial building, parents patiently responded to the curious questions from their children about the victims, young and elderly, whose photos were displayed in the exhibit. Schoolchildren from elementary and high schools all throughout Japan are, as a policy, brought to these bombed sites. The recurring message: No to war, no to weapons of war, yes forever to peace!
Sadly, all throughout the world, conflicts and wars continue. The same destructive scenarios of the past continue to haunt and are reenacted till now. The same grim pictures of death and ruin are as real now as in the past. The world appears not at all to have learned the lessons from the not-so-distant past.
While nuclear weapons have not been used since Nagasaki and Hiroshima, more countries possess more sophisticated weapons of war, destruction, and death. How many times have these countries with nuclear weapons raised the threat of nuclear war? How many continue to engage in wars and conflicts at present?
Peace remains threatened till this minute.
Despite protests and efforts to have peace in this world, wars and conflicts continue. Remember this Bob Dylan protest song of the 1960s?
“How many times must the cannonballs fly before they are forever banned? How many deaths will it take till he knows that too many people have died? The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind, the answer is blowing in the wind.”
Sadly, there are powerful nations and leaders who remain deaf to the calls for peace. Even here in our country, Marawi comes to mind as a recent example of the misguided use of military power and weapons.
How many years will it take for those in Marawi to reclaim their lives and to rebuild their communities? How long will it take for those who lost their loved ones to overcome their grief? Bob Dylan’s song again comes to mind, “the answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind, the answer is blowing in the wind.”
In many areas in Mindanao, conflicts continue. It’s the same scenario of death and destruction. Like a broken record, wars and conflicts are repeated in our midst and elsewhere in the world.
Yet, this prayer continues - yes to peace forever!
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