ROGUE VALLEY, Ore.– In Ashland Monday morning, a brief ceremony marked with the sound of a gong signaled the beginning of a four-day ceremony and the moment when the first of two atomic bombs exploded onto the world stage.
The 2018 Hiroshima-Nagasaki Observance is a group effort sponsored by multiple local congregations and peace organizations across the Rogue Valley. From August 6 to August 9, various events will be held across the valley acknowledging the atomic bombs that were dropped over Japan during World War II.
Organizers say this year is not just about discussing the threat nuclear weapons pose to the world; it’s also about offering a pathway to a possible solution.
On July 7, 2017 the United Nations adopted the first legally binding international agreement to prohibit nuclear weapons titled the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. For the vote of the treaty text, 122 nations voted in favor while 69 nations chose not to vote – all of which were nuclear weapon states.
But in order to bring this treaty into effect, 50 nations must ratify it, of which only 14 have done so.
Organizers of this year’s observance hope to draw attention to the treaty and have the U.S. be the first of the nuclear powers to take the first steps in ratifying it.
“We look back at the past only so that we don’t repeat it in the future and that’s incumbent on all of us,” said Herbert Rothschild, planning committee chair. “We need to take responsibility for this planet.”
If you would like to learn about the observance or each day’s events you can find out more at Peace House’s website www.peacehouse.net.
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