Listening to survivors to commemorate Hiroshima

27 July 2010

An atomic bomb survivor will be in London next week to mark the sixty fifth anniversary of the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Shoso Kawamoto will be speaking during a series of memorial events, peace walks, vigils, an exhibition and storytelling.

The commemoration is organised by The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) working with the Quakers, and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, who are kindly providing the materials for the exhibition.

The exhibition, After the Bomb dropped: How Hiroshima and Nagasaki suffered, explores the devastation of the two cities by nuclear weapons through photographs and artefacts recovered from the wreckage. This is on show from 2-12 August at Friends House (opposite Euston Station).

Helen Drewery, General Secretary of Quaker Peace and Social Witness said: “Quakers feel honoured to be able to host this major exhibition at Friends House. It feels appropriate that it should be housed in a building which has been – and continues to be - the hub for so much work for peace. Remembering the suffering caused by war and listening to survivors is a vital part of what drives us to work for better ways to resolve conflict.”

Ends

Notes to editor:

Press Preview: 2pm till 3pm, Sunday 1 August, Friends House, directly before the opening ceremony 3pm till 4pm. Press interviews with Mr Kawamoto 4pm till 4.30pm. Prior registration for the preview, opening ceremony and interview is necessary. The ceremony is by invitation only. Please contact Chris Wood at chris@cnduk.org on 020 7700 2393 or 07527 066795.

For more on Quakers’ peacebuilding work and the events in Friends House, contact Anne van Staveren on 020 7663 1048 or 07958 009 703.

Events list: All events are free of charge and require no prior registration

2-12 August: The exhibition, After the Bomb dropped: How Hiroshima and Nagasaki suffered, at Friends House 173 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ, open 10am till 5.30pm daily.

2 August: The Enduring Legacy of the Bomb. CND chair Kate Hudson and Quaker Carolyn Westgate discuss the legacy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the development of the peace movement. Friends House, Quaker Centre, 173 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ, 7pm till 8pm.

3 August: Survivor testimony. A-bomb survivor Shoso Kawamoto will talk to south London CND groups about his experience of surviving the atomic destruction of August 1945. Charlton House Public Library, Charlton Road, Greenwich, London SE7 8RE, 6pm till 10pm.

3 August: Film screening. Children of Nagasaki and On a Paper Crane. Two short films about the bombings from a child’s perspective. Friends House 2pm till 3.30pm.

4 August: Survivor testimony Mr Kawamoto will speak about his experience. Muswell Hill Quaker Meeting House, Church Crescent, London N10 3NE, 7pm till 9pm.

5 August: Survivor testimony. Mr Kawamoto will speak about his experience to Tower Hamlets CND. St Paul’s Church, Bow Common, Burdett Road, Tower Hamlets, E3 4TN, 7.30pm till 9.20pm.

6 August: Hiroshima Day. London memorial event in Tavistock Square, followed by talk from Mr Kawamoto. Tavistock Square, 12 noon till 1pm and then Friends House, Quaker Centre, 2pm till 3.30pm.

9 August: Nagasaki Day. Exhibition tour at Friends House 4pm till 4.30pm. Christian CND peace vigil in Friends House peace garden 4.30pm till 5pm. Walk from Friends House to Westminster Cathedral 5pm till 6.30pm. Pax Christi service in the crypt chapel, Westminster Cathedral 6.30pm till 7.30pm. Peace Walk from Westminster Cathedral to Battersea Peace Pagoda 7.30pm. Peace Pagoda memorial ceremony 8.30pm.

9 August: Nagasaki Day. Dr Christopher Gerteis, Lecturer in the History of contemporary Japan, SOAS, on life in Hiroshima and Nagasaki before and after the atomic bombings. Friends House 7pm till 8pm.

10 August: Film screening Hiroshima Witness: Survivors of Hiroshima describe their experiences. Friends House 2pm till 4pm.

11 August: Godly Play: Fire from the sky. An event for children (5+) on the story of Hiroshima and resistance to war. Friends House, Quaker Centre 2pm till 4pm.

• Approximately 23,000 people attend Quaker Meetings for Worship in Great Britain, and there are around 475 Meetings.
• Quakers are known formally as the Religious Society of Friends.

Media Information

Anne van Staveren
0207 663 1048
07958 009703
annev@quaker.org.uk
www.quaker.org.uk