August 6 will be the 80th anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima followed three days later by the bombing of Nagasaki. Recently I’ve volunteered at the ‘Never Again’ exhibition at the Janet Holmes a Court gallery honoring these events. The graphic images and stories from survivors including stories from subsequent nuclear testing were important reminders of the destructive force of nuclear weapons.
The exhibit also described efforts to ban the use of nuclear weapons. According to ICAN - International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, there are nine countries are known or believed to possess nuclear weapons: the United States, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Israel, and North Korea. The estimated 12,331 nuclear warheads are also much more powerful than the 1945 bombs. The Australia has not signed up to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. In direct contrast to the destructive power of the bomb, the making of an origami paper crane was a personal way to connect with the story of survival – as started by Sadako a Japanese school girl who died of leukemia following the Hiroshima bombing.
Upon reflection of the never again should we have … I’ve also been disturbed at the atrocities being committed in Gaza and have tried not to be desensitized to the daily accounts of fatalities and destruction knowing the trauma being endured by so many. How can it be that we are still dealing with the extreme violence when it should be in the never again basket? This led me down exploring genocide and other historical massacres: Darfur 2003-04; Srebrenica 1995; Rwanda 1994; Cambodia 1975-79; Auschwitz 1940-45; Nanking 1937; and all the way back to Pinjarra 1834.
I’ve just finished reading ‘James’by Percival Everett that retells the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn story from the perspective of Jim the slave. My childhood memories of reading Mark Twain’s narrative went to a new context that laid bare the realities of slavery. I’d also think that slavery should be in the same never again basket but that is not the reality for many who can’t leave their ‘employment’.
Although the context of each event varies considerably, at the root of these events is what Richard Rohr describes as ‘othering’ the process of separation and exclusion to allow us to demonize the other leading to the justification of violence.
It is the complete opposite to my kindness journey that is all about connection with the other. The kindness path demands justice and a loud shout of Never Again.
So much to stop and honour the pain of these events. How not to stay in despair?
Yet I feel the gratitude for the efforts of so many to say never again should people have to endure extreme violence.
Seeing with new eyes: reading stories from all points of view and ensuring the lens of kindness can overcome despair.
Going forth: Lets act to ban nuclear weapons! Support ICAN https://www.icanw.org/ and support efforts to give the people of Gaza the peace they deserve.
Never Again
When I heard the story of the Pinjarra massacre in 1834 I whispered Never Again
When I read of the stories of slavery I whispered Never Again
When I visited Dachau and Mauthausen I whispered Never Again
When I cycled through the killing fields of Cambodia I whispered Never Again
When I read of the atrocities in Armenia, Nanking, Rwanda, Srebrenica and Darfur I whispered Never Again
When I saw the images of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings I whispered Never Again
When the daily updates from Gaza reach me I have to ask why aren’t we all shouting what happened to Never Again?
Never Again pavement art