Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki
A memorial for all the victims of the nuclear age
6-7 p.m. ~ Wednesday, August 6th ~ 2008
Japanese American Historical Plaza
Waterfront Park in Portland, NW Naito Parkway at Couch Street

Join us in marking the anniversary of the 1945 nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Each year we remember this history with reflections, music, and a call to action. In doing so, we hope to prevent such a grave mistake from happening again.

Sixty-three years ago on August 6th and 9th 1945, the United States dropped the first nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. More than 200,000 civilians were killed in these attacks and countless survivors continue to suffer from the effects of the bombs. Today, in 2008, new studies done on survivors and their offspring reveal conclusive DNA genetic changes and malformations.

Aside from the physical injury and radiation, the most significant effect of the atomic bomb was the sheer terror which it struck into the citizens of these bombed cities. Such terror, unprecedented in humankind, was etched forever onto the bodies and minds of the persons who experienced it. (www.aasc.ucla.edu/cab/index.html)

Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction. We never want to use nuclear weapons again or see others do so. Today, the U.S. nuclear stockpile contains 2,400 megatons, the equivalent to 159,000 Hiroshimas!

Our nation spends more than three-quarters of a trillion dollars per year on war and preparation for war. Our nation, with just 4.5 percent of the world's people, accounts for half of the planet's annual military expenditures. We maintain bases in more than 230 countries and claim the right to intervene at will anywhere in the world under the ruse of "fighting terror" with "all options on the table". This must stop.

Physicians for Social Responsibility urges the U.S. to take the lead in world peace efforts and:

* Resolve the Iran nuclear crisis through diplomacy ‹nuclear strikes are not an option
* Join the global community in its efforts to abolish nuclear weapons worldwide (http://www.icanw.org/)
* Dramatically reduce our stockpile of nuclear weapons as agreed in the Non-Proliferation Treaty

The tragedy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is not just Japan's, but it is the world's. Therefore, it is the responsibility of all nations to prevent another nuclear disaster for the safety and well-being of all our children.

Speakers and musicians include: Mikio Ohgushi, Dharma Rain Zen Center; Dr. Charles Grossman, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility; Tom Potter, Mayor for the City of Portland; Pamela Vergun, editor of A Dimly Burning Wick: Memoir from the Ruins of Hiroshima; Tom Carpenter, executive director of Hanford Challenge; Paulann Petersen, award-winning poet, Friends of William Stafford; Portland Taiko drums and Portland Gay Men's Chorus. There will also be a Ceremonial Shrine offered by SGI-USA Buddhist Pioneering Women.

Co-Sponsors: Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, Portland Branch of WILPF - Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, SGI-USA Buddhists, Peace and Justice Works Iraq Affinity Group, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, Veterans for Peace - Chapter 72, Multnomah Meeting of Friends, Hanford Challenge, Portland Taiko, Dharma Rain Zen Center, Hanford Watch, Richmond Japanese Immersion School, PSU Center for Japanese Studies, Metanoia Peace Community, Japanese American Citizen's League, Portland Peaceful Response Coalition, Portland Gay Men's Chorus, Sisters of the Road, Portland Nikkei Fujinkai, and more to come...

For more information on this program, please contact:

Oregon PSR
503-274-2720
812 SW Washington Street, Suite 1050
Portland,OR 97205