by Leonard Eiger
“I will write peace on your wings and you will fly all over the world.”
These are the words of Sadako Sasaki, who was only 2 years old when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. She survived the bombing and led an outwardly healthy life; she was said to be an energetic child who never missed one day of elementary school. She was also a fast runner. Things changed dramatically for Sadako in 1955 when she was diagnosed with Leukemia (a radiation-induced disease) and was admitted to the hospital.
After 1000 paper cranes folded by high school students in Nagoya were delivered to patients in the hospital, Sadako learned of the legend that if a person folds 1000 cranes, one’s wish will come true. Sadako decided to fold 1000 cranes with one wish – to get well. Sadako kept folding cranes, each one a prayer for healing, even through the difficult and sometimes painful days. Sadako finally succumbed to the radiation-induced disease on October 25, 1955 at the age of 12. She would never run again.
Tokie Mizuno, a survivor or the atomic bombing of Hiroshima (who was 5 at the time) offering origami cranes at the statue of Sadako in Seattle, Washington in 2010.
Sadako’s former classmates wanted to do something to remember her, and that wish grew into a desire to build a monument not just for Sadako, but for all the children who died from the atomic bombs. They began planning and fundraising, receiving money and letters from 3000 schools around Japan, and the Children’s Peace Monument (with a statue of Sadako) was completed on Children’s Day (May 5) 1958. It stands in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. The inscription carved in stone carries the hope that no more children will ever be victims of nuclear weapons:
This is our cry.
This is our prayer.
For building peace in the world.
As adults we have a duty to protect children, and so as we gather all around the world in August to remember the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we call on world leaders to fulfill their moral obligation to protect the children by building a strong foundation for peace and working towards the abolition of nuclear weapons from the face of the Earth. And we will not stop until they listen and fulfill that obligation! No more Hiroshimas… No more Nagasakis!
The historian Howard Zinn once said, “I was a bombardier in WW 2. When you are up 30,000 feet you do not hear the screams or smell the blood or see those without limbs or eyes. It was not till I read Hersey’s Hiroshima that I realized what bomber pilots do.” Indeed, the bombardiers in the planes that dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki did not see the faces of the countless human beings – men, women and children – who were incinerated in an instant. Neither do the scientists, engineers and others who construct, or make the ultimate decision to use, the weapons capable of such omnicide. We must all see, and find our humanity!
Tying origami cranes to the fence separating Ground Zero Center and the Trident nuclear submarine base in 2011.
In my own efforts to walk the path of peace I have learned to fold origami cranes as a meditation, a prayer and as a personal statement of my deep desire for peace and the abolition of the scourge of nuclear weapons. It helps me stay focused on the important work of advocating for the abolition of nuclear weapons. The cranes I fold are a reminder of the beauty and hope that exists in this world, and how it is up to each of us to transform our hope and faith into actions that, in our collective efforts, will bring peace to this bruised world.
We may not see the results of much of our work for peace in this life, but we keep up that work all the same, much like Sadako and her origami cranes. We can only do our best, and pass our craft on to others to continue where we leave off. We are much like weavers, creating a fabric that we can only hope will one day be completed; it is (to paraphrase Thomas Merton) always “in becoming”.
And so I write peace on the wings of each crane I fold, and let that message fly all over the world.
We, at Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action, invite you to fold origami cranes and display them in your window(s) as a symbol of peace and healing. You can learn how and take part in #PeaceCrane2020 (a project of The elders) by clicking here.
The cranes are a wonderful accompaniment to Window Peace Lanterns you can also make and place in a window. Please check out Window Peace Lanterns 2020, a project of From Hiroshima to Hope.
We also invite you to sign and circulate the Hibakusha Signature Appeal for the elimination of nuclear weapons (https://www.hiroshimanagasaki75.org/hibakusha-appeal).
You can also find events to attend (at least virtually), marking the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
With Thanks and In Peace on behalf of Ground Zero Center,
Leonard
