Voices raised for world peace

By Andy George

Local peace activists made passionate appeals at Boundary Peace Initiative’s annual anti-nuclear demonstration. The gathering was held in Gyro Park on Aug. 7, exactly 66 years since the devastating attacks on Japan.

 

Recall that on Aug. 6, 1945, ‘Little Boy,’ named for United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was dropped on Hiroshima, and that on Aug. 9, 1945, ‘Fat Man,’ named for British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, was dropped on Nagasaki. The devastation was so cataclysmic that no other nuclear arsenal has since been launched on human populations.

 

“It is our responsibility to remember the atrocities which have happened, and to make sure we never commit them again,” announced Laura Savinkoff, mistress of ceremonies at the event.

 

Savinkoff’s passionate pleas were echoed by Southern Interior MP Alex Atamanenko, who offered wholly frustrating glimpses into the current state of affairs at the national level.

 

“French submarines have at any given moment 500 times more nuclear capabilities than what was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki!” he said. “This is just so ridiculous – it’s one country out of so many. So think of the amount of nuclear arsenals out there on our planet.”

 

Atamanenko was followed by J.J. Verigin Jr, a long-time proponent of peace and goodwill. Verigin’s metaphor, “We have for so long had war in our faces, brothers and sisters it’s time to wash our face!” brought thunderous applause from the audience.

 

Yet the salient point of Verigin’s speech was that while Canada is increasingly losing it’s credibility as a peaceful nation, it can still be a positive example for the world. “Just look at this gathering here today,” Verigin implored, as he swept his arm from left to right. “We have people dressed in traditional Doukhobor costume, socializing with people in traditional Arabic costume,” indicating members of the audience who had just witnessed a belly dancing performance by Granby Dance Studio.

 

Harmony amongst race and cultural differences is an obvious path to peace. But his example was not unwarranted. Canada as a multi-cultural nation has been effective at incorporating practices of equality and fairness, perhaps not to the extent of being a model to the world, but enough so that citizens are comfortable with one another, civil unrest is a rarity, and there are opportunities for expressions of such matters, free from persecution. Every now and again it seems that reminders that Canadians are unique and privileged are important, especially when considering the civil unrest associated with cultural persecution happening elsewhere in the world.

 

Such was the case when Kenny “SMART” Rougeau and Buck Addams accepted the microphone at the demonstration. These two Grand Forks youth, who were invited to share their views on the theme at hand, offered something unique to say the least.

 

SMART put together an a cappella rap centering on the industrial military complex, weapons makers, and a call to question all information released through mainstream media.

 

Addams was more factual than hypothetical, vocalizing fact after fact, first on data surrounding the events of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, then comparing statistical similarities between Chernobyl and Fukishima, before looking to the future.

 

“We have two choices: we can either be angry and die, or choose to live each day like it is our last,” Addams concluded. 

Other participants at the demonstration include: Leonard Voykin, Grand Forks Mayor Brian Taylor, songstress Rosemary Phillips, and fiddler Ellen Tolson.