Hastings councillor's Japanese peace walk trek

Maya Evans, councillor for Hollington, joined scores of other peace campaigners in the trek, which started on the Japanese island of Okinawa and ended in Hiroshima.

The peace walk culminated in Hiroshima Peace Park and a ceremony of remembrance on Hiroshima Day on August 6.

Maya said: “At 8.15am on August 6, 1945 an atomic bomb was released on the city and it became a living hell, 140,000 lives instantly evaporated.

“For that reason it is now a centre for peace and compassion, a beacon where people can learn about the importance of humanity. Hiroshima is a proud city which holds itself up to the rest of the world and says ‘never again’.”

The dropping of two nuclear weapons over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki remain the only use of nuclear weapons in the history of warfare.

Japan announced its surrender to the Allies on August 15, six days after the bombing of Nagasaki

At the talk next week, which takes place on Tuesday (October 2), Maya will also be discussing the US presence in Okinawa since the Second World War.

Recently about 70,000 Okinawans protested against the relocation a US Marine Corps base on the island.

They say if the base is constructed it would cause environmental destruction with the creation of a landfill site in a coral bay which is home to endangered marine mammals.

The talk has been organised by Hastings Against War and is at the the Quaker Meeting House, South Terrace.

The group has been active since 2003 and meets at the venue on the first Tuesday of every month.

All are welcome to attend the free event.

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