Yesterday afternoon at the Glasgow Botanic Gardens, Glasgow Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament hosted a commemoration for the 81st anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.
The event took place at the newly-established peace garden in the heart of the Botanics, which was launched last August by the Lord Provost of Glasgow City Council. Singers from the group Protest in Harmony performed and there were speeches by Jean Anderson of Glasgow CND, the Lord Provost Jaqueline McLaren, former MSP Bill Kidd, Samuel Rafanell-Williams of Scottish CND and David Peutherer of the Reclaim Our Clyde campaign.
This year, a Ginkgo sapling was re-planted by the Lord Provost and Botanics curator Hiro Shimai. This tree is descended from one that survived the Hiroshima bombing in 1945. Now, thanks to the efforts of Glasgow CND in helping set up the peace garden, Glasgow Botanics will host a powerful symbol of endurance and commitment to peace, for many years to come.
Between the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, around 230,000 people were indiscriminately killed including 38,000 children.
Intergenerational harms have been suffered by the Japanese and Korean hibakusha nuclear survivors and sometimes their children.
Similar such harms have been inflicted on millions of people worldwide in Kazakhstan, Australia, Algeria, across the whole Pacific Island Region, the United States itself and also by British citizens as a consequence of the calamitous and unjust nuclear testing regime.
Nuclear test explosions have since been banned but nuclear weapons themselves are not yet universally outlawed, despite being shown in the Hiroshima & Nagasaki bombings to be necessarily indiscriminate weapons and therefore illegal under international law.
But instead of acknowledging the immorality and criminality at the foundation of the nuclear weapons regime, nuclear states have instead doubled down on the so-called “deterrence” policies of the Cold War, which as well as failing to prevent violent conflict worldwide have led humanity a hairs breadth from nuclear conflict on numerous occasions in the past 81 years.
So this week sees not only the 81st anniversary since the first, catastrophic military use of nuclear weapons in Japan. We also mark 81 years of worldwide nuclear harms, injustice and ongoing terror.
Scottish CND will be holding a symbolic vigil at the north gate of Faslane naval base tomorrow from noon (Saturday 8th August 12pm). We are not able to provide transport on this occasion, but encourage any and all supporters to join us by taking the train to Helensburgh Station then the 316 bus to the north gate. Note that the 316 is infrequent, and you will likely need to get the 11am bus in order to be in time for 12pm.