Atomic bomb survivors spread Mayors for Peace message on Global Peace Boat Voyage

January 30, 2009

Earlier this week, 100 atomic bomb survivors (Hibakusha, in Japanese) reached Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the final stage of their 4 month voyage to 20 countries with the Global Voyage for a Nuclear-Free World - Peace Boat Hibakusha Project.  There they presented 27 new member cities from 4 countries and 25 new signatories to the Cities Appeal in support of the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Protocol to Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba and Mayor Tomihisa Taue, President and Vice-President of Mayors for Peace, respectively. Furthermore, they relayed news of the declaration of the Association of Bolivarian Mayors of Venezuela (ABODAVE), whose 250+ member cities have commited to join the Mayors for Peace and sign the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Protocol.

During the voyage, organized by the Japan-based NGO Peace Boat, the Hibakusha shared their important first-hand accounts of the consequences of the atomic bomb, describing the devastation it caused in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 and beyond.  They used the opportunity to network with local people on nuclear disarmament, interacting with victims of Agent Orange defoliant in Vietnam as well as relating their testimonies at the United Nations Headquarters in the United States.

Peace Boat is planning a second voyage with A-bomb survivors this summer.

Find the details of the Peace Boat Mayors for Peace progress here.