Previous Hiroshima Day Commemoration

Hiroshima Day Commemoration 2024

Tuesday 6 August will see the annual Hiroshima Day commemoration in Hastings. It will be exactly 40 years since the occasion was first marked in Hastings by the local CND group. More recently the event has been held by Hastings Against War, which is now also known as XR Peace, having joined forces with the local Extinction Rebellion group. John Enefer writes.

The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 remain the only occasions when nuclear weapons have been used in war. An estimated 185,00 people died as a consequence of the bombs dropped by the US air force on the Japanese cities, the victims included Koreans who had been forced to come to Japan as labourers and American prisoners of war. You can read more here.

Each year those killed in 1945 are remembered in ceremonies around the world as people affirm such nuclear attacks should never be repeated.

Nagasaki banner

With tensions between east and west high as a result of the Ukraine conflict the threat of nuclear war is still present, even as the need for international cooperation to resolve global problems like climate change becomes ever more pressing.

Keir Starmer’s statement in February that a Labour government would half its spending on projects aimed at combating climate change (from the £28billion previously pledged) drew sharp criticism as did his promise to invest tens of billions in the UK’s nuclear weapons system to ensure Britain’s ‘security’.

The Chairman of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Tom Unterrainer, observed: ‘We need a bold vision for what real security means: one that puts climate, food security, and people at its heart, not more militarism and conflict.’ You can read more here.

The lantern ceremony will begin at 8.30pm on Tuesday 6 August 2024 by the Boating Pond in Alexandra Park, Hastings. You are all welcome to attend. You can read more about this annual event here.

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