Monday 17 October 2011

Bomb A-listers arrive in Cairns for A-Bomb exhibition and peace events

An impressive line-up of representatives from Hiroshima arrive in Cairns this week as part of the A-Bomb Exhibition at the Tanks Arts Centre.

In a ceremony at midday on Thursday, Cairns Regional Council Mayor Val Schier will welcome Dr Hiromi Hasai, an atomic bomb survivor, and Ms Chizuko Kawamura and Ms Yasuko Okane from the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and Peace Culture Foundation.

This is the first time the A-Bomb exhibition has visited Australia and is in Cairns as part of the Mayor's for Peace project. The War In Profile collection will be at the Tanks until November 16. Organisers warn that some of the exhibitions contain disturbing images of violence and war.


KATHY KELLY VISIT

On Thursday evening Kathy Kelly, a renowned peace activist who has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize on numerous occasions, will present a forum at the Council's meeting room.

Kelly is a primary humanitarian relief coordinator and manages on-the-ground operations in Afghanistan. LNP candidate for Cairns Gavin King will be the MC. Many local and state politicians have indicated they will be attending.

The talk, entitled "The cost of war: The price of peace", starts at 6.30pm on Thursday. Dr Hakim, a medical doctor working in Afghanistan, will join Kathy Kelly. The vent is supported by the Mayor's discretionary fund.

Cairns Peace by Peace spokeswoman Marci Gryffyn-Spicer says that peace as an issue is far too important for partisan politics to get in the way.

"63% of Australians want an immediate withdrawal of our troops from Afghanistan,'' Marci Gryffyn-Spicer says. ''Kathy Kelly is an outstanding example of what ordinary citizens can achieve, and the people of Cairns can hear her eye-witness testimony about what is happening right now in Afghanistan and the USA."

84 cites around Australia are participating in the Mayors for Peace campaign.

1 comment:

:Kevin-John: Morgan. said...

I hope they screen them all for radioactivity?????