Peace Walk (1985)
“The United States detonated two nuclear weapons over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945, respectively. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians”
- Wikipedia
The call came from my old pal Dan Cohen who was organizing a 90 mile, 7 day peace walk across the state of Massachusetts on the 40th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. “Josh, we need your help, please come!” Two weeks later I was on a plane heading east to Boston, heeding Dan's call to be both a walking participate and a photographer for this important event.
There were about sixty of us, both teenagers and adults, from all over the globe, walking to bring awareness to the horrors of nuclear war and proliferation. We slept in churches and at supporters houses, were given the keys (and in Gardner MA, known as “Chair City”, a small chair) to the city, got a whole lot of blisters, and became an extremely tight-knit community as the week long walk marched on.
The peace walk was leaderless and used a consensus process, so everyone’s voice was heard. There were often differences of opinions, and always a lot of back and forth, but we all had a shared mission to accomplish, and the final group decisions tended to work out for the best.
By the end of the week, it wasn't totally clear how many non-walkers whom we came in contact with were moved to action, but I do know that the process of walking and living in such close contact with each other allowed all of us to think more deeply about the issues surrounding nuclear war, and was an important learning experience in how best to treat our fellow beings with the utmost respect and humanity.
(For image data, click thumbnail and hover cursor over enlarged photographs)
