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Advocate for a safer world challenges Midland to not give up and to act now

Midland event focuses on impact of nuclear weapons in our world

Advocate for a safer world challenges Midland to not give up and to act now

Kathy McCreedy, Nonviolent Peaceforce Midland ChapterOct. 4, 2021

Asha Asokan, Rotarian, Nonviolent Peaceforce member, and director of NuclearBan.US, recently came to Midland to both educate and challenge attendees to think about the presence and impact of nuclear weapons in our world. The presentation was sponsored by Midland Rotary and Nonviolent Peaceforce Midland Chapter (NPMC).

The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) is a coalition of non-governmental organizations promoting adherence to and implementation of the United Nations nuclear weapon ban treaty. They are focused on mobilizing civil society around the world to support the objective of prohibiting and eliminating nuclear weapons. The 2017 Nobel Peace Prize was presented to ICAN to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and ICAN’s ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons………

At that 2017 ceremony, a survivor of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima 75 years ago, Setsuko Thurlow, spoke these words:

To every president and prime minister of every nation of the world, I beseech you: Join this treaty; forever eradicate the threat of nuclear annihilation. When I was a 13-year-old girl, trapped in the smoldering rubble, I kept pushing. I kept moving toward the light. And I survived. Our light now is the ban treaty. To all in this hall and all listening around the world, I repeat those words that I heard called to me in the ruins of Hiroshima: “Don’t give up! Keep pushing! See the light? Crawl towards it.

Asha Asokan, an advocate for a safer world, brought to Midland a similar challenge, “Don’t give up. Act now!” Her challenges to the engaged audience included:

1. Reach out to your elected U.S. representative to have him or her sign the ICAN Pledge, which can be signed by an individual legislator. Also, state and city legislators or other leaders can be approached to sign the ICAN Pledge.

2. Ask your representative to sign on to US House Bill 2850 — Nuclear Weapons Abolition and Economic and Energy Conversion Act of 2021 (which is also known as the Norton Bill). Only 11 members in the House have signed on to the Bill at this time. (U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Midland, has not.)

3. Become knowledgeable about U.S. and other countries’ positions on nuclear weapons. Resources include www.icanw.org/how_is_your_country_doing and www.icanw.org/united_states.

October 5, 2021 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized