A bronze statue honoring Sadako Sasaki, a young survivor of the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, has been stolen from the Peace Park in Seattle. The statue, titled "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes" by artist Daryl Smith, depicted Sadako holding an origami crane in her right hand. The theft was noticed on July 12, with only Sadako's cleanly severed feet remaining. Sadako Sasaki folded over 1,000 origami paper cranes from her hospital bed before her death, becoming a global icon in the drive for nuclear disarmament. The statue's arms had previously been severed in 2003 and 2012. The theft comes amid a rise in metal thefts across the United States due to soaring scrap metal prices. In February, part of a Martin Luther King Jr. memorial statue in Denver was stolen and sold to a scrap metal dealer [b4bbb0cc].
Colin Parry, the father of Tim Parry, one of the victims of the Warrington bombings in 1993, has expressed his anger at the possibility of the council removing the names of Tim and Jonathan Ball from the Peace Centre. The Peace Centre was created as a memorial for Tim and Jonathan, and Colin emphasized the importance of retaining their names on the building [c7f944ed].
The Tim Parry Jonathan Ball Peace Foundation, founded by Colin and Wendy Parry, aims to raise money and provide programs to help those affected by terrorism. The council plans to acquire the Peace Centre building and develop it into a multi-functional site. Colin and Wendy Parry have struggled to find funding to run the Peace Centre, but a recent donation of £100,000 has allowed it to continue operating until the council takes over [c7f944ed].
Colin hopes that the building will be named the Tim Parry Jonathan Ball education centre, as Tim and Jonathan are an important part of the town's history. The fate of the building's name has not yet been confirmed by Warrington Borough Council [c7f944ed].
Meanwhile, a new €22 million "peace campus" has been officially opened in Monaghan Town, Ireland. The four-storey community building, located in the heart of Monaghan town, has been under construction since July 2020. The building was officially opened today, and over the coming months, it will provide new community and cultural amenities alongside multiple new anchor tenants. The town library will open on May 13th, followed by Monaghan County Museum at the end of June. Cllr Paudge Connolly, Chairperson of the 'Steering Committee' for the Peace Campus, described the building as a 'landmark' in the town [c5aa44c3].
The display of the peace cranes at the Peace Centre is a poignant reminder of the ongoing impact of terrorism and the resilience of survivors. It serves as a testament to the power of art and community in healing and promoting peace [65d5ac9f].
In other news, the Wings of Peace memorial and eagle sculpture in Penn Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania, has been raised back onto the monument after undergoing rehabilitation. The sculpture, which has a 13-foot wingspan, was refurbished by artist Bill Secunda and raised onto the monument with the help of a crane. The Penn Township Veterans Association led a fundraising effort to pay for the sculpture's refurbishment, raising $8,065. The sculpture has been at the intersection of Airport and Three Degree roads since 1986 and is a symbol of peace and remembrance for veterans and their families in the community [808e8f31].
The Peace Doves exhibition at Wells Cathedral, created by renowned sculptor and artist Peter Walker, is coming to an end. The exhibition, which began on April 26, will be on display until June 8, 2024. Thousands of paper doves carrying messages of peace, hope, and love are suspended in an illuminated installation over the Nave of the Cathedral. Visitors were invited to write their messages on the handmade doves, making this installation unique to Wells. Local schools have also been involved in creating their own peace-inspired exhibitions. In addition to the exhibition, there are upcoming events and activities including story time for children, themed activity sheets, and the opportunity to write prayers on ribbons at the Peace Tree. Local businesses have also created Peace Dove-inspired window displays, and visitors can vote for their favorite displays using an interactive map and voting slips available at the Cathedral welcome desk [708d778d].
The Dalles-Wasco County Library in The Dalles, Oregon, has collected 478 cranes from the community as part of their 1,000 cranes project. The project was a cultural appreciation event for Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month. The cranes will be sent to the Children’s Peace Monument in Hiroshima, Japan, in a gesture of love and peace. The project honors the memory of Sadako Sasaki and promotes global unity through the ancient Japanese tradition of paper folding [3da103bf].