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Mags Meanderings:
From Som Tam
To Mushy Peas
war - what is it good for?
This coming Monday - July 28th - marks the 100th
anniversary of the start of World War 1. So called
because it was the first ‘global’ war.
You’ve probably found it hard to avoid media coverage
of this landmark anniversary, with articles, photos, and
TV programmes about the Great War wherever you
look. Some may find it all becoming a bit tedious, and I
must admit to not avidly reading or watching much of
it myself. Not out of any lack of respect for those who
fought and died. Far from it. Many of us, even now a
hundred years on, don’t have to search far back in our
family trees to find the names of grandparents, great
grandparents, and other family members who believed
that they were giving their lives for their country.
It’s just that the whole thing is beginning to feel more
like a celebration than a rememberance, but one which
was punctuated just last week by a stark reminder that
the world really doesn’t seem to have moved on much
during the intervening years.
Alongside all the no doubt well meaning initiatives certainly in the UK anyway - to ensure that our young
people learn about the Great War - comes a sickening
attack on an airliner full of innocent people. Then of
course there are other ongoing conflicts, with Gaza and
Israel occupying most front pages most of the time.
Surely these are the real time events, along with 7/11 and
other atrocities, which will leave lasting impressions on
todays’ young people, rather than what happened 100
years ago?
Moving on to August 6th comes another stark reminder
of war, with the 69th anniversary of the dropping of an
atom bomb on Hiroshima. (By the way, isn’t it strange
how that event is always referred to as ‘the dropping of
the atom bomb’ rather than ‘the atomic destruction’ of
Hiroshima? Almost as if it were simply an experiment
- which I suppose it was. But isn’t it time someone
acknowledged that they had a pretty good idea what
would happen?)
Against all the odds though Hiroshima moves on, and
spreads the word of peace via its’ trees. Which brings
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us to our word of the week, or rather two words, which
happen to be in Japanese. (OK - you can’t blame me for
not trying!)
‘Hibaku Jumoko’ means ‘survivor tree’. Despite the atom
bomb, in the following Spring some of Hiroshimas’ trees
began to grow again out of the devastation.
Of those survivors about 170 trees, which grow within
a 2 kilometre radius of the bombs’ epicentre, are now
classed as Hibaku Jumoko, and saplings produced from
them are sent around the world to any town or city which
wants to display a real living testament to survival and
hope for the future.
17
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