prayer for peace

平和の祈り

16 May 1995, Switzerland
Europa: Peace and Freedom
design: Hans Erni / embossed

66 years ago today, the first Atomic Bomb destroyed the city of Hiroshima and killed about 140 thousand people over the course of several months.  My family lived on the edge of the city in the shadow of a little hill and they were lucky to survive, but had to witness a huge number of tragic deaths.

I wanted to celebrate the anti nuclear power demonstration today in Japan, but it is unfortunate that it ended with several arrests in Tokyo.  In London today, 3 kilometers away from my studio, in Tottenham, there was a riot where a bus and a block of buildings were set on fire, and shops were looted.  We need love and peace, not violence and armed interventions…

p.s. The author of Europa stamps has told me about the designer of this stamp, Hans Erni.  He is now 102 years old and is still painting everyday!  How wonderful it is and his stamp designs.  I do love this subtle expression of peace and its sincere atmosphere – his background as an activist tells us about it.

原爆の日に反原発のデモがあるのはとても自然なことに思えました。逮捕者が出るようなことになったのがとても残念です。まだちゃんとした記事を目にしていないけれど、誰かが警察官の帽子をふざけて落としたのがきっかけだったというのは本当かな？

スタジオから数キロ圏の東ロンドンでは同じ日に暴動が起こり、バスや店舗、派出所を含む建物が炎上しています。平和を祈る日だったはずなのに。。。

追記：Eurpa stampsのユルゲンより、このデザイナーのことを教えてもらいました。この平和を願う真摯な雰囲気は、102歳の今も絵を描いている彼の政治的な活動家としての歴史を現しているようです。