WAILUA — Start with a smile, said Hana Montgomery.
Quoting Mother Theresa, Montgomery said “Peace begins with a smile” and it is the responsibility of all to share with the rest of the world.
Montgomery offered the opening pray during the International Day of Peace observance hosted by the Interfaith Roundtable of Kauai on Sunday.
“From the beginning, people think of peace,” Montgomery said. “We’re still trying. We have made strides in the effort for world peace, so we keep trying.”
Nearly a hundred people reveled in the performance of the Joyful Noise taiko ensemble who made noise about peace. The youthful performers later adjourned to Rev. Nicole Sakurai who worked with them on origami projects, including the paper cranes which were symbolic of the story of Sadako Sasaki and her battle with “atom bomb disease.”
The International Day of Peace was created by the United Nations General Assembly in 2001, said Jim Jung, co-chair of the IROK. Hawaii became the first state in the nation to officially commemorate Peace Day in 2007 in harmony with the United Nations resolution.
IROK, celebrating its 10th anniversary, has organized an annual observance since.
The actual International Day of Peace is Sept. 21, said Gerald Hirata of the Kauai Soto Zen Temple. It will celebrate today with Partnerships for Peace potluck dinner and candlelight peace walk following special messages from Rev. Nicole Sakurai, Rev. Michael Christensen, and Michael Kirjnen.
The event will take place at the Storybook Theatre’s Sparky Matsunaga Garden from 5 to 8 p.m.
“We haven’t learned!” Those words which appeared in a Garden Island newspaper headline attributed to Military Intelligence Service veteran Norman Hashisaka resounded in the silence of attentive people as Jung read excerpts from the newspaper article in which Hashisaka expressed his desire for world peace.
Hashisaka was joined by fellow MIS veterans Jiro Yukimura and Quentin Belles, who also served beyond World War II into the Korean War, in recounting the effects of world war on people and the desire for world peace.
