Catch up on "Christmas Island, nuclear tests and Britain’s responsibility"
Posted: 4th June 2021
Speaker: John Cooper is Director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation. He has worked previously for agencies that help churches engage in advocacy and action to help shape the world into something more just, including Christian Aid and the Joint Public Issues Team. In 2020, he travelled to Fiji with the World Council of Churches to learn about Britain’s history of nuclear testing in the Pacific Region.
Grappling with the Past to build a Peaceful Future
John talks about the heritage of Britain’s Nuclear Testing in the Pacific Region (recently covered in BBC One’s “Call the Midwife”). Having explored the health and environmental concerns, he then poses a question. If we believe black lives matter, does that mean recognising the real impact of the nuclear testing when calling for a nuclear free future?
Below is some further information circulated by the speaker.
Dear Sjoerd and Jenny
Thank you both for this evening and facilitating my attendance tonight. It was good to be with you all and to share some of what I encountered and was prompted to think about.
As promised, a few items of follow up:
FoR facilitated talks about the Pacific Situation:
- The Rev James Bhagwan talks about the current nuclear shadow over the Pacific – https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=5T4oS2EmbAk
Dr Becky Alexis-Martin (Manchester Metropolitain University ) talks of her travels and what it brought to her attention: – https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=tzB-Yl2yX0o
- Regarding compensation for nuclear testing – it’s an ongoing situation in the USA (see end of this report) and France is still being lobbied as well – (see this report)
- I was careful to reference both British Military Veterans and also people who lived on the islands as both suffered in different ways. The British Nuclear Test Veterans Association can be found – https://www.bntva.com/
- This is a good year to think about all things nuclear. Christian CND celebrates its anniversary and the FOR honorary President is part of the many people invited to address their anniversary gathering: http://christiancnd.org.uk/12july/< /A>
- The work of FOR includes promoting Peace Sunday, this year on 19th September 2021, which is the Sunday closest to the United Nations Day of Peace. We encourage people to raise funds for FOR and to take action for peace. As a way of giving a glimpse of the positives of peace, not just appearing when we have things to protest against! www.for.org.uk/peacesunday gives details of last year. This years theme will be ‘what does peace require of me’ and material should be available from the end of July.
I’ll send a separate email about climate change.
Sincerely
John
John Cooper
(He/him)
Director
The Fellowship of Reconciliation
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