Hawaii Announces Nonviolence Campaign

HONOLULU - Sept. 10, 2014 - PRLog -- Joining with tens of thousands of participants in all fifty states, Hawaii’s people will gather on the grounds of ‘Iolani Palace on Sunday, September 21, 4:00-8:00 PM, to celebrate the Queen Lili’uokalani International Day of Peace with prayer, song, conversation and entertainment.  Palani Vaughn, Leon Siu and Umi Sexton are among the featured musicians on the program.

September 21, declared a day of peace by the United Nations, opens a full week of more than 160 local actions across the country.  Under the banner of Campaign Nonviolence, participants will hold marches, demonstrations, and vigils, calling for a new culture of peace and nonviolence—free from war, poverty and environmental destruction.  The campaign—launched in 2013 by Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service—will also join on Sunday with the People’s Climate March in New York City, where world  leaders will gather for a historic summit to address climate change.

During the week, September 21-27, Hawai’i peace and justice advocates will engage in a number of activities—beginning at Iolani Palace on Sunday and ending on Saturday with Malama Makua’s Ho’olaulea (10 AM-4:30 PM), celebrating 10 years of freedom from military live-fire in the Makua Valley. In between, there will a forum on alternatives to prison (St. Andrew's Cathedral, Monday, 3:30 PM), luncheon for homeless people at Wai’anae Boat Harbor (Wednesday, 10 AM), March for Medical Mercy by Pacific Islanders (Thursday, 10 AM, from St. Elizabeth Church, Kalihi, to Federal Building), a forum on reconcilation and healing for Korea's Jeju Island (UH Law School, 4-5:30 PM) and a peace vigil at Hilo’s Federal Building on Friday (3:30-5:00 PM).

The local campaign marks the culmination of a year-long program of nonviolence training by the Pacific Peace Forum, sponsored by the Cathedral of St. Andrew and the Pacific Justice and Reconciliation Center.  Among local sponsors of the campaign are Kingdom of Hawai’i, several Native Hawaiian groups, Malama Makua, Hawai’i Interfaith Alliance, Pacific Islanders in Community Action, Micronesians United, Matsunaga Institute of Peace, Hawai’i Forgiveness Project, the Community Alliance on Prisons, and the Zhou Enlai Peace Institute.

Campaign Nonviolence seeks to perpetuate the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi, Queen Lili’uokalani, Martin Luther King, Cesar Chavez and, in our own day, Archbishop Desmond Tutu.  Shortly before his death, Dr. King offered this challenge: “Humanity must put an end to war or war will put an end to humanity … It is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence.  It  is either nonviolence or nonexistence.”

Information: Wally Inglis  (808) 734-2313, wallyinglis@yahoo.com

Related community calendar events:

http://paceebene.org/event/cnv-action-honolulu-hi/