Tinian hosts solemn peace rites

Tinian held its 6th annual Tinian Nagasaki Hiroshima Peace Ceremony on Aug. 6 amidst intermittent rain showers that forced the ceremony’s movement from the Children’s Peace Monument to the Kammer Beach main pavilion.

The cloudy skies above Tinian set a somber mood for the Sounding of the Sirens ceremony that took place at 9am. Roughly 60 community members attended the morning ceremony with most of the audience composed of students from Tinian High School and Koryo High School, Tinian High School’s sister-school from Hiroshima.

Erica Evangelista served as the mistress of ceremonies for both the morning ceremony and the evening vigil, and conducted the ceremony in both English and Japanese for the benefit of the visiting high school students and teachers from Hiroshima.

At 9:15am, a one-minute moment of silence was observed while sirens sounded from emergency vehicles from Tinian’s Department of Public Safety. A sudden downpour of rain as the sirens went off made for a poignant moment during the ceremony, underscoring the sober feelings of the occasion.

Immediately following the sounding of the sirens and moment of silence was a multi-faith prayer for peace by representatives Sister Luz from the Catholic Church, Vili A. Villan of the Seven Day Adventist, and Pastor Buddy Cunanan of Jesus is Lord.

The evening Candlelight Peace Vigil was a less formal affair that started at 7:10pm at the Kammer Beach pavilion. The vigil began with participants helping to light the nearly 300 candles that decorated the main pavilion. Conducted entirely by candlelight, the vigil was intimate and filled with warmness that perfectly matched the music and poetry performances by the Tinian’s youth.

The evening presentations began with a rendition of John Lennon’s “Imagine” by the Tinian Children’s Choir followed by a display of peace cranes by representatives of Hiroshima Koryo High School and Tinian Junior Senior High School.

The 13 students from Hiroshima Koryo High School also performed a song Japanese song called Peace Loving People. The evening also featured a poetry reading by Tinian High School student Alisha Shrestha who recited an original poem written for the ceremony titled Peace. The final performance of the evening came from local Tinian recording artists Anthony Aguon and Nikita Mendiola. The duo performed a medley of U2’s One and Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On?

“I think it was a nice ceremony this year. Although it was small, I think the candles and music was something special, and I hope our guests from Hiroshima enjoyed the event,” said Ann Marie Hocog, one of the organizers of this year’s ceremony.

“And, we would especially like to thank the many people and businesses that had donated so much to this year’s events, without their help none of this would have been possible,” said Hocog. [B][I](PR)[/I][/B]