"We are the ones who will construct a peaceful 21st century." On August 6th at the Peace Memorial Ceremony, Representatives of children read their "Peace Pledge." The two children were Yasunari Hatakeyama (11), a sixth grade student at Yano Nishi Elementary School in Aki-ku, Hiroshima City, and Yuka Fujimori (11), a sixth grade student at Danbara Elementary School in Minami-ku, Hiroshima City. The children's plain-speaking vow to work for peace embraced such matters as environmental destruction.

"We will study more deeply the unyielding strength of our forebears in Hiroshima who lived in the 20th century. We will learn to tell the stories and pass them on." Hatakeyama delivered this phrase with great feeling, going on to speak of his grandmother's A-bomb experience. His grandmother had tended to injured people groaning in agony. He said, "To bring peace, we must know history and understand the world situation."

Fujimori's statement reflected her own feelings. "We must work continually to solve our own problems, one by one. We must create small havens of peace around us." Fujimori had participated in the Children's Association's fund-raising last year. This experience taught her, "To make peace, friends must encourage one another and cooperate."

The Pledge incorporated the views of 18 elementary school students expressed during the Peace Summit held by the Hiroshima City Board of Education in June in Naka-ku. These 18 students also attended the ceremony and listened to the delivery of the Pledge.

(caption) Fujimori (left) and Hatakeyama read their Peace Pledge in ringing tones.