Environmental Justice (Addressing the Nuclear Crisis)
Aaron Wiggins Global Ministries Missionary and the Pacific Conference of Churches address the nuclear testing issue in the Pacific.
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Good morning Global Ministries!
I trust that this email finds you well and
in good spirits. As you know, I am based in Suva, Fiji with the Pacific
Conference of Churches (PCC) where I advocate for environmental justice. One of
my obligations is to address issues of climate change. I have been actively
engaged in this matter along with other members of our climate change desk. You
may also recall that I was sent to Fiji in order to address issues of nuclear
testing, as well.
Moreover, as the result of an Executive
Committee mandate during the 2008 General Assembly, the PCC was tasked to
address the ills of nuclear testing in the Pacific. To date, the PCC has been
primarily devoted to the climate change and resettlement fight (and
understandably so). But, I have recently taken the initiative to shoulder the
issue of nuclear testing as an immediate priority for the PCC.
After several emails with the Japan
Council against Atomic & Hydrogen Bombs, I have been invited to participate
in a significant gathering. This council has extended an invitation for me to
attend the 2011 Conference against Atomic & Hydrogen Bombs in Hiroshima and
Nagasaki, 3-9 August. The conference will mark the 66th Anniversary of the
atomic bombings in Hiroshima (6 August, 1945) and Nagasaki (9 August, 1945).
After receiving the invitation I raised
the matter with the PCC staff. The staff made a unanimous decision in support
of my participation.
The significance of my attendance is
two-fold. First, it will be a first step for the PCC in addressing the nuclear
crisis. My presence will express the organization’s solidarity with those
around the globe who advocate against nuclear testing. Second, I am an
American, and the United States is responsible for the atomic bombings of WWII.
Therefore, I will be able to stand as a citizen of the culpable country and
denounce this incendiary and precarious horror.
My email is also two-fold. For one, it is
important to keep you abreast of my service here in Fiji. You cannot offer
support unless you are hip to my work and progress. In the second place, I am
writing to solicit your involvement in this matter. The council has produced a
petition in support of an “Appeal for a Total Ban on Nuclear Weapons”
to be presented at the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference in May
2012. My desire is that this petition be circulated among all individuals
associated with Global Ministries.
There are two ways in which you can sign
the petition. The first is to sign electronically. The online petition can be
found at http://www.antiatom.org/FS-APL/FS-Form/form.cgi?Code=SigCam-E
You will be asked to enter your name,
address, and email. These signatures will be directly uploaded.
The second way to sign the petition is to
download the PDF version. The PDF petition can be found at http://www.antiatom.org/sig-press/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/2011shomei-E.pdf
Once petition signatures are secured,
please send the form via fax to The Pacific Conference of Churches: Attn: Aaron
Wiggins at (+679) 330-3205 or scan and email to aaronwggns@yahoo.com
Furthermore, this will allow me to hand
deliver these signatures upon my arrival to Hiroshima.
I am also collecting signatures from the
PCC and several other entities here in Suva. The aim is to present as many
signatures as possible.
This is a wonderful opportunity to speak
out against a threat that has destroyed lands and lives. Global Ministries has
sent me to Fiji for such a time as this. Let us act together. And let us act
now.
Many thanks,
Aaron Nash Wiggins