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“I have dedicated my life to raising public awareness about the dangers of nuclear weapons and that the total elimination of nuclear weapons is the only way to have security.”

Setsuko Thurlow
HNDC coalition member and survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima

The Peace Builders: The Hiroshima Nagasaki Day Coalition documents Toronto’s Hiroshima Nagasaki Day Coalition (HNDC) a non-partisan coalition of peace, faith and community groups in the Greater Toronto Area. For over 35 years the HNDC has been educating citizens and government on the dangers of nuclear weapons and advocating for the total abolition of nuclear weapons.

Every August the HNDC hosts a commemoration ceremony to ensure that the human suffering and destruction inflicted by the first atomic bombings in 1945 is not forgotten. In August of 2019 Michael Barker asked coalition members to respond to the question “How have the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki affected you personally?” The Peace Builders combines their written responses with portraits of the eleven participants taken in Toronto’s Peace Garden. The project commemorates both the bombings and the HNDC’s dedicated peace activism.

The Peace Builders

Portrait of Setsuko Thurlow standing by the Eternal Flame in the Peace Garden at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto.

Setsuko Thurlow

Portrait of Katy McCormick standing in the Peace Garden at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto.

Katy McCormick

Portrait of Vinay Jindal in the Peace Garden at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto.

Vinay Jindal

Portrait of Mary Ellen Fancoeur standing in the Peace Garden at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto.

Mary-Ellen Francoeur

Portrait of Sid Ikeda in the Peace Garden at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto.

Sid Ikeda

Portrait of Barbara Birkett standing in the Peace Garden at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto.

Barbara Birkett

Portrait of Michael Nevin sitting in the Peace Garden at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto.

Michael Nevin

Portrait of Rosemary Keenan standing in the Peace Garden at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto.

Rosemary Keenan

Portrait of Phyllis Manning Creighton sitting in the Peace Garden at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto.

Phyllis Manning Creighton

Portrait of Alex Pereklita standing in the Peace Garden at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto.

Alex Pereklita

Portrait of Earl Smith sitting in the Peace Garden at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto.

Earl Smith