Hawaii County’s inaugural Peace Week got off to a wet start Sunday as residents and county officials marched a mile in the rain.
At the Mooheau Bandstand, Mayor Mitch Roth proclaimed that the next seven days will be Peace Week, encompassing the International Day of Peace on Wednesday, and featuring a series of events around the island.
“Peace is an intentional commitment,” Roth said. “Achieving peace is more than laying down arms. It’s about treating people equally.”
The weeklong celebration will include a series of dedications for peace poles around the island. Charlene Iboshi, chair of the Rotary Club of South Hilo’s Peace Committee, said there will be 30 peace poles on the island after the week is over, adding that the monuments are “a way for people to reflect” on the peace in their own communities.
“Peace begins with us,” Iboshi said. “All we can do is take individual steps and promote peace within our own communities.”
Iboshi also encouraged attendees to fold paper cranes as a classical Japanese symbol for peace. Bundles of cranes, donated by the Puna Hongwanji Mission, adorned the Bandstand, each containing 1,000 cranes made from recycled paper.
Following a performance by Puna Taiko, Roth began a one-mile Peace Walk around the Hilo Bayfront Trails, joined by Lt. Gov. and gubernatorial candidate Josh Green, Hilo Bayfront Trails Vice President and County Council District 2 candidate Matthias Kusch, as well as about 30 attendees. Roth’s Executive Assistant Barett Otani said the walk doubled as an opportunity to “activate” the newly completed trails around the Bayfront Soccer Fields.
As though on cue, a downpour began almost immediately after the Peace Walk began, letting up only periodically during the circuit. Despite this, the walk went on cheerfully, with the taiko performers setting a brisk pace.
Otani said the Peace Walk is the first of a monthly series of “Walks with the Mayor,” wherein Roth will invite residents to walk with him along public trails. He added that Peace Week itself may become an annual county event, but was uncertain whether that has been officially decided yet.
Also attending the Peace Walk were protesters demonstrating against the presence of the military at the Pohakuloa Training Area. Activist Jim Albertini said it was “hypocritical” of Roth to declare a Peace Week just two days after voicing his support for the military renewing its lease of PTA in a Friday interview with Hawaii News Now.
Protesters will hold a demonstration outside the PTA main gate on Wednesday urging the cancellation of the military’s PTA lease.
Further Peace Week events will include peace pole dedications at the County Building at 8 a.m. today ; 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Hilo International Airport; 9 a.m. Thursday at Ka‘u Hospital; 2 p.m. Thursday at the Gilbert Kahele Recreation Area; noon Friday at the Mooheau Bandstand in Hilo; and at 10 a.m. Sunday at Puna Hongwanji.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.