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Life Onboard |
LAST UPDATE
July 12, 2005
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| May 30, 2005 |
A Message for Peace – Allen Nelson |
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| For his final performance, Allen performed a song he wrote called “Peace Boat Blues” |
“Dear Friends,
War will never bring us peace. Let’s work together for world peace.
Peace and love to you always.”
The final message from Allen Nelson, peace activist and Vietnam veteran, speaks volumes about his philosophy in life. In his final lecture, he spoke of his return to Vietnam after 37 years and his hopes for the future. With mixed emotions, Allen was encouraged that Da Nang had turned into a city of life and laughter. “In many ways I was born in Vietnam,” he continued, “because the Allen Nelson that came to Vietnam believed in war and violence, but the Allen Nelson that returned to America no longer believes in war and violence.” He was thankful to see the faces of Vietnamese children who live without fear of bombings and attacks. |
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| Allen’s lecture poster created by participants who volunteer to work with Allen, from the preparation of his lectures to helping with daily life onboard the ship |
On behalf of the people affected by Agent Orange, Allen reiterated his support toward this issue and revealed that he feared his daughter would be born with deformities since many children born to US soldiers were also affected by Agent Orange. Upon meeting children victimized by Agent Orange during the Peace March in Vietnam, Allen was moved to again insist that the US pay reparations for spraying dioxins over Vietnam.
Expressing great regret that the US continues to wage war against other countries even after the destruction of the Vietnam War – in Grenada, Panama, Afghanistan, and Iraq, Allen said that “war and violence will never make us safe. It only creates more war and violence.” Coming from the less-than-free and democratic reality that minorities and people of color face at home in the US, Allen Nelson does not believe the US can or will create true freedom and democracy in Iraq. This is why he feels fortunate to have met the Iraqi guests on Peace Boat, who, unlike the voice of the military or government, represent the real voices from Iraq. They have exposed the reality of the Iraqi people’s “democracy” and also humanized the Iraqi people as “we eat with them, sit with them and talk with them about the occupation of their country.”
Allen encouraged participants to get involved in peace work since “we cannot wait for another million people to be killed in war.” In particular, he urged young adults to talk and share with the older generation to learn about the fire bombings of Tokyo, the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the food rations and the US occupation of Japan during and after World War Two from those who experienced it. The prosperity that the current generation enjoys is a result of past hardships as well as due to the presence of Article 9’s renunciation of war in Japan’s Constitution. As a final request, Allen appealed to the participants to take “these lessons from Peace Boat back home” by supporting the maintenance of Article 9: “We are the people and we will not support war anymore.” |
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