Good afternoon.

First, I am thankful that I can be with you here. and tell my story for world peace.

When I was 21 years old, I broke my back and for one year I lay in bed. Somebody gave me an origami book. And I first folded the crane. I had surgery but that did not help, and through my spinal problems, I spent in all more then seven years in my bed. Crawling to the bathroom and not being able to go outside. I had a lot of time to think and to make origami now I have more than 3,000 original origami designs, and hope to publish them in a Booklet. To understand my story, I need your imagination. So I ask you if you can close your eyes.

Please. BIG and SMALL. You walk down the beach you hear the sea, the wind blowing through your hair and the sun tickles your skin. It’s a beautiful day.  You bend down and you pick up a handful of sand, then grab one grain of sand, which stands for the sun, the earth and all of the other planets. Then it’s night and you’re looking to the starry sky. If you realize that there are more stars in the universe, than grains of sand on all the beaches and deserts on the whole of the earth. Then you realize how small we are.

Remember this i will come back to this later. It’s black and it’s white. IT IS BLACK, NO IT IS WHITE The world is upside down! There are divisions everywhere Destruction, hatred and war! It is black I can go on talking about: how much money is spent on the war industry. But I do not. I can go on talking about: How many wars there have been. In the history of mankind but I do not. I can go on talking about: how terrible weapons there are to take to war. but I do not. I can go on talking about: how many lies are spread but I do not. You can find this information in books and on the Internet. We live in a very special time. A time of prosperity. An time of knowledge. A time of awakening. We now have capabilities that are unequaled in our history. We can grow more food than ever, and we can look better in the universe than ever before.We have access to more knowledge than ever. We can fly around the world in one day. But we can also destroy the world with one press of a button!

My grandmother always said when I was a child: No fighting, war is so bad. No fighting, war is so bad. But I had no idea what it actually meant. Nature is plundered and destroyed. but I had no idea what it actually meant. At school I learned about all wars. but I had no idea what it actually meant. When I was 16 years old I demonstrated against nuclear weapons. But I had no idea what it actually meant.

It is August 6, 1945 at 8:15 am again a summer day. Men were on foot or by bike going to work, women were doing the laundry and children were playing outside. When there was a flash just like a 1000 suns, and a wind like a 1000 hurricanes. Life as they knew it was over and it would never be the same. 78,000 women, men and children died in one moment . These people were lucky. People were so badly burned and blinded that they jumped into the river and drowned. Even these people were lucky. Death was a relief. Many people who survived were so badly burned that they wanted death, but did not find it. They sought for help but did not find help. There were no more hospitals and doctors there was no help there was no lighting there was no consolation. The worst thing was they had no water. This was Hiroshima August 6, 1945. There are 240,000 who died from the effects of the atomic bomb. Life was with one flash turned into a hell. 9 August at 11:02 fell a 2nd bomb on Nagasaki. With the same effects. I could tell you about this much longer, and that I should but unfortunately there is no more time.

In 2003 began the 2nd Gulf War,  and I disliked that so much that I created a peace foundation, oriented with origami crane on the main symbol. The crane stands for love, peace and health, and if you fold one for someone you wish them love, peace and health. So I made more than 15,000 origami cranes and gave them to people with this message. In 2007 I designed 1000 cranes from one piece of paper. The paper was 15 cm wide and 150 meters long. In the 3 months that had taken to make it. I was with my thought in Hiroshima and the girl Sadako. Sadako was two years old when the bomb fell and 13 years old, when she got radiation sickness and ended up in the hospital. She heard that if you fold 1000 cranes you can make a wish and then she wanted to fold 1000 crane birds for world peace . She died in the hospital. Therefore I made 1000 cranes from one piece of paper for the city of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and donated them to those city’s.

Then I got on invitation to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I went in 2010 and then I saw for the first time what had really happened on August 6 and 9, 1945. At the moment there are 8 countries that together have more than 30,000 nuclear weapons. On average 10 times greater than those of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And on average there are living five times more people in those cities. If a nuclear bomb would fall now, there would be more than one million victims and it will be very likely that more countries would use the atomic bomb. The worst thing that can happen in life is that your child, your wife or husband, father or mother dies. Every life is precious each time it is a personal tragedy when you lose someone through illness or old age. But war is a crime that is initiated by a small group. This group spread lies, this group is about power, this group is about money. Recall the grain of sand how big the universe is and how small the earth is, and how small we are. The universe will not change if we destroy each other.

The earth will not perish and will simply turn his little circle around the sun. But life for humans and animals will change forever. Now look around you. everyone is important every one has a talent. Each person requires : clean drinking water food a roof over his head heat or cooling love It is black, no it is white! The world is not black and not white. It is “world is full kleur”. We now face as a man and woman a choice: We fight for anger and war. Whether we are fighting for love and peace. What do you do?

Written by Marten Sale Brouwer ( Manna Ori ) 18-9-2014