Published: Aug. 3, 2024
Sometime in the night of July 11-12, the statue of Sadako Sasaki was stolen from Peace Park in Seattle, Washington.
Members of University Friends Meeting (UFM) worked together alongside many Seattle community members to clear the land of rubbish to create Peace Park. Floyd Schmoe paid for the statue of Sadako Sasaki with his Hiroshima Peace Prize award.
When we discovered the theft, we alerted police, filed a scrap metal alert, and contacted local news outlets and Japanese organizations to get the word out. We think recovery of the statue itself is unlikely at this point. We are heartbroken to lose our girl, who is a symbol of the importance of peace to children all over the world.
We are asking other Quaker meetings to help us raids funds for a replacement stature by hosting a "Fold-raiser for Sadako." This is a great opportunity to welcome children into peace activism, and talk about ongoing anti-war work. We are asking Friends to fold garlands of cranes, collect donations, and send the donations to University Friends Meeting. Contact [email protected] if you have any questions.
from Colleen Kimseylove, University Friends Meeting (7/30/2024)
Close-up photo by DreamsTime. Wide-shot photo by Madeline England.