<< Back 7/31/02 Anti-nuke protesters want Oak Ridge closed Monks lead peace walk through WNC By Cristina Reitz Last Friday, a group of people on the eleventh leg of what will ultimately be a 20-day, 282-mile journey made their way through Western North Carolina. The group was comprised of people from throughout the United States and countries like Australia and Japan. There were elementary school children and retirees. As diverse as this small group was – there were no more than 20 marchers – they all had one thing in common — a desire for peace. More specifically, the desire to see an end to nuclear missile production at the Y-12 plant in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The Y-12 plant was originally built as part of the Manhattan Project in 1943. Established to separate uranium isotopes for use in nuclear weaponry, the Y-12 plant was birthplace to Little Boy, the atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Today, Oak Ridge Laboratories deal with other nuclear applications as well, such as astrophysics, but the Y-12 plant is still used to manufacture nuclear weapons. Along with weapons, Y-12 creates many environmental problems, a fact even the government admits. According to a 1996 report from the U.S. Department of Energy, “Routine operations of the test reactors and laboratories as well as operations in support of defense programs at these facilities [i.e. Oak Ridge plants and labs] have left a legacy of radioactive and hazardous waste problems.” Included in this legacy are “low-level radioactive material (primarily uranium), organic solvents, corrosive waste, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and heavy metals (primarily mercury).” This waste is in the soil, ground and surface water, buildings and equipment near the facility. Oak Ridge has made steps toward rectifying this situation, but opponents of the plant feel that cleaning more than 50 years worth of waste is practically impossible as long as bomb production continues. This year marks the fourth annual Peace Pilgrimage to Oak Ridge led by the Buddhist monks of the Nipponzan Myohoji order. The pilgrimage is part of the Stop the Bombs campaign; a series of events sponsored in large part by the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance (OREPA). The campaign is a continuous endeavor with educational and/or protest projects planned for nearly every minor holiday and a vigil every Sunday at the gates of Y-12. The main event in the Stop the Bombs campaign is a two-day workshop and rally every August in Oak Ridge. An all-day nonviolence workshop will be held Aug. 3 at 10 a.m. On Aug. 4, protesters begin marching toward the gates of the Y-12 plant. At the gates, protesters can either stay at the tented area — which is more like a festival than a protest with live music, food, kid’s games — or they can, and often do, risk arrest by crossing police lines. The pilgrimage, which left from Atlanta, is planned so that walkers will end up in Oak Ridge just in time for the workshop and rally. Beginning on July 13, marchers walk anywhere from 12-20 miles a day with only two days of rest and one day to visit the peace pagoda being built in Tennessee by the Nipponzan Myohoji. On the day they passed through Jackson County, those who were in it for the long haul had already come 163 miles. But aside from being a little sunburned, the walkers didn’t look the worse for wear. There were only a handful of people who had come all the way from Atlanta and who would continue all the way to Oak Ridge, but at every part of the march, people from that particular area joined them to walk a day, a few hours or even just a few minutes. Starting at the Huddle House in Dillsboro, the group headed out single file onto U.S. 74. The group received a few dirty looks from passing cars though, for the most part, were received with apathy or a friendly honk and wave. There was some light banter among the marchers but mostly there was silence except for the chants and drums of a few. The walk is taken very seriously. At the potluck and prayer the night before, Liana Johannabar explained the importance of this pilgrimage. “Our walk is a prayer and our prayer is for peace.” For more information on how to get involved with the Stop the Bombs campaign, visit www.stopthebombs.org.