Salem Vigil on Monday Set to Salute Japanese Resolve

This is the first-of-its-kind vigil held in Salem to address a major international catastrophe.

Mayors of Kawagoe and Salem renew Sister-City contracts in 2010. Courtesy: salem-heritage-network.blogspot.com

(SALEM, Ore.) - Imagine celebrating courage in the face of horrendous tragedy. Salem is ready to take that leap. It will be done in the form of a Peace Vigil this Monday, the 11th of April, marking one month since the tsunami struck the heartland of Japan.

Marie' Sakai's online free-verse poem, actually a narrative, is called "A Thousand Paper Cranes and a Nuclear Plant Cooling". She wrote it on March 20th. It captures several heroic feats that took place in the aftermath of the tsunami.

Its tone praises the "resilience" of the Japanese nation to successfully endure difficult times. She is a graduate of West Salem HS and Univ. of Puget Sound in Tacoma, and also plays the violin. Her mother once worked at Tokyo International University.

She's set to team up with Mark Babson on violin to sing "Climb Every Mountain" as an upbeat finale to Monday's Citywide Vigil in tribute to Japan. She works for the Keizer Art Assn. at present.

WU Chaplain Charlie Wallace will conduct the Invocation Prayer, followed by Mayor Peterson's moving proclamation to set the tone. Japan's Consul General and two recent graduates from the Tokyo International University in Salem will also share poignant stories of the earthquake's impact on their homeland. Updates from both Mercy Corps and American Red Cross will be delivered.

This is the first-of-its-kind vigil held in Salem to address a major international catastrophe.

Salem has a sister city called Kawagoe, near Tokyo, which reinforces our transoceanic ties. The organizers include a freelance journalist and a retired Methodist minister of 85.

More details available by calling 503--365-7-LEE.