36 Peace Monuments Dedicated in 2009

Right click image to enlarge.

B U D D H A

January 2009 - Jade Buddha for Universal Peace," Great Stupa of Universal Compassion, Sanhurst Town Road, Myers Flat, Victoria (Australia). Carved by Jade Thongtavee Company in Thailand from a rare boulder of translucent jade ("Polar Pride") which was discovered in Canada in 2000. "Perhaps the largest and most beautiful Buddha carved from gemstone quality jade. Including lotus and throne, over 3.5 metres (11.4 feet) tall... Inspired by the most famous Buddha in the world inside the Mahabodhi Stupa in Bodh Gaya (India)." On world tour 2009-2010. Image made in Huntington Beach, California (USA), in October 2010.

February 27, 2009 - "Peace," Yorkwoods Public School, Toronto, Ontario (Canada). "Students unveiled a beautiful eggshell mosaic entitled 'Peace' in the school’s front foyer. They came up with the idea of creating the mosaic as a way to show how by being peaceful at school, children from the 27 different cultures represented at the school can get along & be friends. Students chose the dove of peace as the central focus for the mural. Grades 1 to 5 students in the Yorkwoods Public School Art Club worked under the guidance of art teacher Alla Saidakovsky to produce the piece by painstakingly gluing each piece of eggshell--one tiny piece at a time--to their working board." Links courtesy of Alla Saidakovsky 08Dec2013.

March 21, 2009 - Peace Pole?, Shrine of Hazrat Ali (also known as the Blue Mosque), Mazar-i-Sharif (Afghanistan). "A large pole is raised at the shrine, marking the first day of the [Iranian] New Year 1388 in a ceremony that draws thousands of turbaned Pashtuns from the south, Tajiks in flat hats from the west, and Mongol-featured Hazaras to pray for peace at the blue monument built in honour of Ali, the fourth caliph of Islam."

March __, 2009 - Panay Peace Memorial Museum, Iloilo Nikkei Jin Kai (NJK) / Association of Filipino-Japanese Descendants, Iloilo City, Jaro District, Panay Island (Philippines). Inaugurated by 93-year old Toshimi Kumai who had been a Japanese soldier in the Philippines during WW-II and wrote “The Blood and Mud in the Philippines: Anti Guerrilla Warfare on Panay Island” in 1987.

March 26, 2009 - Serenity Garden, DPU Centennial Park, Orangeburg Memorial Gardens, Seeboard Street, Orangeburg, South Carolina (USA). “I want all of the citizens from Orangeburg and the surrounding areas to have a place to come and meditate and have peace,” said Theo Martin, administrator of UniHealth Post-Acute Care. “I think in all of our lives, we need to have peace and have that inner peacefulness.”

April 4, 2009 - “Ahimsa Painting,” Hyderabad (India). "Marking the assassination day of Martin Luther King Jr & the golden jubilee of his pilgrimage to India. The oil on canvas work depicting Gandhi, MLK & President Barak Obama, was done by ahimsa artist Ignatius Xavier Joseph." "4th April happens to make the MAGIC figure 44, the 44th President of America, Barak Obama, fulfilling the Dream of Martin Luther King Jr."

April 2009 - Celtic Peace Garden, IOSAS Centre, on Derry/Donegal border (Northern Ireland). IOSAS = "Island of Saints & Scholars." "The culmination of The Columba Community's work of reconciliation over the past 20 years. It is built near The White Oaks Centre & brings serenity & healing to visitors & to the residents of the Centre. Inspired by the 5th-12th Century spiritual renaissance in Europe, which followed the fall of the Roman Empire. The Garden, with its representations of the Cross of Patrick, the Boat of Brendan, the Island of Columba & the Oratory of Canice, inspires visitors to a spiritual re-awakening & renewal following the recent Troubles in this land. Also, a rough pathway round the perimeter affords Christian Pilgrims ample opportunity for reflective prayer." /// Image shows "Statue of The Risen Christ with the straw bale thatched roof oratory dedicated to St. Canice in the background. It has 21 beautiful stained glass windows telling the story of the saints of Ireland. The Statue & Windows were all designed by a Community Member, Maurice Harron, an internationaaly renowned sculptor."

April 25, 2009 - Vietnamese Boat People Monument, Westminster, Orange County, California (USA). Memorializes the tens of thousands who died in the high seas as they tried to escape communist Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon in April 1975. Built by Cam Ai Tran and Hap Tu Thai who escaped from Vietnam in 1979 by a boat which capcized, forcing them to swim ashore near Hai Nam Island in the South China Sea.

May 2009 - Pacific Rim Park, Puerto Princesa, Palawan Island (Philippines). Fifth of five parks sponsored by the Pacific Rim Park Project of San Diego, California (USA).

H O U S E

May 22, 2009 - Sculpture of Books, Bonn Square, Oxford (England). "A sculpture in bronze by Diana Bell. Presented to Oxford by the City of Bonn... Shows two piles of books: Some of the spines of the taller pile have KNOWLEDGE, TRUST, FRIENDSHIP, UNDERSTANDING engraved on them, while the smaller pile has the German equivalents: WISSEN, VERTRAUEN, FREÜNDSCHAFT, VERSTANDIGUNG. Uunveiled by the Lord Mayor of Oxford Mary Clarkson & Bezirksbürgermeister of Bonn Helmut Kollig." Info courtesy of Peter van den Dungen October 13, 2016.

July 12, 2009 - "Angel of Peace," Vallersund Farm, Bjugn, near Trøndelag (Norway). "One of its kind in Norway, but one of 80 around the world [sic]. Symbolizes peace & love. By artist Astrid Dahlsveen [1929-2012]. It will take you approx. 25 min. walking up from the parking lot. From the top you have a panoramic view of the archipelago of islands. Part of the UniHope Project, a worldwide network creating a silent chain of love, hope & compassion with the help of the 18 UniteHope angels of peace located around the world [sic]..."

June 25, 2009 - Peace Bell, Nicholas Roerich Museum, Novosibirsk, Siberia (Russia). "Reminds the humanity about their unity and inspires them to maintain peace on the Planet and protect the unique beauty of the Earth. Peace Bell symbolizes universality, solidarity, harmony and constructive endeavors of people of the whole world. Besides it fosters people to actively participate in preservation of nature, life, and culture heritage on our Planet... In Russia this tradition has been promoted and patronized since 1998 by Anatoly Nikolayevich Berezovoi, Soviet Cosmonaut, Hero of the Soviet Union [sic]." Information courtesy of Ekaterina Gracheva.

June 27, 2009 - Monument of Reconciliation, Poltava (Ukraine). "Marks the 300th anniversary of the Battle of Poltava [June 27, 1709]... Symbolizes the reconciliation of the peoples of Russia, Sweden & Ukraine who fought in the Great Northern War [1700-1721] – the largest military conflict of the 18th century...Designed by architect Valery Tregubov. Consists of three joined arches under a common cupola or dome with a bell of unity. Three pillars of the monument are decorated with mosaic flags of the Russian Federation, Sweden & Ukraine created by artist Leonid Totskiy. Each pillar bears the inscription 'Time heals all wounds' in the appropriate language. At the center of the monument is a short column crowned with the dove of peace created by sculptor Seiran Margaryan."

M U S E U M

, Historical Museum, Krakow (Poland). Click here for video. Affiliated with International Coalition of Sites of Conscience.

2009 - Manchester Peace Park, Podujevo, (Kosovo). "The Eden Project has been working in a long-term partnership with Manchester Aid to Kosovo (MAK) to develop an urban peace park in the town of Podujevo, which experienced cleansing in the civil war. Formally opened in 2009, the public space offers a sign of hope for the future as well as a way to remember & recover from the community’s trauma."

2009 - Gong Perdamaian Dunia / World Peace Gong, Ambon city centre, Ambon Island, Maluku Islands (Indonesia). "Erected to remind the people of Maluku & the visitors of a fundamental need for peace & security. On the surface of the gong, national flags of all countries around the world & the symbols pertaining to religions, including Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism & others, have been printed. According to Florence Sahusilawane, spokesperson for the Maluku Culture & Tourism Office, the gong has been attracting a lot of local & foreign tourists. She noted that the 34th world peace gong [sic] was set up in the centre of Ambon to inform the world that the area is safe for tourists. Florence said the World Peace Gong has been set up in the Maluku provincial city of Ambon instead of Indonesia`s capital city because peace & security has been restored in the province after a three-year sectarian violence."

May 24, 2014 - Martin Luther King Statue, MacGregor Park, Houston, Texas (USA). "Thirty years ago a group of Black activists planted tree to mark the place, on a median on MLK Boulevard, where they wanted to install a statue of Martin Luther King. In 2012 the tree had to be removed when Metro, Houston's transit authority, began construction on its light rail line. The director of the Black Heritage Society chained himself to the tree in protest, saying 'The first train may run over my dead body.' Known as the Tree of Life, it was eventually relocated to , and Metro paid $750,000 to create a memorial plaza near the tree. On one path that leads to the statue are quotes from King's 'I have a Dream' speech & the 'Letter from Birmingham Jail.' On the intersection path is inlaid a chronology of his life. It was dedicated in 2014. /// Information courtesy

2009 - "Give Peace a Chance," Mount Royal Park, Montreal, Quebec (Canada). St. Marc limestone 100 x 1700 x 600 cm / 3 ft. 3 in. x 56 ft. x 19 ft. 8 in. By Montreal artist Linda Covit. Commissioned by the City of Montreal. "The mountain is an important Montreal heritage site in the heart of the city, the layout originally conceived by Frederick Law Olmsted. The artistic intervention commemorates the 1969 John Lennon-Yoko Ono bed-in here. The crescent-shaped installation nestles one of the hairpin turns in the Serpentine, a winding path up the mountain's southern flank. The phrase 'give peace a chance' from the song written during that event, is translated into 40 languages spoken here, written in relief on stone slabs. Rough stone blocks mark the installation entranceway, provide seating & reference the stone of the mountain. Moss & ferns complete the work."

T R A I L

2009 - Robert G. Ingersoll Washington, D.C., Walking Tour, Washington Area Secular Humanists (WASH), Washington, DC (USA). Eleven tour stops related to famous orator, political speechmaker & outspoken agnostic Robert G. Ingersoll [1833-1899]. Original tour Gary C. Grassl, Silver Hill, Maryland. Second Edition updated & digitized in 2009 by Steven C. Lowe, Washington, DC.

2009? - "Let Peace Blossom," Konawaena High School, Kealakekua, Hawaii (USA). "Celebrating the inaugural of President Obama, student painted a peace mural, 12ft x 5ft." Contains peace symbol, waves, flowers, music dance & other Hawaiian themes. Words on left side: PEACE, LOVE, JOY, KINDNESS, HOPE, HARMONY, LAUGHTER, FRIENDSHIP, FUN, FREEDOM, UNITY, FAITH, HAPPINESS, TRUST, SERENITY, ALOHA.

July 3, 2009-Sept. 20, 2010 - "Flailing Trees," Manchester Peace Garden, Manchester (England). "By Gustav Metzger. 21 willow trees, stripped of branches, turned upside down & set in concrete. At the end of the Manchester International Festival it is due to be moved to the Whitworth Art Gallery. The sculpture is meant to represent man's desecration of the environment, making it impossible for living things to survive. Interestingly though, willow being what it is, at least one of the trees has survived the process, and there are green shoots sprouting along the trunk. I don't think this is intentional, but it adds an interesting irony to the sculpture."

July 7, 2009 - 7/7 Memorial, Hyde Park, London (England). A £1m memorial to the 52 people killed in the bombings in London on July 7, 2005. Consists of 52 stainless steel 3-meter pillars, one for each victim. These are grouped in four clusters, to mark the four locations of the attacks: Tavistock Square, Edgware Road, King's Cross and Aldgate. There is also a 1.4 tonne stainless steel plaque with the names of all those who were killed. At the dedication the Prince of Wales said: "The creation of a monument or memorial fulfils … a deeper need, for each one offers a path to peace and healing, each one honours the dead and each reminds us to live our lives in a way that would make them proud."

G A R D E N

July 14, 2009 - Desmond Tutu Peace Garden, Chinbrook Meadows Park, Chinbrook Road, Grove Park, Lewisham, North Kent (England). Archbishop Desmond Tutu lived in Grove Park in the 1970's & received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984. In 1972 Tutu was appointed vice-director of the Theological Education Fund of the World Council of Churches at Bromley in Kent. He returned to South Africa in 1975 & was appointed Anglican Dean of St. Mary's Cathedral in Johannesburg -- first African to hold that position. He will dedicate the park, & schoolchildren will read messages of peace & perform traditional African songs during a 90-minute ceremony.

T R A I L

July 19, 2009 - Amanda's Trail, Yachats, Oregon (USA). "A tribute to the Native Americans of the central Oregon coast & the tragedy that befell them as they were ripped from their native land to make room for white settlers... The story...began in 1864 when the US Cavalry rounded up the coastal Coos & Lower Umpqua tribes, forcibly & inhumanely driving them to walk the rugged route over sharp rocks & blackberry brambles to the designated reservation at the Alsea sub-agency, a dumping ground for coastal Indian tribes..." /// Site of the Amanda statue since 2003 (middle image) by local artist Sy Meadow & the "Yachats New Year's Day Peace Hike" since 2011. Information courtesy of Kathy French.

D E N K M A L September 1, 2009 - Deserteurdenkmal / Deserter Monument, Cologne (Germany). "Pays tribute in the form of a pergola of Swiss designer Ruedi Baur to deserters & war opponents from the time of National Socialism. Stands equidistant from 3 historically relevant buildings: The former armory (now a building of the Cologne City Museum), the EL-DE Haus, which ran the Gestapo once their torture chamber (now the Nazi Documentation Center) & the Administrative Court, were convicted in the building during the Nazi than a hundred people to death. 104 soldiers deserted in Cologne, mostly as a permanent so-called 'desertion,' sometimes only temporarily ('Unauthorized Removal'). In almost all cases, they were soldiers from the lower ranks. To read the inscription on the monument must be turned upward glance, it shows its text apparently written in the sky, without a solid background in colored aluminum letters on an area of 8 by 4 meters. Inscribed on the monument: 'Homage to the soldiers who refused to fire on the soldiers who refused to kill the people who refused to torture the people who refused to denounce the people who refused to brutalize people who refused to discriminate against people who refused to laugh at the people who showed courage, as the silent majority and followed.' [Google translation]" Info courtesy of Peter van den Dungen.

September 7, 2009 - UAW Tribute to Women, Sitdowners Memorial Park, Flint, Michigan (USA). "An original member of the Women's Emergency Brigade who came to the aid of the Sitdowners at General Motors in Flint in 1937, stands in front of a new monument that depicts the Sitdown Strike during the Unveiling of the 'UAW Tribute to Women' at the UAW Region 1-C headquarters on Labor Day. Women who took part in Flint's historic sit-down strike in 1937 were honored today at Sit-Downers Memorial Park."

September 9, 2009 - Hiroshima Peace Monument, Ottakring District, Vienna (Austria). "Some 100 people from Japan and Austria attended the unveiling Wednesday of a stone peace monument featuring a flagstone that was exposed to radiation in the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The Vienna monument is linked with a children's peace monument in Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park that is dedicated to Sadako Sasaki [1943-1955], a girl exposed to atomic radiation at the age of 2 & who died at age 12 from a radiation-caused illness. Austrian children's writer Karl Bruckner [1906-1982] authored "Sadako will leben" ("The Day of the Bomb") in 1961 with Sasaki as its heroine. The book has been translated into more than 20 languages. Citizens' groups in Hiroshima & Vienna decided to build the stone monument in the Austrian capital's Ottakring district, Bruckner's home area, to mark the 140th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Japan & Austria. The Hiroshima Municipal Government contributed the flagstone from Hiroshima's old City Hall. It measures 180 cm high & weighs about 800 kg. It is inscribed with the words "world peace" in Japanese & German."

September 20, 2009 - Peace & Justice Plaza, Chapel Hill, North Carolina (USA). Renaming of the Old Post Office Plaza. " The following individuals currently are honored on the historic marker: Charlotte Adams, Hank Anderson, James Brittian, Yonni Chapman, Rebecca Clark, Joe Herzenberg, the Rev. Charles M. Jones, Dan Pollitt, Mildred Ringwalt, Hubert Robinson, Joe Straley, Lucy Straley & Gloria Williams. Nominees for the marker must have demonstrated a lifelong commitment to furthering the causes of peace & justice in Chapel Hill, & they are individuals who are no longer living."

September 20, 2009 - "Who Sends Thee?," between Watson Library and the Meriam R. Hare Quaker Heritage Center, Wilmington College, Wilmington, Ohio (USA). "750-pound bronze statue features Quakers and tells a uniquely Quaker story. Indeed, members of the Society of Friends were behind much of its $84,000 fundraising effort... Reflects the Quaker Testimonies of peace, integrity, simplicity, community and equality. Depicts locals Quakers, Isaac and Sarah Harvey, on their way to Washington D.C. to speak with President Abraham Lincoln about the emancipation of enslaved persons in 1862."

September 21, 2009 - Leeds Peace Trail, Leeds (England). Nineteen peace sites, including Mandela Gardens, Mayors for Peace Monument & Nuclear Test Veterans' Memorial Stone (qv). Presented in a 32-panel old-out brochure (of which one side is the map shown in the image). Supported by Leeds City Council, Together for Peace (T4P), and The Peace Museum (of Bradford, England).

October 3, 2009 - Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Statue, Gandhi Park, Old County Courthouse, Trade & Alexander Streets, Charlotte, North Carolina (USA). Dedicated by Charlotte Asian Heritage Association (CAHA).

October 8, 2009 - Holocaust Memorial, Bucharest (Romania). "In memory of some 300,000 Jews and Gypsies killed during the Holocaust in the country... Romanian authorities set up the Elie Wiesel International Commission on the Holocaust in 2003 after one ministry in the Social Democratic government denied there had been a Holocaust in Romania during World War II."

October 14, 2009 - Walt Whitman Monument, Moscow State University, Moscow (Russia). Dedicated by US Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton (right image). "Reciprocal for the statue of Alexander Pushkin (left image) that was placed on the campus of The George Washington University in Washington, DC," in June 1999.

October 29, 2009 - China-US Peace & Friendship Sculpture, Recreation Center, Georgia State University (GSU), Piedmont Avenue & Decatur Street, Atlanta, Georgia (USA). One of six such sculptures in the US & China. The words "peace" and "friendship" are engraved in Chinese, English, French, Spanish and Arabic. Inscription: "We casted peace and friendship, the most desired and cherished words of man kind into this sculpture as a present to the hometown of President Jimmy Carter from thousands of miles away, China. This sculpture is to commemorate the 30th anniversary of establishment of formal diplomatic relations between China and the United States, which symbolizes the sincere hopes and best wishes of Chinese people for lasting peace and friendship between our two countries."

November 2009 - Global Peace Ring, Amin & Co., Suha Bazaar, Lahore (Pakistan). "World's biggest ring." Seven goldsmiths toiled for 577 days to create the 50 x 57 inch ring weighing 74 kilograms. From owner Muhammad Amin Saleem: " 210 FLAGS on the surface of my Ring are an indication of Global Unity and Integrity which is the dream of every eye in this complex modern world... By the grace of Allah, the ceaseless labour of my team and the prayers of my nearest and dearest ones, I feel pride of having the honour in accomplishing the dream of my late father (may God bless his soul rest of eternal heaven) who longed for such a marvellous ring as a token of Love and Peace for the whole world. Global peace has been in constant threat for many years. The only way out is the establishment of Peace Free from territorial bias and prejudice. Peace has its own victories no less renowned than war." Info courtesy of Julie Obermeyer.

December 6, 2009 - "Gratitude to America. America is the victory of peace," along The Baywalk (between Miami Circle & Brickell Park), Miami, Florida (USA). Borders the Related Group’s Icon Brickell. "A 15-foot bronze monument by Russian sculptor Gregory Pototsky." "Conveys the ideas of democracy, freedom & tolerance." "Erected by Universal Artistik (founded in 2008 to represent artists from all over the world) together with Related group (one of the largest global development companies that built the Time Warner towers in New York)."

December 10, 2009 - Obama Nobel Peace Mural, Miami Art Palace, 7900 SW 77 Avenue, Miami, Florida (USA). Measures 200 feet long by 8 feet tall. Made of 700 original paintings devoted to one subject, USA Transformation. Unveiled the same day that President Obama travels to Oslo (Norway) to accept his Nobel Peace Prize. Presented by the Peace Mural Foundation. The artist Huong says, "I was in Washington, DC, on Inauguration Day, with 1.8 million others... These panels reflect what I saw and felt on that day and what I have been seeing and hearing in the months since... As the Nobel Committee noted, in Obama’s America, 'Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts.' So stop for a moment. See what dialogue looks like, and hear the many voices. YES, WE CAN hear each other with respect. It’s the path to peace."