Thursday, January 29, 2004

On the night of 14/15 November 1940 much of the Coventry city centre was destroyed. Yet, only six weeks after the bombing the cathedral’s provost, Dick Howard, did a radio broadcast from the ruins asking the British people to say ‘No’ to revenge and ‘Yes’ to forgiveness.

The English city of Coventry has a long and honourable tradition in peace building.

On the night of 14/15 November 1940 much of the city centre, including the 14th-century cathedral, along with twelve armaments factories, were destroyed. It introduced a new word into the German language ‘koventrieren’ to ‘coventrate’ that is to annihilate. Yet, only six weeks after the bombing the cathedral’s provost, Dick Howard, did a radio broadcast from the ruins asking the British people to say ‘No’ to revenge and ‘Yes’ to forgiveness.

Now the name Coventry has quite a different meaning - peace. Its International Centre for Reconciliation is involved in peace building initiatives all over the world, for instance helping broker the Kaduna Peace Declaration of Religious Leaders and the First Alexandria Declaration of the Religious Leaders of the Holy Land. Its present director, Canon Andrew White is carrying forward Dick Howard’s reconciling vision and has acted as the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Special Representative to the Middle East.

The Community of the Cross of Nails, which draws its name from nails found in the ruins of the cathedral, is a part of the cathedral’s ministry of reconciliation, and has as its goal to ‘witness to the power which forgiveness has, to build new life out of the brokenness of the world.’ One of its new members is St Ethelburga’s Centre for Peace and Reconciliation in London.

In October this year the city of Coventry inaugurated a Peace Month and a Hiroshima Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Exhibition, which was officially opened by the Japanese Ambassador Masaki Orita. On the invitation of the Lord Mayor, Councillor Sucha Singh Bains, a local survivor of Japanese prison camps, Les Dennison, was invited to participate in the inauguration. Dennison was captured at the fall of Singapore in 1942 and was among only 400 of 1,600 prisoners who survived working on the Burma Railway and one of the bridges over the River Kwai. He weighed just 5st 4lbs when he returned home.

After the Japanese ambassador had unveiled a plaque, the official party moved to the ruins of the cathedral for an opening ceremony attended by the public. Dennison, together with Yoshiro Yamawaki, an atomic bomb survivor, lit candles at the ceremony which was filmed by British and Japanese television.

The Coventry Citizen carried a headline ‘Time for us all to forgive - POW backs Peace Month’. The paper described how Dennison attended a conference in Switzerland in 1962 where he unexpectedly encountered a Japanese delegation. A Japanese general apologized for what had been done to Dennison: ‘I know what happened and I don’t ever expect you to forget what happened,’ the general said and bowed low: ‘I beg you to forgive me and my nation.’

Dennison told the paper, ‘He was genuine and that was the beginning of a remarkable change in my attitude. Saying sorry must bear the transparency of humility and gives repentance and assurance that removes all possible doubt.’ The paper writes, ‘Despite the horrific treatment of Les and his comrades, he is keen to leave the animosity of war where it belongs - in the past. ‘For a long time I felt bitterness and hatred but I don’t want that to be passed on to the second generation,’ he explained.’

Dennison has been invited to speak to the students at the Coventry University Centre for the Study of Forgiveness and Reconciliation. Ambassador Orita wrote him, ‘It is through the efforts of brave people like you that British and Japanese people are able to grow closer together in the spirit of peace and friendship, without forgetting the past.’ Chief Executive Stella Manzie thanked Dennison for his participation and paid tribute to his courage and Lord Mayor Bains wrote, ‘Hopefully, Coventry Peace Month will become an annual event to build on the City’s international reputation as a City of Peace and Reconciliation.’