Second visit of the Peace Boat to Nicaragua
ViaNica.com | Sep 27, 2010
Róger Solórzano CanalesThe Peace Boat, a ship and interational organization that promotes the prevention of war and erradication of nuclear weapons, will visit Nicaragua on September 28th and 29th. Its more than a thousand occupants will participate in a cultural fair (which will be opened to attendees in the port of Corinto), will give donations and will get to know about historical and natural sites of the region.
Tomorrow, September 28th, at noon, the boat will arrive at the port of Corinto, after visiting other countries of the world. This is is the 70th global tour of this organization (its headquarters is located in Japan) which is interested in peace, human rights, the environment and sustainable development. The Peace Boat visited Nicaragua in 1990 for the first time.
The cultural fair will be held in the central park of Corinto after the welcome ceremony, according to the governor of that city, William Martínez. There will also be a Nicaraguan handicrafts and gastronomy exposition, in addition to national and foreigner cultural performances. During the night, there will be a dance party.
The official welcome event will be held at 6:00 pm on that same day, and will be in charge of president Daniel Ortega. He will receive the donations, which include school and sports materials, and an ambulance.
Tatsuya Yoshioka, director of the ship, said during a press conference that he is very happy to return to Nicaragua after 20 years. The official said that the country is the only one in the world whose municipalities have signed the "Governorns for Peace" initiative. This initiative promotes the erradication of nuclear bombs and is supported by 4, 000 cities worldwide. "Governors for peace" is leaded by the current governor of Hiroshima, Japan, famous for receiving a nuclear bomb during World War II.
In addition to the fair, occupants will also visit the San Juan Venado Natural Reserve and the city of Leon. In addition, they will participate in a cultural exchange with the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua in Leon. Once there, two passengers, who are survivors of the Hiroshima attack, will give their testimonies about the nuclear bombing that happend in their city back in 1945.
Another passenger of the Peace Boat is Masahiro Nagata, pofessional baseball player of the Japanese Major Baseball League. He will give a donation with sports materials for Nicaraguan kids. Nagata said that he gathered the materials with his friends and hopes to execute a program to take Nicaraguan kids to be trained in Japan.
On September 29th, at noon, the Boat Peace will leave Corinto. Guatemala and Mexico are its next destination. After that, it will go back to Japan, from where it left on August 5th.
Before coming to Nicaragua, the ship visited 15 countries from Asia, Europe and the Caribbean. The boat has 60 crew members and about 990 passengers, the majority of them are Japanese citizens who are interested in the topics this international organization is promoting worldwide.