Le Provocateur

Issue date: 10/31/04 Section: News Stories

In just these first two months of classes, the Assumption College campus has become surprisingly political. Leading the way to a deeper understanding of election year issues and particularly the war in Iraq have been English professors Anne Murphy and Lucia Knoles.

Their next endeavor to raise awareness begins today. Murphy, Knoles, and members of their People for Principled Patriotism group, are holding a paper crane folding project in Charlie's today from 11:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. in order to create a memorial to honor American soldiers who have died in Iraq.

Knoles put a lot of thought into the idea of the paper crane memorial. She wanted to develop a project that was both symbolically appropriate and respectful to those who have been killed in Iraq.

"Cranes are symbols of peace, and they memorialize people who have died in violence," Knoles said.

As she researched the symbolism behind paper cranes, Knoles discovered the long-standing history of these delicate origami figures as emblems of peace.

"The idea of folding cranes goes back to the 1700's in Japan, where cranes were honored as symbols of loyalty, honor, and strength," Knoles said. "However, the modern tradition of folding 1,000 cranes to commemorate those who have died in violence and to pray for peace dates back to the story of Sadako Sasaki, who died in 1955."

Sadako Sasaki died from leukemia resulting from exposure to the Hiroshima bombing. She believed that if she could make 1,000 paper cranes, she would get well. However, she later changed her prayer to that of world peace.

Sasaki was only able to complete 644 cranes before her death, but her classmates folded the remaining 356 and buried them along with her. They also constructed a peace monument in honor of Sasaki, whose inscription reads: "This is our cry, this is our prayer: peace in the world."

When Pope John Paul II visited the monument in 1981, he was inspired by the children's commitment to peace, saying that "to remember the past is to commit oneself to the future... and to remember Hiroshima is to commit oneself to peace."

The symbolism associated with the paper cranes and her own commitment to peace and unity helped Knoles decide that constructing a paper crane memorial for the more than 1,100 fallen American soldiers in Iraq was the best way to honor their memory.

"I just asked myself, what is it that would be respectful and loving?" Knoles said.

Continued...

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