For every entry form you submit, we will craft a paper kite in honor of your loved one.
In return, we ask that you fold your own paper kite and present it in a place that gives you space to discuss your loss.
We would love it if you took a photo of your paperkite on display so we can showcase the connections on our website.
The goal of this project is to conceptualize the actual cost that a death toll represents.
By showcasing how many people in our local communities are affected by modern warfare, we hope to showcase the intimate violence that warfare inflicts on our society.
This project was inspired by the teachings of Christ and an effort to offer due diligence as a Christian by offering a space of solace and comfort to those in need. As an American Christian, we hope to use our privilege of our status to offer freedom from religious persecution. We will respect all faiths. We hope to use this as a formal way of showcasing our attempt at doing our due diligence to stand for what is right.
The paper kites were an inspiration of our exposure to the story of Sadako and the paper cranes that decorate many places in Hiroshima, Japan.
"Sadako Sasaki experienced the atomic
bombing at the age of two.
Struck by leukemia, her short life ended ten years later.
Through Sadako Sasaki, people around
the world have come to understand how
war makes children suffer-in particular,
the unhappiness inflicted on them
by the atomic bombing.
And they take courage from the image
of Sadako battling leukemia and clinging to her hope for life till the end.
Sadako was one of the
many children who suffered
and died because of the
atomic bomb.
- Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
This is also inspired by the Poem "If I Must Die" by Refaat Alareer:
If I must die,
you must live
to tell my story
to sell my things
to buy a piece of cloth
and some strings,
(make it white with a long tail)
so that a child, somewhere in Gaza
while looking heaven in the eye
awaiting his dad who left in a blaze–
and bid no one farewell
not even to his flesh
not even to himself–
sees the kite, my kite you made, flying up above
and thinks for a moment an angel is there
bringing back love
If I must die
let it bring hope
let it be a tale
We chose paper kites to recognize the current aspect of modern warfare and differentiate from The Peace Museum's focus on Nuclear weapons.
This choice will help re-establish accountability at an individual level in the constant battle for freedom.
