Report on the International
Fast – France, Germany, Togo, New Zealand - 2026
Marc
Morgan (Trident Ploughshares & Haringey CND), with contributions from
others as written in the text
The International Fast against nuclear
weapons has been taking place, almost without exception, every year between
Hiroshima and Nagasaki days, since 1983. It currently involves approximately 30
people fasting worldwide, in 5 different countries (details of four are given
here; individuals also fast in the UK, and possibly in the US).
The International Fast is known as an Action-Fast:
it goes hand in hand with other forms of protest (conducted by fasters and
non-fasters alike), and is seen by participants as a call to public opinion,
rather than as an introspective exercise in self-mortification. By making a
break in their usual (eating) habits, however, the fasters create a special
internal and collective space in which to reflect on the enormity of the threat
posed by nuclear weapons, and to commemorate the victims of the two uses of
nuclear weapons on Japan.
I myself have fasted every year since 2013,
as often as possible with fasters from other countries.
Fast and actions at
Buchel airbase
This year I joined several fasters in
Germany, where the fast was organized by the German Quakers and the German
branch of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation.
As well as myself, the fasters in Germany included:
- two German
Quakers, Dieter Müller and Leonie Glahn, long-time supporters of and
participants in the fast
- Dr.
Matthias Engelke, a Lutheran priest who
has vowed to fast one extra day each year until all nuclear weapons are removed
from German soil (see his blog
regarding his fasting campaign) and Reinhard Bergholz , who fasts with Matthias. Together
they have fasted for 20 days altogether this year, spread across 8 months and
accompanied at each fasting period by public meetings, demonstrations, vigils
and walks
- Matthias’
wife Beate, a tireless campaigner herself
- Etienne Godinot from France, Vice President of the
Institut de Recherche sur la Résolution
non-Violente des Conflits.
We fasted at Büchel, the German airbase at
which US nuclear weapons are stationed, in the Eifel region in Western Germany.
The Peace camp outside the airbase
Each day we set out our colourful banners
outside the main gate of the airbase.
Banners from the main German organizations,
including the German Quakers were set out along some fencing a short distance
away:
The two organizations I belong to, CND and Trident Ploughshares – both
historically active supporters of the fast – had their own banners:
Throughout the fasting days, we sang songs,
went on walks, greeted numerous visitors some of whom knew of the fast and
planned to visit, others of whom were locals out for a stroll who almost always
expressed sympathy when we explained what we were doing.
A Space for Prayer nearby
A short distance away, in an anachronism
which reflects the non-separation of Church and State in Germany, there is a
piece of army land where peace protesters are
“graciously” allowed to pray for peace. Provided the prayers do not
spill over into planning or performing protest actions, the prayers can be
highly ecumenical, and non-believers like myself can find sustenance in this
quiet place just a hundred yards or so from the base.
A bell, which is the sister of a bell made
in Germany for a memorial place in Hiroshima, and various other monuments and
ornaments mark the space. We started our fasting action there on the 6th
August at 8.15, the time of the dropping of the Hiroshima bomb: we read poems and
said prayers for peace, joined by several non-fasters.
Commemorative ecumenical services are held
there on the Friday nearest to the 9th of every month (the 9th being
the Nagasaki-memorial-day). On Friday 7th we duly took part in the
monthly service.
Vigils and Walk in Cochem
On the 6th August, the first day
of our fast, 5 of us went to the nearby town of Cochem, an attractive tourist
town on the banks of the Moselle. We wore “bibs” (as in the above photo) proclaiming
that we did not wish to be victims of an atomic attack, and nor did we wish for
anyone to be such a victim. Response was muted as most people were holiday
makers more intent on eating ice cream and forgetting the woes of the world,
but we drew some sympathetic responses.
Meeting with the Commander of the base
On the morning of the 7th
August, we were granted a two-hour long meeting with Colonel Samuel Mbassa, “Commodore”
of the airbase, and as such a senior officer in the German airforce. I say
“granted”: as taxpayers funding the military, it should be the right of
citizens to engage with senior officers, but sadly the general picture is that
the military hierarchy are not very open to such contacts, or if they enable
them, it is on their terms. Many in the peace movement of course dispute the
value of engaging with the military, but on the basis of this meeting at least
I disagree with them. Colonel Mbassa spoke to us respectfully, openly, and as
equals, and I would like to pay tribute to his fairmindedness and willingness
both to listen to our arguments and to give his fairly and honestly.
Colonel Mbassa has informed us that all German
soldiers, and hence all airmen at the airbase, receive training in the
consequences of nuclear weapons and the reality of their effects. He has given
his opinion that Germany is in a particular situation with respect to nuclear
weapons, since it does not possess them, and would only use them in the context
of coordinated decision-making at senior levels of NATO. The command would come
ultimately from the US President, since the nuclear weapons in Germany are US
ones, but it would need to be approved by the German Chancellor as well.
We have challenged Colonel Mbassa on the
legality of any use of nuclear weapons. His position as stated was that at
every level of decision-making in both NATO and the German army, including
where the preparation of nuclear weapons use is concerned, legal experts are
consulted and give an opinion on the legality of what is planned, and on the
preparations themselves. We expressed our scepticism as to the effectiveness or
legal accuracy of these legal opinions, and on this point we disagreed quite
strongly. However, Colonel Mbassa did acknowledge, as a positive thing, that
any soldier of any rank has not just the right but the duty to disobey an
order, if he or she is convinced that it is contrary to international or
national law.
We have alerted Colonel Mbassa to our
concerns about the risks of nuclear proliferation – a concern which he shares,
but of which he says that responsibility for potential proliferation lies with
politicians, not the military. He acknowledged that it is the duty of the
military to ensure that politicians are properly informed of the consequences
of military courses of action and potential use of different categories of
weapons. In this connection we expressed our alarm at the rise in talk of
“tactical” nuclear weapons. Colonel Mbassa believes that such language is
primarily used by politicians, and insisted that most military specialists
within NATO were careful to use the expression “sub-strategic” rather than
“tactical” to characterise the category of weapons concerned.
The meeting was made possible thanks to the
patient, assiduous and respectful cultivation of the relationship, in
particular by Matthias Engelke; it is possible also that the fact that we were
fasting was taken as a token of the depth of our commitment and concern.
A message from the German army
As well as providing us with – almost
certainly superfluous – police protection (and supervision?) throughout the
fast, the German authorities, in this
instance the army itself, thoughtfully displayed a banner of their own just
outside the main gate:
(or in short: “we are also fighting in
order to make it possible for you to be against us”).
We prepared our own answer to this and hung
it up just underneath:
(yeah, thanks, but not with nuclear
weapons!)
24 hours vigil and conclusion of the fast
On Saturday 8th August at 11 am,
a 24-hour vigil started. At hourly intervals, we fasters and other participants
in the event were invited to read out texts. These were freely chosen by all of
us, but came within the overall theme of the fast, and within particular themes
such as “Prophecy and the prophets”, “the role of women in anti-nuclear
campaigning”, “anti-war campaigning more generally”, etc…
In between the hourly readings and
associated conversations, we went on walks, chatted, engaged with passers-by
and even with the police dispatched “for our security”, and generally enjoyed
the sunny and convivial, but serious atmosphere of the fast. Two brave fasters
maintained the vigil overnight, the rest of us repaired to bed at our nearby
Airbnb, until the morning when we all gathered for the final commemorative service
for Nagasaki.
Needless to say breaking our fast at midday
felt wonderful, and we parted full of enthusiasm to recreate the dynamic of the
fast another year.
Zoom call with international fasters worldwide
I have deliberately left to last a
tradition of the annual fast which concerns not just us in Büchel, but a number
of fasters in different places around the world. Every year at a given time (in
this instance on the evening of Saturday 8th August), the fasters
meet by zoom and exchange news of how the fast is progressing in different
countries.
For this year’s zoom call, as well as the
seven of us fasting in Büchel, we exchanged with 10 people fasting in
Granville, France; and we were joined also by lone fasters or supporters of the
fast: Yao Warie in Togo, and Audrey van Ryn in New Zealand.
An account of actions in those places, and
also of actions in Paris at the same time, follows.
Fast in Granville,
France
Florence Quesney who participated in the
fast at Granville writes as follows:
Between August 6 and 9, we gathered—first
as a group of eight, then ten—to commemorate the massacres at Hiroshima and
Nagasaki and to raise awareness about the need for France to join the TPNW
(Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons).
We met in Granville at Serge’s home, where
we stayed for the four days.
On the morning of August 6th,
Agnès and Florence spoke with a journalist from *Ouest-France*, who published a
short article the very next day. The group then gathered with banners at the
foot of the footbridge leading to Mont Saint-Michel. We were unable to go up to the Place de Jérusalem, as we had not
responded to the Abbey’s rector's request that we get in touch with him
about this; furthermore,
the gendarmes prohibited us from unfurling our banners because we had
not sought permission from either the prefect or the mayor of Beauvoir. It took
us some time to pack up our banners, which gave us the opportunity to raise
awareness among many passers by.
On August 7, we took the bus together to
the Mont. We had another meeting scheduled with a *Ouest-France* journalist.
She took photos of the messages we had written in the sand—"Hiroshima,
Nagasaki: never again," "No more bombs," etc.—and her article
appeared on Sunday. From the moment we stepped off the shuttle, Patricia asked
people to read the messages in the sand, while Florence handed out origami
Japanese cranes—symbols of peace—and chatted with tourists. In the early
afternoon, we walked up the ramparts to the Place de Jérusalem, immersing
ourselves in the crowd.
On August 8, we visited the Granville
covered market—this time with leaflets—to engage with local residents. The
afternoon was quiet, spent preparing for the following day's events.
Finally, on August 9, we commemorated the
Nagasaki massacre by forming a circle in front of Granville’s town hall. We
distributed leaflets and origami cranes while talking to the public. In the
evening, around 6 p.m., we sang songs of peace at the "Le Bariolé"
bar alongside another group and people passing through. An article in
*Ouest-France* had announced this musical gathering.
We managed to complete the four-day fast
while staying connected and enjoying the comfort of Serge’s house. We
experienced only minor headaches and fatigue—nothing serious.
For next year, a group might form around a
brilliant idea: "Fasting in Genet with young people," as well as
another concept: "Choosing Chausey."
Wishing everyone a wonderful summer and a
fulfilling journey ahead.
Photos
from the Mont Saint Michel:
And
an Article in Ouest France:
Fast and other
actions in Paris, France
Eric Sapin, of Abolition des Armes
Nucléaires – Maison de Vigilance, has sent us the following report, based
on notes by Gerard Levy and Martine Laroche:
This year like year, the "Péniche pour
la Paix" (Peace Barge) invited those fasting to come aboard and stay
during the collective commemorations of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings,
held at the foot of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.
A highlight of the event was a
"die-in" in the heart of the city, staged above flags representing
the nine nuclear-armed states and accompanied by artistic performances (flute,
stilt-walking, and hoop acts).
A cruise departing from the suburbs was
organized, featuring families from Grigny—the poorest municipality in
metropolitan France and a member of the Association of Territories and
Municipalities for Peace, presided over by Mayor Philippe Rio. Participants
shared in writing and singing workshops led by the "Chant pour tous"
choir and storyteller Charles Piquion.
Speakers included Aurélien Saintoul, a *La
France Insoumise* (LFI) deputy in the National Assembly, who announced his
movement's call for France to attend the upcoming conference on the Treaty on
the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) as an observer.
Among the dozen or so organizations
present—including the Association of Doctors Against Nuclear War, the French
Pacifist Union (UPF), the Ile-de-France Anti-Nuclear Coordination, Volunteers
for Peace, the Ecologists' Peace and Disarmament Commission, and the Peace
Barge itself—the Movement for a Non-Violent Alternative (MAN) was represented
by Patrice Coulon. Coulon organized a "fluid thinking" workshop
exploring the concept of "non-violent civil defence."
An exhibition by Luigi Mosca—a physicist
and member of the Peace Movement—detailing the history, destructive impact, and
costs of the atomic bomb was also on display. Drawings by *Hibakusha*—survivors
of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings—were displayed for passersby and along
the quays by the Japanese collective Yosomono-net, while a letter from Hiroko
Takashani, a history professor at Nara University in Japan, was read aloud.
Leaflets were distributed to passersby, inviting them to attend the various segments
of the commemoration and to take part in the discussions.
Note: We are issuing a call to begin
planning—for August 6, 2027, in Paris—more extensive events centred on the
practice of the "fast of advocacy."
Some
photos of the “Peace Barge” decked with banners and posters:
Flying the kite for peace
Commemorations in Franche
Comté
Pierre Jacquin-Porretaz et Lucien Converset
of the Agir pour le Désarmement Nucléaire, a regional group campaigning
for nuclear disarmament based in the France Comté region of Eastern France,
write as follows:
Tribute
to the Hibakusha (survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings)
Just as we do every year from August 6 to
9, we commemorated the tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki here in Dampierre.
In the wake of the American nuclear bomb
dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945—which caused the deaths of over
170,000 people—Albert Camus wrote in the journal *Combat* on August 8, 1945:
"Mechanical civilization has just reached its ultimate stage of savagery;
in the near or distant future, we will have to choose between collective
suicide and the intelligent use of scientific achievements." This did not
prevent the detonation of a second bomb, which caused an equally high death
toll in Nagasaki.
The stated aim was to force Japan to end
the war, yet we know from historical records that the country was ready to
surrender and that the US government was fully aware of this fact.
On Saturday, August 8, 2026, we engaged in
a series of enriching exchanges regarding our ongoing efforts to ensure such
tragedies never happen again. This is the purpose of the gatherings organized
by our association, A.D.N. (*Agir pour le Désarmement Nucléaire*—Acting for
Nuclear Disarmament), which is affiliated with ICAN (International Campaign to
Abolish Nuclear Weapons) alongside many other organizations. Throughout this
day of fasting and action, we focused on four themes:
- citizens’ education through non-violence;
- a solidarity partnership featuring an
exhibition of work created by middle school students from Fraisans during the
2025–2026 school year;
- in these critical times for humanity,
will we continue to prioritize the production of Rafale fighter jets over
Canadair firefighting planes?
- To deepen our non-violent efforts, we
have been wonderfully aided by the work of Estelle Cermelli, a painter and
friend of our association. She unveiled a painting she has just completed—a
work that denounces the nuclear shadow threatening all of humanity. The
exhibition was on display at the gallery on Rue de la Cave d’Enfer in Dole
until August 15.
Inspired by the likes of Georges Bernanos
and Théodore Monod, we challenged one another to preserve our capacity for
raising awareness.
“Only the Spirit, if it breathes upon
clay, can create Man.” — Saint-Exupéry, *Wind, Sand and Stars* (Terre des
hommes)
Group
exchanges in Dampierre
The
work of Estelle Cermelli:
Supporting actions in
New Zealand
Audrey van Ryn is a peace activist and
writer who took part in the fast for many years. Health reasons prevent her
continuing to take part, but she continues to be a faithful and dedicated
supporter of the fast.
On 6th August Audrey attended an
Online Forum: Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to commemorate the atomic
bombings 81 years ago. This included poetry and presentations by: Peace
Movement Aotearoa / ICAN Aotearoa; Epeli Lesuma, Pacific nuclear justice
campaigner, PANG; and Tim Jones, poet and author.
The event also marked the anniversary of
the Treaty of Rarotonga (South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty) and discussed threats
to that treaty.
Audrey has sent us photos of several other events
she has been involved with commemorating the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings,
or related to our campaign in different ways:
Peace
activists lunch at the Auckland Friends Centre (Quaker Meeting House) to meet
Abby Martin, in Auckland to host a screening of her film "Earth's Greatest
Enemy":
5 August - 30 August - "Hiroshima
Never Again" international peace poster exhibition:
8
August - Stop Wars Aotearoa rally
Supporting actions
in Togo
In Togo, between four and five people at
different times, from the informal anti-nuclear association working under the leadership
of Yao Warie, took part in demonstrations marking Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They walked
through Lomé in "Nuclear Weapons Abolition" T-shirts, discussing the
dangers of nuclear weapons with passersby.
