Ringing for peace

Bells across the city rang out for peace on Saturday.

More than six churches spread out across the city rang their bells as part of the annual Ringing of the Peace Bell ceremony. At-large coun. Aldo Ruberto rang the bell at city hall at exactly 11 a.m. so that all the bells could be in unison.

Ringing the peace bell started as an annual tradition after the Second World War. People across the world ring bells in hopes to prevent another world war. The tradition started in Thunder Bay back in 2008.

Ruberto said it’s important to carry on the tradition of ringing the bell in order to keep peace in the forefront of people’s minds.

"I think the one thing we all strive for as citizens of the world is to stop all the wars," Ruberto said. "We’re doing a good job. There are less wars than there ever was before in the history of mankind. If this trend continues, maybe in 20 years there won’t be any wars anywhere."

Despite the bells ringing, wars were still fought. Canada wrapped up its nine-year combat mission in Afghanistan on July 7. Ruberto said it’s a sobering thought that wars could break out at any time but he hoped that people could find peaceful ways to achieve their goals without resorting to violence.

Despite what is happening in Libya, Ruberto said he thought most people want peace not war.

"In Africa, there are less wars there then there have every been," he said. "That’s amazing. People are people no matter where they are in the world. They all want one thing. They want a peaceful life, they want a job, they want to eat and they want to live peacefully."

Hiroko Beekki-Moller, assistant city advisor for the Japanese Sister City, moved to Canada from Tokyo, Japan around 1996. She said the day is a time to pay respect to those who were lost during wars and pay tribute to them.

"War is simply just sad," Beekki-Moller said. "To me it doesn’t matter if you are Canadian or Japanese. This is really a respectful moment."