A Girl From Hong Kong Ignites a U.S. Community

By David Wick

There is a Shift taking place in Ashland, Oregon, which is being felt far beyond Southern Oregon and North America. One woman’s “accidental” discovery, and three years of dedicated hard work, have brought The World Peace Flame to the United States and its permanent and perpetual home in the Thalden Pavilion, Centre For Outrageous Innovation, Southern Oregon University.

The historic, international lighting ceremony of the World Peace Flame took place on September 21, 2018, the United Nations International Day of Peace. The inspired, full-of-grace journey of the World Peace Flame is a powerful story of a girl from Hong Kong, Irene Kai, persevering against all odds and igniting the community of Ashland, Oregon, with a powerful opportunity for unity and healing.

As co-founder of the Ashland Culture of Peace Commission, Irene has already had an impact by helping to guide the vision of the Culture of Peace, which emerged as a community-wide movement dedicated to transforming attitudes, behaviors, and institutions into ones that foster harmonious relationships with each other and the natural world. The impact of the World Peace Flame is even more pervasive.

Here is Irene’s personal story in her own words:

I am an immigrant in the United States of America. Most of us are, unless you are a Native American. If you trace your family history all the way back, even if your ancestors came over on the Mayflower, you are a descendant of immigrants.

I arrived in New York’s Chinatown from Hong Kong in 1965 at the age of 15, not knowing how to speak English. I learned quickly that for me to survive, I had to learn the language, get educated, and assimilate into the American culture. In the process, I learned to be a keen observer of both cultures. I soon recognized and retained what serves me. From the Chinese, I work hard, fiercely adhere to devotion, discipline, and humility; from the American, I am creative and daring to forge new paths. I am a quick learner, I apply what I learned into practices, and therefore, I created my own culture.

On Sept. 21, 2015, the International Day of Peace, David Wick and I launched the Ashland Culture of Peace Commission, which was based on the years of experience working with Pathways to Peace, an official Peace Messenger of the United Nations. This was a unique opportunity to organize on the ground, in a dynamic and creative community and a small city, the principles, practices, and insights of what a Culture of Peace can be.

A week before the launch of the Ashland Culture of Peace Commission, I traveled to the UK for an art exhibit created by Banksy with my daughter. We decided to visit Wales since we had rented a car. Deep in the Snowdonia Mountains, I needed to turn my car around to go back to town and I turned into an outlet behind the mountain. I was stunned to see a glass monument with a flame near the top with the words “World Peace Flame” etched on the glass. I gazed at the flame in awe. The flame ignited the sacred flame in my heart and I knew instantly, peace begins with me — I am the flame.

The Thalden Pavilion, Sustainability Center, Southern Oregon University,
permanent home of the World Peace Flame in the base of the obelisk.

In 1999, seven sacred flames from five continents were joined in Wales to become the World Peace Flame. The Asian flame was lit from the eternal flame at Gandhi’s memorial. My deep desire to bring the World Peace Flame to Ashland, Oregon, is to share the inspiration with each person to take responsibility to practice peace. There is only one other World Peace Flame in the United States. It is in the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee, the assassination site of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Peace is not just a concept or to help some other causes in faraway places. It is a daily practice. I experience and learned about tremendous anger in communities in our country and in the world. Anger is an expression of deep passion; the same fierce passion also was expressed by Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for peace. It is a choice.My family is from China, immigrants to the United States. I am proud to be an American and I am not defined by the U.S. national politics. I traveled to many countries and experienced many cultures. America is the only country that offers freedom and the opportunity for a girl from New York Chinatown who did not speak English, to have a vision and then through hard work and determination to bring the World Peace Flame to the United States.

There is only one race in this country and in the world — the human race. We have different histories and habits, but we share the same humanity. We put the stake in the ground; we light the World Peace Flame along with the sacred flame in our hearts. We declare that we are defined by our desires and actions to bring peace to ourselves and to the world. We unite with our hearts to protect and care for each other, our children, our community, our country, and our planet. We choose Peace.

David Wick and Irene Kai, after placing the World Peace Flame oil lamp in the obelisk, its permanent home.
 

Irene Kai, an internationally known artist, author, and speaker, designed the logo for the Culture of Peace Initiative, and her inspiring Peace Dove image hangs in the United Nations. Irene co-founded the leading-edge Ashland Culture of Peace Commission and led the 3-year initiative to bring the World Peace Flame Monument to Southern Oregon in September 2018. Irene’s two published award-winning books are The Golden Mountain: Beyond the American Dream and What Do You See?

David Wick, executive director and co-founder of the Ashland Culture of Peace Commission, also serves as a director at Pathways to Peace and is a leader in the emerging fields of Peacebuilding and the Culture of Peace since 1980. David, who has over 30 years of executive and management training and organizational development consulting experience, has held important positions within Sun Microsystems, Stanford University, Levi Strauss, and the European Foundation for Management Development.