A Bermuda olivewood tree will be planted at the Anglican Cathedral in recognition of the victims of the ongoing war in Iran.

A coalition of religious leaders and social activists pledged to plant the sapling later this year to serve as a symbol of peace.

The group presented the tree this afternoon in a circlet of school supplies and children’s shoes.

The equipment, according to Wendell Hollis, a former Royal Bermuda Regiment major, represented the 153 pupils of the Shajareh Tayyebeh primary school in southern Iran that was bombed in the first hours of the Middle Eastern conflict.

“Those types of things are now happening all through the Middle East,” Major Hollis said. “Still in Gaza, still in Iran and now in Lebanon.”

He added: “People are dying by the thousands. Peace has to come and it has to come from people that have serious minds and serious intentions to save our world.

“Not only are we at war in many places, but the way these wars are being fought have never been seen in modern times.

“They have thrown the rulebook to the wayside — and, sadly, they have been thrown aside by people whom we normally thought were our allies.”

The coalition of peace called on the public to use this Easter weekend to reflect on the impact of violence around the world and how to advocate for and maintain peace.

Glenn Fubler, who helped to organise the coalition, said the best way to affect peace was to start by building a local network and encouraging research.

He added: “Easter is a time where we reflect on change — a fundamental change that can come from the heart and the minds of all of us — and be reminded that each and every life is precious.”

The Right Reverend Nicholas Dill, the Anglican Bishop of Bermuda, said: “We plant this tree to reflect upon the power of forgiveness and the true leadership that comes not through seeking the power for our own sake but the service of others.”

He added: “We share our concern for building of relationships, the restoration and reconciliation that can come as we look at one another as fellow human beings all made in God’s image, all of whom are needing to be at peace.

“Today is a chance for us to reflect upon these things and to know that, if we’re going to have peace, it needs to start right here — individually, with each one of us.”

Calvert Prentis, a Canon of the Anglican Cathedral, backed the church’s support in this “pursuit of peace”.

He said: “We think of the innocent children, those whose lives have fallen, and we want to join together and be a place where peace can be sought and, indeed, celebrated.”

Imam Saleem Talbot, from the Islamic Cultural Centre, said he wanted to see peace brought to the island to help curb the violence that often targeted young men.

He added: “We believe Bermuda can be exemplary in establishing peace in the world today.

“Bermuda is small enough that we know each other and so we can sit down, break bread and discuss whatever things are hurting each and every one of us.

“Very often, people don’t meet except on the battlefield. We want to stop the wars of the world and we want to stop the hostilities.”