Don’t get me wrong — I think it’s great for our nation that our president received the Noble Peace Prize. For one — I think it does signal a move in more peaceful directions beyond what the prior administration has done. And I think there is something to be said for the committee using this as a catalyst to spur the Obama administration in peaceful directions. But the question remains: is it really deserved? This article details 6 other (of the 200) nominees for this year’s Noble Peace Prize and frankly, after reading their stories, I find it hard to believe that it was deserved. Here are some short details:
Denis Mukwege: He’s a surgeon in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the province with 27000 reported rapes last year. *”Dr Mukwege is the man who has devoted his life to trying to repair the damage done to women often left for dead. He was, for a long time, the only gynecologist treating rape wounds in Congo.” He set up a special wing dedicated to those sexually abused and actively campaigns on their behalf.
Sima Samar: Sima obtained a medicine degree from Kabul University (the first Hazara woman) and has dedicated her life to fight for the rights of women and children in Afghanistan.
Ghazi bin Muhammad: A Jordanian prince and professor of the Islamic faith, he’s been an adamant proponent of interfaith dialogue. In a letter to the Pope
Greg Mortenson: Author of “Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace…One School at a Time”, Mortenson works to build schools in areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan where education hasn’t been a priority. So far, they’ve built 84 schools providing education to many who wouldn’t have been able to receive it.
Piedad Cordoba: She was the favorite. “Her achievements are, however, indisputable. As head of Colombians For Peace, a group trying to put an end to the 45-year conflict between the government and Farc, Ms Córdoba was the government’s official mediator in the humanitarian exchange discussions of 2007, and she secured the release of 16 hostages. One former captive, Alan Jara, the former governor of Colombia’s Meta state, called her “an angel who could carry me to freedom”.”
Wei Jingsheng: He’s known as *”the father of Chinese democracy” and has tirelessly fought for that in China. He’s spent decades in jails (an 18 and a 14 year sentence) and in all has refused to be silent.
These are just 6 of the 200+ nominees besides President Obama. Their stories alone, I think, were more deserving. I’d tend to agree with those that say that by not picking one of them (or the other countless hope-filled stories) the Noble Committee looks like something of a joke. It might be different if we’d seen a lot of peace driven actions from our President specifically directed at the unpeace of our nation in recent years (perhaps more decisiveness in the peace process in Iraq and Afghanistan and some sort of commitment to not only decisively end our torture state but be up front and honest about past offenses, seeking to do something about them). My hope now is that the award really will be a spur towards peace in and through our nation.