Victor Ochen: Nobel Peace Prize Nominee

Victor Ochen

Ugandan peace advocate Victor Ochen has been nominated for the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize by the American Friends Service Committee. He has been a steadfast advocate of nonviolence. The American Friends Service Committee won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1947.

Victor Ochen founded the African Youth Initiative Network in 2005 to work in two critical areas: the medical rehabilitation of those who have suffered from the physical and psychological trauma of war and promoting youth leadership. The organization is committed to making peace and justice a reality for the victims and survivors of war.

The American Friends Service Committee wrote in its nomination letter about Victor Ochen:

“Victor Ochen has consistently shown both commitment and effectiveness in his efforts to address the needs of victims. He has worked for transitional justice, while simultaneously promoting human rights through nonviolent means, nourishing the leadership skills of other young people, and challenging systemic issues that lead to the continued vulnerability and suffering of war victims.”

The northern region of Uganda suffered for two decades from a horrific conflict that traumatized innocent civilians.  The displacement of people from their villages caused social degradation that threatened the survival of the population. Peace has returned to the area and people are rebuilding their lives.

In May 2014, the African Youth Initiative Network organized the first national war victims conference in Kampala, Uganda. The goal was to develop a road map for a successful transitional justice process to address the wounds of war to achieve national reconciliation. Desmond Tutu, the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, addressed the conference.

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Nobel Peace Price Laureates

 

The Thing That Happened

“The Thing That Happened” is a short documentary about turning tragedy into triumph. The film is the story about Hope North. The school is located in the northern part of Uganda.

Unfortunately the region suffered for two decades from a horrific conflict that traumatized innocent civilians.  The displacement of people from their villages caused social degradation that threatened the survival of the Acholi people. The Acholi people are the ethnic group who are located in the region, commonly referred to as Acholiland.

Now that peace has returned to the area, people are rebuilding their lives. Hope North is a haven for the young victims of Uganda’s struggles. The school is dedicated to facilitating healing and peace building. The long-term vision of the school is to become a model education center for other cultures dealing with the aftermath of conflict. Hope North is an active experiment, implementing best practices, and aspires to be part of a global community with shared interest in contributing to peace dialogues.

Peace is created when you have the correct knowledge. If you don’t have knowledge then you are insecure and insecure people are the ones who cause trouble.

Hope North is a great example of Ugandans helping Ugandans for a better future.  They deserve to be recognized for their incredible efforts and  supported for pursuing sustainable development and self-determination.

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Please follow Hope North:

    

Jan Egeland: Global Peacemaker

Referred to by Time Magazine as “the world’s conscience”, Jan Egeland served as the United Nation’s under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief chief from 2003 to 2006.  He has first-hand experience with the impact of natural disasters, civil wars in Africa, crises in the Middle East, and “forgotten conflicts” across the globe.  Egeland has personally confronted warlords and guerilla leaders and has been a tireless voice for the disenfranchised of the world.

Jan Egeland and Michael Kirkpatrick with Acholi children in Internally Displaced Persons camps in Uganda.

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Jan Egeland served as director of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs and is currently the Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council. He has written numerous articles on conflict resolution and humanitarian concerns. His book, “A Billion Lives: An Eyewitness Report from the Frontlines of Humanity”, offers an up-front account of his efforts to negotiate an end to conflict in some of the most tumultuous situations.

One of the world’s longest and most tragic conflicts happened in the northern region of Uganda. For over 20 years, the Acholi people were victimized by a brutal war that pitted rebel insurgents called the Lord’s Resistance Army against the Ugandan government. Thousands of innocent civilians were killed and mutilated, children were abducted, forced to kill, tortured, and sexually abused.

Jan Egeland documents his clandestine meeting with the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army, Joseph Kony, in his book. Chapter 9 is titled “Uganda’s Twenty Thousand Kidnapped Children.” The 18 pages also recount his meeting with the President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni.

Egeland’s travels to war ravaged northern Uganda enabled him to witness the horrible conditions of the Internally Displaced Persons camps that were created by the Ugandan government. What he saw caused him to proclaim, “I cannot find any other part of the world that is having an emergency on the scale of Uganda that is getting so little international attention” and to describe the situation as “the world’s most neglected humanitarian crisis”.

These quotes have been used by hundreds of organizations and people to raise awareness of the desperate problems in northern Uganda. In June 2007 and December 2007, I traveled to northern Uganda at the invitation of my Acholi friends. I saw for myself what Jan Egeland described in his book.

The international community has finally responded to the call for help. However I have come to question the effectiveness of government sponsored financial aid and the strategies of many aid organizations and charities.

My passion for Uganda has motivated me to learn as much as possible about the causes of such suffering and how the world can respond effectively. I have read many books about African socio-political and economic issues. I have researched organizations and individuals that are doing humanitarian work in Uganda.

I have also attended several presentations and speeches given by “experts” on these complex situations. The “experts” include celebrities, professors, and authors. The anticipation of learning something profound is usually met with disappointment by the time the “expert” is finished the presentation.

On March 12, 2008 I attended a World Affairs Council of Dallas presentation by Jan Egeland. I was skeptical about what I was about to hear from another “expert” on Africa. Egeland restored my passion. I was extremely pleased with his objective understanding of the issues and his honesty.

He is realistic and practical when it comes to discussing the obstacles to peace and conflict resolution. Egeland offers constructive criticism regarding the policies of large institutions and relief organizations. I had the opportunity to speak with him about some of my own experiences in northern Uganda. When I asked him about the picture on the cover of his book, he confirmed that the photograph was taken with several Acholi children at a camp in northern Uganda. I will never forget the faces of the children that I met on those remarkable journeys.

Please read “A Billion Lives: An Eyewitness Report from the Frontlines of Humanity“. I am convinced that Jan Egeland will win the Nobel Prize for Peace in my lifetime.

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