2017
Sunhak Peace Prize
Award Ceremony
I am very honored to be chosen as one of the 2017 Sunhak Peace Prize laureates along with Dr. Gino Strada. I thank our host, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, members of the Sunhak Peace Prize Committee and my family and colleagues. Let us not forget, this prize established by Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, honors and represents the peace ideology of the late Reverend Dr. Sun Myung Moon. Reverend Moon believed we are “one global family.” This is true. We are living in a time where peace, love and wisdom needs to be at the forefront. God’s love does not discriminate by race, ethnicity, nationality, or religion. Reverend Moon reminded us of this. We must embrace peace as the road to resolving conflicts, building gender equality, and respect for all human beings.
I, myself, became a refugee in 1979 after the invasion of my country. My family all became refugees. I know what it feels like to be in a place where all of your rights have been taken away from you. I know how it feels to lose everything you have, including your dignity and self-confidence.
That is why I founded the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL), and that is why I have chosen to work with Afghan refugees and the resettlement of Afghan refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Afghanistan for the last 26 years. I wanted to find a way to help Afghans rebuild their self-respect and self-confidence; I wanted them to be able to trust again, rebuild their communities and reestablish their core values; I wanted them to be able to live in peace and harmony and have a sustainable way of life.
We are living in a world where people are being judged by religion, ethnicity, race, and gender. People are being labeled wrongly and being targeted by hate groups. We must rise above the hate. We must use our voices for good. We need to remove the injustice and eliminate poverty. War is not the answer to any problem. We must work together collectively to bring peace in this world. In order to do this, we need to share our knowledge and build a support system that provides sustainable results.
We see all around the world, millions of dollars are poured into countries that create an environment that does not bring peace or sustainability. The money is given to the government or organizations with no system in place to progressively develop the country. And sadly, the countries that need the most critical help are ignored. I truly believe that if we want to make a difference, we must set forth a creative program that involves the people. We must reach out to all community members; women, men and children. We need to give them all the necessary tools in life. We need to address education, health, skills, job opportunities, economics, environment, and above all human rights as it relates to responsibilities, values, compassion, love, and peace.
As I have shared previously with some of the United Nations and European Union organizations, when we give an opportunity to people and ask them what they know, what their skills are, how much they can give, you would be surprised to see the outcome. People want to feel valued. They want their voice to be heard. When they are heard, people gain confidence and want to take an active role in your program to ensure the success of the community and country. From the beginning you gain an important asset - the support and trust of the people. The human resources of the community will serve as the foundation that will build up the community and bring the people together.
When you share love, compassion and wisdom, you provide humanity with an indestructible base for living in peace and harmony that no one can take away. You create an environment where everyone respects each other’s rights and appreciates different cultures, traditions, religions and ideas. With love, compassion and wisdom as your base, then everyone globally can live in harmony and peace.
Thank you all.
Acceptance Speech
Ladies and gentlemen, It is an honour for me to receive the Sunhak Peace Prize, particularly in times increasingly marked by war and violence when speaking of peace is perceived as unrealistic and utopian. I wish to thank Rev. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon for devoting their lives to achieving universal peace and promoting the fundamental values of peace, dialogue and cooperation in the name of the human family.
Now more than ever, there is a compelling need for building a better world for future generations and sustainable peace. I have personally seen the atrocities of war and its devastating impact. I have spent the last thirty years of my life in war-torn countries, operating on patients in Rwanda, Peru, Ethiopia, Somalia, Cambodia, Iraq, Afghanistan and Sudan. In these and other countries, EMERGENCY – the humanitarian organization I founded 23 years ago - is committed to providing free and high-quality medical and surgical care to the victims of war, whose effects are not limited to the wounded and refugees, but have severe repercussions on the future of entire generations.
Many of the conflicts that are currently ravaging countries reducing populations to misery and hunger are often undeclared or deliberately silenced. The massacres are increasing, to the point that it is hard to remember them all. For most of us, they seem so far and alien from our daily life. It is so easy to listen to the news without realizing that after every bomb, after every shell there are people struggling to survive. Ninety percent of the victims of the wars of our time are civilians, people equal to us, with the same needs, the same hopes and the same desire for their beloved ones: living safely, staying together, and being protected.
According to recent estimates, “eight individuals own as much as the poorest 3.6 billion people. Meanwhile, every day 1 in 9 people go to bed hungry.” Are we still surprised that people increasingly embark on perilous journeys and strive to find a better future? Last year over 60 million people were forced to leave their homes, looking for protection and safety. They had the dream of living in peace, but we are deaf to their hopes. “What did I do wrong?” a Somali guy landing in Sicily asked me. I could not give him an answer.
Even though migrants arriving in Europe represent a small portion of the migrant population scattered across the globe, the so-called “migration crisis” has shed light on the hypocrisy of the European approach to human rights. On the one hand, we firmly promote the principles of peace, democracy and fundamental rights, while, on the other, we are building a fortress made of walls and cultural barriers, denying access and basic help to thousands of people fleeing war and poverty.
The case of Afghanistan serves an emblematic example. In the last 15 years, Afghanistan has been devastated by a new war. Every year in our hospitals around the country we register a new record of war wounded, one third of them are children. Afghanistan has been the source country of the second-highest number of refugees worldwide (only recently surpassed by Syria), with almost 3 million Afghans living mainly in Pakistan and Iran. This tragedy has been ignored for many years by the Western countries and has become a priority only when Afghan refugees have turned to Europe as their final destination. In response to this increasing flow, rather than investing in welcoming and integration programs and addressing the root causes of the conflict, European leaders have signed an agreement with the Afghan government to legally deport asylum seekers back to Afghanistan in exchange for financial aid.
The broken lives of all of them urge us to reflect, ask us to take action to get out of the spiral of war and violence. If we wish to work for the survival of humankind, the abolition of war is necessary and inevitable. It falls within the mandate of the UN, founded over 70 years ago, but still today very little has been done to fulfill their core mandate.
EMERGENCY has come to believe that the abolition of war is the only realistic and humane solution to end human suffering and promote universal human rights. With this objective in mind, EMERGENCY is working to launch an international campaign involving world-renowned personalities as well as ordinary citizens. It might sound utopian, but in fact it is a realistic and achievable objective. It is up to the world citizens to take action and conquer peace. Renouncing the logic of war and practicing fraternity and solidarity is not only desirable but urgently needed if we want the human experiment to continue. Today I am very happy to have the chance to warmly invite all of you to join us in this effort.
Thank you.
Congratulatory Speech
As is customary in my country, allow me to share with you all our Kiribati traditional blessing of “Kam na bane ni mauri,” “May we all be blessed with good health.”
It is with great pleasure that I covey warm greetings to all who have gathered for the 2017 Sunhak Peace Prize Award Ceremony, and I congratulate this year’s laureates on receiving this prestigious and much deserved award. On behalf of all those who have gathered here today, thank you, Dr. Gino Strada and Dr. Sakena Yacoobi, for your life-long dedication to the wellbeing of refugees and war victims.
I am particularly honored to recognize these laureates, as their accomplishments are very much in the spirit of the vision of the founder, Rev. and Mrs. Moon, to build “One Family Under God,” and compliment their global work for peace and development. I am convinced that they will go on to make even greater strides toward peace for future generations.
Dear friends,
Today we have gathered here, not only to celebrate the great achievements of these extraordinary people, but also to participate in this discussion and to exchange views on one of the major global issues of our era. The world continues to be affected by major forced displacements. Rising sea levels and serious food insecurity, currently worsened by climate change and other calamities, is particularly affecting refugees. Indeed I also have dedicated my life to addressing this issue, to ensure that the rights of my people, and those in similar situations at the front line of this global calamity, are upheld. We face a very real possibility that our islands, our homes, our identity as a people, may cease to exist within this century, rendering us all the more vulnerable to becoming climate refugees.
These are not easy times for any of us. The challenges are truly unprecedented. At the same time we know that it is our moral obligation and duty to help the refugees coming to our shores. These people are not fleeing their homes by choice. They are fleeing because they were forced to. Migration must be recognized as a shared responsibility of countries of origin, transit, and destination. We need to strengthen the resilience of both the host and the refugee communities by investing in job opportunities, education, infrastructure and social protection. The refugee crisis requires a global response, and therefore we must enhance the global effort through cooperation and coordination between all actors.
All of this reminds us that we need to work together. Collective action is not a luxury. It is a prerequisite for effective policies. Being a co-recipient of the inaugural prize in 2015 gave me great hope that the world has taken heed of my people’s struggles. I am glad that the Sunhak Committee recognizes the importance of the oceans in food security, environmental integrity, and overall socioeconomic development, not just for refugees but the world over, as essential prerequisites for a peaceful society. Since then, I have been given numerous opportunities to speak at events organized by the Universal Peace Federation, and through their network, I have been given a new window by which to spread my message. This has encouraged me all the more to pursue my life-long goals of peace and tranquility through addressing issues related to climate change.
To that end, I am certain that you will find this experience most rewarding. Iwish to close my message by expressing my best wishes for a memorable event and stimulating convention by sharing with you all our traditional blessings of “Te Mauri, Te Raoi, and Te Tabomoa; health, peace, and prosperity.
Thank you.
Press Release
“The 2017 Sunhak Peace Prize Award Ceremony”
Gino Strada (Italian Surgeon), Sakena Yacoobi (Afghan Women's Educator) Jointly Awarded
● Held on February 3 (Friday) at 10 am, at the Jamsil, Lotte Hotel World, Crystal Ballroom
● Over 800 people from more than 100 countries around the world in attendance, including current and former parliamentarians, national and international VIPs, music choreographer Kolleen Park, among others from all walks of life
● The “laureate lecture” will be held at a special plenary session later that day on February 3 (Friday) at 5:30 pm at the same venue
The Sunhak Peace Prize Committee (Chairman, Dr. Il Sik Hong, former president of Korea University) held its “2017 Sunhak Peace Prize Award Ceremony” on February 3 (Friday), at 10 am at the Jamsil, Lotte Hotel World, Crystal Ballroom (3rd floor).
Dr. Gino Strada, an Italian surgeon, and Dr. Sakena Yacoobi, an Afghan women’s education professor, were selected as co-recipients of the prize. On November 29, 2016, the Committee officially announced its laureates to the world at a press conference in Washington, DC.
Dr. Gino Strada is highly regarded for his humanitarianism transcending national borders, saving the lives of eight million people over the past 28 years, providing "urgent medical relief" to refugees and war victims at the forefront of global disputes. Dr. Sakena Yacoobi has been greatly recognized for her efforts to "educate" 13 million refugees at Afghan refugee camps devastated by the war, and offer a solution for their resettlement.
Each laureate received a prize of $500,000, to go along with a medal and plaque presented by the founder, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, and Committee Chair, Dr. Il Sik Hong, during the award ceremony.
The award ceremony was attended by more than 800 delegates, including former President of Kiribati HE Anote Tong who gave the Congratulatory Address, current and former presidents, and vice presidents, among others representing various governments, academia, businesses, media, and religions.
Committee Chairman Dr. Il Sik Hong, former president of Korea University said, “As a prize founded on the vision for peace to build ‘One Family Under God,’ the Committee presents the ‘refugee crisis’ as its core theme for the 2017 awards.”
Chairman Hong stated in his Welcoming Address that, "Presently as we face the largest number of displaced persons on the global level since World War II, the international community must make a transnational effort for the common benefit of humankind." He added, “In order to create a world of lasting peace, the award’s founder emphasized the love for humanity that transcends divisions of race, national borders, ideology, and religion, and campaigned for a world where we no longer needed borders because we recognize that we are all members of one human family.”
Chairman Hong asserted that “At a time when the global refugee crisis seems to be worsening by the day, these two laureates, who have devoted their lives to fundamentally rebuilding the lives of refugees through providing the most essential of our rights to ‘medical aid’ and ‘education,’ are the heroes of this era.”
Through his Congratulatory Address, H.E. Anote Tong asserted, “The refugee crisis requires a global response, and therefore we must enhance the global effort through cooperation and coordination between all actors.”
Meanwhile, the celebration stage was arranged by musical art director Kolleen Park, with the theme of “overcoming the global refugee crisis with respect and love for humanity.” The collaborative performance, with musical actor Jaerim Choi, Kolleen Park, and the Korean traditional art school Little Angels, created a fantastic harmony that highlighted the mood of the award ceremony.
The Sunhak Peace Prize biannually recognizes and honors individuals or organizations that have made enduring contributions to peace and human development for future generations.
The two laureates will have a busy schedule in Korea, including a special plenary lecture at the “World Summit 2017” international conference on February 3 (Friday) at 5:30 pm, following the award ceremony at the same hotel.