The Right Livelihood Award 2024
Cornelius Hamelberg
Cornelius Hamelberg
It’s always a matter of ”he who feels it knows”
We (the world) perhaps more so in our more Euro-centric Europe, are so engrossed with the ongoing wars in Gaza, in The West Bank, in Lebanon, in Ukraine, in Israel, and because of the dominance of the Western Media in the European language spaces / domains of cyberspace, we hear infinitely less from e.g. the world’s most populous Black Power nation Nigeria, where it would seem that some of their resident heavyweight commentators and residual remote diaspora exiles are more concerned about the rise in the price of gasoline than in any announcement from Stockholm, Sweden, about the laureates of The Alternative Nobel Prize 2024 which no doubt some of the champions of Human Rights and Black Power in Nigeria, would love to be awarded as a badge of honour, the prize money too as both reward and recognition.
I have been generally attuned, sometimes even waiting anxiously for the various announcements. I spent many days in the Nobel Library in 1980, was overjoyed in 1986 when the doors were flung open and it was announced, that Wole Soyinka was the lucky man, Wole Soyinka “who in a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones fashions the drama of existence”. I spent most of December 1986 and early January 1987 in Merry England, so on that day of glory, I did not see Brer Soyinka in person; the next tidings of great joy was in 1992 when Derek Walcott my proposed subject for a doctoral thesis, finally bagged the Prize.
The Headquarters of the Alternative Nobel Prize is a brisk five minutes walk from where I live and yet, last year’s winners also escaped me completely - overshadowed by the bombing of Gaza from October through 4th December 2023, when the laureates were announced - overshadowed also by the 2023 Nobel Prize festivities - the prize giving ceremonies, the general merriment, bon appetit and dancing at the Nobel Banquet, the BBC Nobel Prize 2023 coverage topped up by the insightful and inspiring glimpses provided by the BBC’s Nobel Minds 2023
In addition to the aforementioned wars, a tragedy - as disturbing as any of the aforementioned, Gaza, West Bank, Lebanon, Ukraine, Israel, and now Syria was brought to my attention last night (at about 2 a.m. Stockholm time) about the plight of our black brothers and sisters in Sudan, brought to my attention with exactly these words: faithfully, the conversation went like this:
Me: Say These 4 Things to the Holy Spirit Before You Sleep | C.s. Lewis
He: I thought you should be sleeping by now; It’s very late in Stockholm. Why are you not sleeping? Or are you interceding for the world?
Me: Tomorrow the mother of Jesus is presented at the temple (Eastern Orthodox calendar
He : Hmmm. I am not familiar with this but I am conversant with the Holy Bible which says for us there’s one God and one Mediator between God and man, The Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 8:6
Me: Paul has the last word on that?
He : The Holy Spirit spoke
Me: I'm disappointed that the church is not protesting the daily massacres in the Middle East
He : Last watched the proceedings of a meeting in Rome in 325 AD where the issues of Trinity was discussed
Me: There have been 7 councils ( since
He: - re - “I'm disappointed that the church is not protesting the daily massacres in the Middle East” - We discussed this before. I think there is a need for political solutions that allow for the rights of all the people there to co-exist as all creatures of God. I am worried about mass killings of Blacks going on in Sudan. It seems the lives of people there don’t really matter to anyone including the AU people
Me: Of BLACKS?
He: Yes!
Me : Christians ? Tell Ojogbon.
He : Re - “ Christians?” - Human beings. Black Muslims are even relegated
Me : What a world !
He: Taking over the land with the support of external forces is the agenda. The conditions of Blacks in the world disturbs me a lot
Me: Christianity is possibly now the only beacon of light, but by being silent isn't the church also complicit?
He: It was Edmund Burke who said an event has happened in which it was impossible to keep quiet but difficult to talk
—--------------------------------------------------------------
Well, may we have your attention please ? Here’s an article from today’s Dagens Nyheter, about the Palestinian Right Livelihood Laureate Issa Amro
https://www.dn.se/varlden/trots-morkt-lage-ser-issa-amro-ljus-fred-kommer-oftast-efter-krig/
Despite a dark situation, Issa Amro sees light - "peace usually comes after war"
Updated 07:39 Published yesterday at 07:36
Issa Amro has a 13-year-old son. His name is Watan, which means "homeland" in Palestinian Arabic. "When he is as old as I hope and believe, the world will be a better place," says Issa Amro. Photo: Lotta Härdelin
Issa Amro has been arrested countless times for his protests against Israeli occupation. He grew up with the right-wing extremist Ben-Gvir and has seen him go from violent settler - to police minister. The situation in the hometown is worse than ever.
- Peace usually comes after war, says Issa Amro, this year's Right Livelihood award winner.
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It is drizzling in Stockholm and no light manages to penetrate the massive gray cloud cover. Issa Amro thinks it's wonderful. He has spent the weekend walking, having coffee and buying new shoes.
- It's like getting to try living as an ordinary, free person. In a normal country, far from my everyday life. I feel safe here, he says.
DN last met Issa Amro exactly two years ago. At the time, he had just been released by Israeli police, after filming a soldier beating a peace activist in Hebron. Amro was accused of, among other things, disturbing public order, and in addition to several days in custody, he was banned from returning home to Hebron for a week.
But he defied the ban and appeared during a peace demonstration , to the cheers of the people.
- The violence is getting worse all the time. The settlers feel they have power, they have the support of the police and they feel golden. They have everything on their side, Issa Amro told DN at the time.
On December 2, 2022, Issa Amro participated in a peace protest in his hometown of Hebron. Now such events are impossible. Hebron is periodically completely cut off from the rest of the West Bank by the Israeli military. Photo: Paul Hansen
He was then arrested again.
Two years later, he smiles at the memory.
- I remember exactly. Hebron was a very different place then. Now demonstrations are unthinkable. They shoot protesters, he says.
Issa Amro is one of this year's Right Livelihood award winners. That is why he is in Stockholm, to receive the award which is usually called "the alternative Nobel Prize".
- I am very proud to receive this award, says Issa Amro.
He believes it will make a big difference not only in Hebron, but for Palestinians as a group. That more people will want to join the peaceful struggle against oppression and occupation.
- We devote a lot of time to documentation. We help with emergency aid for families who need it, we offer legal help, but mostly we try to get people to document what is happening. We have distributed a lot of cameras and got people to start filming when soldiers or settlers commit abuses, says Issa Amro.
He is the founder of the organization Youth Against Settlements, Yas and has dedicated his life to peaceful resistance to the occupation in Hebron in the West Bank. Hebron is one of the most egregious examples of occupation, with the city divided by Israeli border posts and the Palestinian population unable to move freely.
Itamar Ben-Gvir also grew up here.
- I know him well. We have grown up together and he hates me. He has always hated me, says Issa Amro.
Itamar Ben-Gvir is the Minister of Police in Israel's coalition government and party leader of the far-right Jewish Power. Photo: Ilia Yefimovich/dpa
Ben-Gvir is the leader of the far-right Jewish Power party.
- The police used to warn me about him. During a period in the early 2000s, we guarded Palestinian lands right next to his house, and at that time he was also considered by Israelis to be senseless. One of those who attacked us with violence. I never in my life could have imagined that he would become a minister, says Issa Amro.
And not just any minister. Itamar Ben-Gvir is the Minister of Police.
On October 7, 2023, after Hamas carried out its terrorist attack on Israeli kibbutzim and the Nova music festival, Issa Amro was arrested. He says that he was tied to a chair with a blindfold and had to receive blows after blows from the police.
- I was convinced that I was going to die. I was just waiting for them to shoot me in the head, he says.
But Issa Amro did not die. He was released. And became even more strengthened that his work is needed.
Photo: Lotta Härdelin
Now a new president is about to move into the White House in Washington. He has promised to bring peace to the Middle East - but he is also feared to take a lighter view of settler violence than his predecessor Biden has.
For Issa Amro, it doesn't matter.
- I don't trust number 47. He doesn't know how to make peace. We have to push him to it.
Facts. The Alternative Nobel PrizeThe Right Livelihood Prize, also known as the Alternative Nobel Prize, has been awarded since 1980 to recognize, honor and support people who have made efforts to solve global problems.
Right Livelihood was founded after the Nobel Foundation rejected a proposal to establish two new prizes with the aim of recognizing people who fight for social justice and environmental protection, respectively.
This year, Issa Amro shares the prize with Joan Carling from the Philippines, Anabela Lemos and Justiça Ambiental from Mozambique and with Forensic Architecture from Great Britain.
Issa Amro and Youth Against Settlements receive the prize "for their unwavering non-violent approach against Israel's illegal occupation and their support for Palestinian peaceful civil actions."
The prize is awarded on December 4 at Cirkus in Stockholm. The prize is a sum of money that will go towards the prize winner's ongoing work.
It looks dark at the moment. The war in Gaza continues in full force. In the hometown of Hebron, many Palestinians find it difficult to get enough food.
Issa Amro still sees the future brightly.
- I never lose hope. On the contrary. Peace usually comes after war. I see hope in people all over the world protesting against Israel's war in Gaza and against the occupation. People are changing their minds, even within Israel. It will lead to change, he says.
"Mr Gaga" director makes documentary about Palestinian Right Livelihood award winner
Topics in the articleThis is how DN works with quality journalism: information published must be true and relevant. Rumors are not enough. We strive for first-hand sources and to be there where it happens. Credibility and impartiality are central values for our news journalism. Read more here.
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