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Nobel Collection

An Introduction to Real, Modern Day Peacemakers

by Mark DeYoung 

The year was 1979. It was the beginning of summer, and the people of Poland had been living under an oppressive communist government for more than thirty years. Karol Wojtyla had been named Pope John Paul II just eight months earlier, and in the first trip back to his homeland, was scheduled to offer a Mass in Warsaw’s Victory Square.

To the chagrin of government leaders, three million Poles converged on Warsaw to hear the new pope’s words. On a beautiful June day, as Communist party leaders watched from windows above, John Paul II delivered the cornerstone homily that inspired years of peaceful demonstrations leading to the fall of communist rule.

The late pope reminded the massive crowd that “Christ does not cease to teach the great cause of man,” for He is “an ever-open book on man, his dignity and his rights.” He challenged, “If we accept all that I have dared to affirm in this moment, how many great duties and obligations arise?” And he prayed, “Let your Spirit descend, and renew the face of the earth, the face of this land.”

In light of the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s announcement of the latest Peace Prize winner, I thought it appropriate to highlight three true, modern-day peacemakers whose inspiring words, courageous actions and monumental sacrifices are renewing the face of their lands in the spirit of JPII, and whose stories are largely untold.

Immaculée Illibagiza

Fifteen years ago, amid the Rwandan genocide that claimed a million lives in 100 days, Immaculée Illibagiza hid in a three-by-four foot bathroom with seven other Tutsi women as Hutu soldiers and civilians engaged in one of the most expansive “ethnic cleansing” campaigns in world history.

Sheltered for three months by a sympathetic Hutu pastor, Immaculée cramped in silence as the Hutu mob hunted her. Sustained by hours of prayer, Immaculée emerged weighing just sixty-five pounds, only to discover that most of her family had been brutally murdered.

After a short period of exile, Illibagiza returned home to face the imprisoned Hutu man who had killed her father and older brother. This same man had called for her death from below her hiding place, shouting, “I have killed 399 cockroaches. Immaculée, you will be the 400th.”

Standing in front of this now humbled and emaciated killer, she was given the opportunity to confront and accost him. Instead, the words “I forgive you” came from her lips. When the Tutsi prison warden objected to her not lashing out, Immaculée told him, “Forgiveness is all I have to offer.”

Today, Immaculée spreads her story of forgiveness and hope all over the world. Through several books, a documentary and a feature film in the making, her story is reaching tens of thousands. She also directs a charitable fund that raises money to assist orphans of the genocide and hosts regular retreats of prayer, reconciliation and healing.

Pastor Bulambo Lembelembe Josué

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been a place of non-stop ethnic and political conflict for decades. Since the start of the tribal war over fifteen years ago, more than five million lives have been lost. Armed rebel groups consistently use rape as a weapon of war, with hundreds of thousands of women suffering brutal sexual slavery. At the same time, preteens are regularly recruited as child soldiers and indoctrinated to a life of extreme violence and drug addiction.

Christian pastor Bulambo Lembelembe Josué is a consistent counter to this destructive, war-torn culture. He promotes civic education among the population, infuses his religious sermons with appeals to human rights and consistently encourages armed rebel groups to lay down their weapons. Despite the horrors he has seen, Pastor Bulambo still believes and preaches that, “God created man in His image.”

But perhaps Bulambo’s real accomplishments lie in his living out of the old maxim, “Preach the gospel. And if necessary, use words.” He has initiated rehabilitation programs for both female victims of rape and former child soldiers. To date, he has provided services of restoration to over 34,000 women and offered programs of healing and reintegration for over 5,000 youth.

Chen Guangcheng

Chen Guangcheng lost his sight as a small child.  During his youth, he developed a desire to study law, one that was halted by a then-Chinese mandate that prohibited the blind from pursuing college degrees. Standing in the face of that discrimination, he audited the classes he was not officially allowed to attend, gaining enough knowledge to become an advisor to his local community.

When several women were forced to have abortions as a result of strict provincial family planning regulations, Chen travelled to Beijing to protest. There, national regulators promised him that local officials would be punished. However, immediately following the meeting, Chen was kidnapped, returned home, and held in custody for months. When released, he was subjected to regular beatings and harassment from local thugs.

Eventually, arrested following a peaceful protest, he was convicted of several trumped-up charges, and sentenced to four and a half years of detention. To date, Chen is still serving his prison sentence.

When asked about his heroic efforts, Chen humbly replied, “Someone has to fight for people with no voice. I guess that person is me.”

 

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(The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Headline Bistro or the Knights of Columbus.)