On October 7, 2016, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize for his continuous effort to end the 50-year-long armed conflict with the People’s Army (FARC-EP.) In the interview following the announcement, Kaci Kullman Five – Chair of the Nobel Committee – reportedly stated that it was not up to her to say whether the decision was controversial, and that time and public ‘commentary’ would show. Much of the controversy in question, is linked to the list of ‘finalists’ that were considered along with Santos, among which: The White Helmet’s of Syria, otherwise known as the Syrian Civil Defence (SCD.)
Image by White Helmets, distributed under a CC BY-SA 3.0 licence.
The White Helmet’s are a first response, emergency team composed of unarmed civilians who volunteer themselves and consequently endanger their lives daily in order to ‘…help anyone in need – regardless of their religion or politics.’ Their functioning name (‘The White Helmets’) is linked to the Argentinian group Cascos Blancos which is responsible for the design and implementation of humanitarian assistance ‘guided by the principle of non-indifference’ in Argentina. Much like Cascos Blancos, the SCD consists of bakers, university students, technicians, carpenters and construction workers among others, who have pledged their commitment to the principles of Humanity, Solidarity and Impartiality according to the International Civil Defence organization.
An estimated number of 62,000 lives have been saved by these on the ground heroes, while 141 of their own have lost their life in their efforts to persevere through barrel bombs and collapsing buildings. According to the Netflix documentary produced in their honour, The White Helmet’s are the much needed modern day heroes who ought to be in the spotlight. It is important to note that the SCD is largely financed by Mayday Rescue and recently from Chemonics. Mayday Rescue is an organization which openly receives ‘generous grants’ from the governments of the United Kingdom, Japan, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Germany. Interestingly enough, Mayday Rescue was founded by the same man – James Le Measurer – who helped kickstart The White Helmet’s in 2013. Chemonics International is an organization based out of Washington, that works in countries that have experienced distress, such as Haiti; the company has experienced great criticism in relation to its spending audits. The fact that this undeniable link to the West has not been reported on by mainstream media, points, for some, to the potential misguided and propagandistic nature of The White Helmet’s work.
Photo: Chaoyue 超越 PAN 潘/Flickr/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Despite the fact that the 50-year-long effort of Santos is noteworthy – though, as with everything, must be contextualized especially when accounting for his career as Defence Minister, a time during which he launched a bombing raid in Ecuador,there is something to be said about the fact that the Nobel Committee chose to overlook a voluntary team of civilians risking their lives, and rather to concentrate and award a prominent political figure. While the 5-year-long period during which 422,317 lives have reportedly been lost in Syria, appears small comparatively, could it be that the Nobel Committee, much like the rest of the world, has washed their hands of the Syrian bloodshed and overlooked the only hope work done on the ground? More importantly – should one be alarmed by this or is it fitting of our world which continues to by-stand to the loss of civilian lives? The decision of the Nobel Committee is arguably a subscription to the bystander culture which seems common among the international community but only with respect to the ‘other.’
In a time of conflict and intolerance, the Nobel Committee, reinforced the notion of elitism by being complicit, and choosing to award the leading figure of a power structure, rather than to recognize and honour the community of people who according to Philip Issa of the Toronto Star, hold the most dangerous job on earth – even when accounting for potential ties. While attempting to send a message of hope to the people of Colombia, the Nobel Committee, sent a message of hopelessness to a dedicated team of civilians who are quite literally fighting for life itself. Acts as such reiterate the narrative that politics and all that represents politics is set prior to civilian lives.
By Vassilia Julia Al Akaila
Please note that opinions expressed are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the views and values of The Blank Page.
