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Adolfo
Perez Esquivel
by Melody Lentz
"To create this new society,
we must present outstretched and friendly hands, without
hatred and rancor, even as we show great determination
and never waver in the defense of truth and justice.
Because we know that we cannot sow seeds with clenched
fists. To sow we must open our hands."
On October 13, 1980 a man unknown to most
of the world stepped up to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
He received it "in the name of the poorest and smallest
of my brothers and sister because they are the most beloved
of God." Adolfo Perez Esquivel worked for peace in
Latin America for years by coordinating nonviolent groups
to work together toward common goals. A sculptor and painter
by profession, Esquivel, from Argentina, became active
in Latin America nonviolence movements in the 1960s and
1970s.
As a child, he admired peace heroes like
Mahatama Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. As an adult,
he desired to put his faith into action as he had seen
these men do. In the early 1970s, he traveled to Ecuador,
Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, and Honduras to work for peace
with local movements, often aiding poor peasants in their
struggles against the large landowners. In 1976, he was
arrested in Ecuador and expelled from the country during
a pilgrimage across Latin America. He was arrested again
on April 4, 1977 in Argentina, where he was detained for
fourteen months without a trial and was subjected to psychological
and physical torture.
While imprisoned, one of the awards and
recognitions he received was Pope John XXIII's Peace Memorial
in recognition of his work for peace in Latin America.
His time in prison allowed him to reflect on the need
to work for human rights and strengthened his determination
to work for peace and justice in Latin America. Adolfo
Perez Esquivel is founder of Servicio Paz y Justicia,
a human rights organization. Its purpose is to bring different
groups in to contact with one another. He is now president
of the Honorary Council of the Latin American Servicio
Paz y Justicia and of the International League for the
Rights and Liberation of Peoples in Milan, Italy. He is
also a member of the Permanent Peoples' Tribunal.
His passion for peace and his love
for the people of Latin America are obvious both in his
words and in his actions. In his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance
speech he said, "Because of our faith in Christ and
humankind, we must apply our humble efforts to the construction
of a more just and humane world. And I want to declare
emphatically: Such a world is possible... We know that
peace is only possible when it is a fruit of justice.
True Peace is the result of the profound transformation
effected by nonviolence which is, indeed, the power of
love."
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