Tacoma Peace Prize

Oslo Trip 2009

David and Sally Alger

 

We were greeted by Turid Johannessen, of the Norse Federation, in the lobby of our hotel. It was the beginning of the most gracious week of hospitality that I have ever known.

 

Turid put together a wonderful schedule for us.

 

Our first trip was to the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights. We were welcomed into the President's office and greeted with coffee and cookies. Our host was the Director, Dr. Simon Rye. He was accompanied by John Bjørnebye, Senior Advisor and ambassador from the Norwegian Foreign Service, and Einar Steensnæs, Senior Advisor and the former Executive Director of the Center.  Mr. Kjell Magne Bondevik, President and founder of The Oslo Center, is the former Prime Minister of Norway, as well as Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Minister of Church and Education. He also served in Parliament for over 30 years. In addition he is an ordained clergy in the Lutheran Church of Norway. Just being in the room with this amazing group of people was very impressive indeed. As they began to share the work of the Center with us, Sally and I became more and more impressed. Our discussion focused on the major emphases of the work of the Oslo Center: Dialogues for Peace; Code of Holy Sites; Promoting and Sustaining Democracies; Human Rights; Mental Health; and specialized work in several countries.

 

It was clear to me that this organization has been so successful because of the presence of Kjell Magne Bondevik. He is held in the highest esteem in Norway and is respected worldwide. I was particularly interested in the work they are doing in Kenya and Somalia.

 

Finally, the work that they are doing around Islam has a close relationship to the work of One Nation, a part of the Russell Family Foundation. There is a potential relationship there that should be explored. The agendas of both organizations seem to be closely parallel.

 

On Wednesday we had a wonderful visit with Pastor Stephan Kienburger of the American Lutheran Church in Oslo. Steve shared with us the unique position the American Church finds itself in, as it is not a part of the State Church. In addition to many typical church ministries, Steve is actively involved in the issue asylum seekers. Norway is not a place that welcomes asylum seekers. Like Greece and Iceland, Norway makes it quite difficult for anyone to secure asylum there. Steve has a number of people in his congregation seeking asylum. He works with them and stands by their side as they attempt to work their way through the maze of government regulations. He also provides support to those outside the congregation. The future of this important work is somewhat tenuous because Steve�s three-year appointment ends this spring.

 

After our visit with Steve, we were off to The Center for Studies of Holocaust and Religious Minorities, where we met with Mr. Weiss-Wendt and Mr. Georg Broch. As we approached the building, Ville Grande, which was some sort of old mansion, I thought to myself, --What a strange and interesting site for such a center. I did not know how right I was. Once again we were graciously welcomed by our hosts. They promptly began a tour. It was not long into the tour when we were informed that the facility we were in was once owned by a notorious Nazi sympathizer, Vidkun Quisling, during the war. He and his wife Maria were the first residents of the villa. After the war he was executed as a war criminal. The villa is currently owned by the Norwegian state. It was wonderful to see this home reclaimed to be a place of education, historical preservation and as a memorial to those Jewish Norwegians who lost their lives during the Holocaust. The facility was funded by a restitution program. Today, all Norwegian children are required to visit this facility for an educational program. It is operated by the Center for Studies of Holocaust and Religious Minorities.

 

Once again, after a very informative tour, our hosts treated us to a special lunch in the dining room of the Center.

 

Next stop was the Church of Norway, where we met with Acting General Secretary, Sven Oppegaard and the Director of the National Interfaith Network. Once again we were meeting with the top leadership. The conversation centered around ecumenical and interfaith relations. I was impressed with the breadth and depth of their interfaith work, given the fact that Lutherans dominate the religious scene. The former General Secretary had resigned to become the new Executive of the World Council of Churches.   We also discussed the concept of "state church." One of the interesting sidebars was that both the state and the Church of Norway are interested in loosening this relationship. The state is a little nervous because of fear that the Church might become too conservative. On the other hand it is clear that parts of the church are pushing the state on the asylum issue. The relationship is a delicate matter.

 

That evening Sally and I took a break and went to Trinity Lutheran Church to hear a boys' choir in a Christmas concert. The church was old and somewhat stark, yet also very beautiful. The choir consisted of both young boys and adult males. It was an evening of glorious music, especially that of the children.

 

On the way back to the hotel we got a taste of the security in place for President Obama's visit. We were stopped on the street by a police officer armed with an automatic rifle. He was polite but firm in his directions to us. We were to learn later that the country spent over 200 million kroners on security.

 

Thursday the 10^th was the day of the ceremony. We walked down to the central city, stopping by the Grand Hotel where the President and his guests would be staying. Here you could see some of the massive efforts that were taken to assure the President�s safety. We walked over by City Hall and stopped by the Nobel Peace Center. We then met Turid at her office. We decided later to return to the Nobel Peace Center. After touring the facility, which was free for the day, we noticed they were serving refreshments and that they had a very large TV on which they were showing the activities at the City Hall. Sally and I joined about 30 others and watched folks arriving for the main ceremony. Soon our crowd grew to over 200 people. We stayed to watch the entire ceremony. It was just a matter of luck that we were in the right place at the right time. Both of us were struck by the quality of the introductory comments made by Thorbjorn Jagland, chairman of the Nobel Committee. He carefully spelled out why Obama was chosen. It is a speech everyone should hear.

 

We next met at the national Library where we had a private tour. We spent time in the rare book collection and with the curator of the Norwegian-American Collection

 

Sally and I returned to the Grand Hotel because we understood the Obama�s would be greeting the crowd at 6:50 pm. We got there around six and already several thousand people had gathered. As we wandered through the crowd the numbers began to rapidly increase. Soon the crowd had doubled in size to about 6,000. By 6:30 it was over 10,000 and still growing. The mood was pleasant, but the crowd was overwhelming. Sally and I chose to try to move out of the crowd. We finally managed to get to a side street and watched the Obamas on TV. The crowd at the hotel continued to grow. We walked back to the hotel, having had an amazing day.

 

Friday, December 11^th was another wonderful day. We were lunch guests at the Norse Federation. We were hosted by the Secretary General and his senior staff. In the afternoon Sally went off to visit some art museums while Turid and I headed out to visit AKSEPT, the major HIV/AIDS program in the Oslo area. Because of my work in this area over the last 20 years, this was an especially important visit. We had a wonderful conversation and tour. It was of special note to me that this program was sponsored by the state-church and that the program had some key religious components. It was also noteworthy that the majority of their clients were immigrants/refugees. They had a small chapel. I have attached a photo of their patron saint. He is quite a story.

That evening we watched the Nobel Peace Concert at Turid's home. She entertained us with dinner. When we returned to our hotel people were still leaving the Oslo Spektrum, where the concert occurred. It was less than a block from our hotel.

 

On Saturday there was one last stop. Turid had arranged for Ms. Anne C. Kjelling, head librarian of the Nobel Institute, to give us a private tour. She opened the building just for us. What an amazing gift. We visited the room where the committee of five meets to make their decisions. The room has photos of all the recipients of the NPP. We also visited the room where President and Mrs. Obama were received for a private reception. It was a special joy for me to see a replica of the NPP given to Jodi Williams. I had traveled to Central America with Jody in the 1980s when she was the director of the Nicaragua/Honduras Education Project. She received the prize for her work with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (1997). Anne presented Sally and me with a copy of Norwegian Nobel Prize Laureates. We are, in turn, presenting this book to you.

 

We concluded our time with Turid with a wonderful lunch. After saying our goodbyes Sally I left to tour VIgland Park, the Viking Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art and numerous local shops.

 

We left the next day for Iceland, where we spent three days and nights enjoying the sights and sounds of Iceland.

 

It was a wonderful trip. We only wish the American people could see and understand more fully why this award was given to President Obama. They see the shift in US policy as monumental. Our movement towards becoming once again a full, active participant in the UN and our willingness to seriously engage in diplomacy are seen as huge steps by the committee. They wanted to express their support for these efforts and for Obama�s commitment to reduce nuclear arms, and to encourage him to move forward.

 

When I stood in the crowd outside the Grand Hotel I thought to myself, "Do the people back home realize how so many people in Europe feel about President Obama? He is indeed the manifestation of their hope for the future."

Sally and I are grateful for this very special opportunity, and we thank Turid Johannessen and the Norse Federation for their amazing hospitality.

 

Rev. David T. Alger

February 5, 2010

 

Comments From Sally Alger

 

I am very grateful to the Tacoma Peace Prize committee for the experiences I was able to have in Oslo this winter.  The meetings with the very caring and hardworking people that you arranged were quite exciting and I would not have wanted to miss any of them.

 

What stands out for me:

Meeting with the staff and learning of the unique organization former Prime Minister Bondevik has created: The Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights. It was especially interesting to hear about one of the  projects that they are working on at the request of the United Nations:  to develop a  code of behavior concerning holy places during  political conflicts or military actions.  Such a code would inevitably draw leaders of various factions into respectful discussion of religious differences and conflict resolution.  I am curious to know more about this project. 

 

The Holocaust Center.  This strangely atmospheric research and education center is housed in the mansion from which the Nazi general Quisling operated during the war.  He was responsible for the deportation of almost the entire Norwegian Jewish population to Auschwitz.  The mansion was given to the Jewish community in Oslo for the purpose of establishing a memorial institution.  The center is part museum, part research library and part gallery for unique works of art relating to the holocaust.  There is a large library, a number of artifacts, letters, photos,a wall listing names of the deported people.  I was impressed with one work of conceptual art.  It consisted of a large room� painted a stark white. On the walls were many 1930s vintage photographs of Norwegian people; men, women, children.  We were told that these photos had been used by the Nazis as �scientifically established� visual guides for determining what specifically a �pure� Norwegian should look like.  Of course, to us, there was no particular recognizable pattern to the features presented; it seemed crazy, chilling.  We were treated to a great lunch at the Center and wonderful hospitality.

 

The National Library.  We were treated to a view of the oldest book found in Norway; an illuminated Bible kept under lock and key in carefully controlled atmospheric conditions.  We were shown the large collection devoted especially to Norwegian Americans.