Pope, Merkel, priest in running for Nobel
A little-known priest is competing with Pope Francis for the Nobel Peace Prize this week — and has even been given the Pontiff’s blessing.
Father Mussie Zerai, a 40-year-old Catholic priest of Eritrean descent in Italy, has been nominated for helping to save the lives of thousands of migrants and refugees crossing the Mediterranean by simply answering his mobile phone. Zerai is often woken up in the night by calls from migrants crying for help from flimsy boats taking on water, and from those inside stifling cargo compartments of trucks in the Sahara. He then communicates the GPS co-ordinates of the migrants, who call him from satellite phones, to Italy’s coast guard and EU naval authorities so that rescue crews are launched.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is also in contention for her policies on refugees.
Kristian Berg Hapviken, the head of Oslo’s Peace Research Institute, said Zerai is one of his favourites to win the Nobel Peace Prize, which is announced on Friday. The Pope, nominated for his focus on social justice and the environment, would likely not be disappointed by such an outcome. Zerai said the two met this year at a conference on human trafficking and shared harrowing survivor stories they had heard on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa.
Over the past 15 years, he has become a one-man crisis call centre for the Mediterranean as his number spread across the detention centres and refugee camps of North Africa. He now fields calls from as far away as Yemen and Indonesia. He founded the “Watch the Med” call centre, staffed by several dozen multilingual volunteers. Zerai said he hopes migrants have been given a voice in an international community which too often turns a blind eye to horrors happening on its shores. Medicine When: Late last night (NZT). The winners: William Campbell, Satoshi Omura and Youyou Tu. Irish-born Campbell and Omura, a Japanese citizen, were cited for discoveries concerning a novel therapy against infections caused by roundworm parasites. Tu, the firstever Chinese medicine laureate, was rewarded for her discoveries concerning a novel therapy against malaria. She developed the antimalaria drug artemisinin. Physics When: Tonight. In the running: US researcher Deborah Jin for her work on ultracold gases. US astronomist Vera Rubin for her pioneering work on galaxy rotation rates. Chemistry When: Tomorrow night. In the running: US electrochemist John Goodenough, whose research led to rechargeable batteries. Organic chemist Per Siegbahn, of Sweden. Literature When: Date not announced but traditionally awarded on the Thursday. In the running: Belarussian author Svetlana Alexievich, US novelist Joyce Carol Oates, Japanese author Haruki Murakami, and Nuruddin Farah of Somalia. Nobel Peace Prize When: Friday night In the running: German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been tipped for opening her country to asylum seekers in Europe’s migrant crisis. Father Mussie Zerai, a 40-year-old Catholic priest of Italy, for helping to save the lives of thousands of migrants. Pope Francis, nominated for his focus on social justice and the environment.