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| Port of Call-Oslo,Norway-June 22nd |
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| Nordic design |
For Peace Boat participants, our one-day stop in Norway hopefully gave them a chance to learn about and reflect on the practice of peace. For the decades since the end of the Second World War, Japan continues to rest on its reputation as a country of peace and atomic bomb victim-hood while having one of the largest military budgets in the world and politicians who threaten the ability to build a nuclear arsenal on 24hrs notice. Meanwhile, Norway, on the other side of the world is a member of an increasingly belligerent and self-interest oriented NATO, yet by itself is exceptional in its commitment and contribution to peace in the world. With introductions to the country by Norwegian guest speaker Norunn Grande, a specialist on peace education, we spent the day seeing the ocean, mountains and a not over-developed Oslo, learning about the Norwegian approach to peace and taking part in a little action ourselves. |
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| Nelson M. was here・・so maybe this was not etched into the back of a chair, but we certainly could imagine the kind of people who've graced the premises in the last hundred years or so
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Still the question lingers unanswered about why the late Swede, and inventor of dynamite Alfred Nobel wrote in his will in 1895 that one of the five Nobel Prizes, the Peace Prize, would be awarded in Norway, and not Sweden with the other four. A group of participants had the rare opportunity to visit the Nobel Institute, otherwise not open to the public, and hear lectures on the history of the Institute and, from a representative of the foreign ministry, about Norwegian peace efforts in the Middle East, Guatemala and more recently Sri Lanka. Looking around the small building with a big reputation, in the ornately decorated rooms in which the deliberations take place and the award is announced, one felt a little closer to the people whose faces, Mandela and de Klerk, Aung San Suu Kyi, Arafat, Rabin and Peres, and diplomas hung across the walls, and the prize that recognized their contributions to peace in the world. |
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| Inside the lofty banquet reception room in the city hall |
With participants onboard Peace Boat coming from roughly 15 different countries, after hearing about Norwegian society and the particular kind of peace work it supports, we had to ask ourselves why it is our own countries could not make the same efforts. Among the characteristics of the Norwegian approach to resolving conflict was the necessity of neutrality, an invitation from both sides, absolute secrecy and respect for both sides; conspicuously absent from peace processes led by other countries in the Balkans or Middle East for example. Also of note was that this kind of participation in peace processes is, unlike other issues, supported across Norwegian politics and society. But is there no contradiction arising between such philosophy and membership in NATO? The response, diplomatically, hinted at the possibility by saying that the political and military importance of NATO member countries・participation was going down while the cost of membership in lost neutrality was going up. Maybe in the near future a greater contribution to peace can be made by certain countries leaving the membership of an organization arguably oriented towards pursuing its own interests, where interests means no longer defense of boarders but pursuit of resources and stability over peace. |
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| A bit of an ironic stage? Sandra and Sonja, our International Students from the former Yugoslavia, speaking at the protest against World Bank policies |
A welcome stroll through the city to the town hall
followed, though by noon-time there was still little activity for
the center of a capital city. The hall was a place where we could
see the history of Norway expressed in expansive murals on the walls
inside the huge hall. Windows overlooked a waterfront promenade from
which the thumping techno music of modern life emanated below. The
real action of the day was to follow in a central park filled with
families, ducks, and people wondering what the meaning was of a big
green WWII era Marshall Plan-financed army truck at the end of the
park flying a banner saying Peace Boat. The event was a protest against
the World Bank's ABCDE conference to be held three days afterwards
and to meet other NGO representatives in town for an alternative global
symposium・to be held in conjunction with the conference. After a series
of speeches by Peace Boat Participants and other groups, cultural
dances from Peace Boat groups and a Colombian group entertained a
good crowd until rain called the event to a quick end. |
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| Adding flair, the Colombian dancers |
After scurrying back the ship a little soggy, the sky opened up again for a beautiful departure through the channels and between islands dotted with small houses that dotted the water way out of Oslo. For beauty of nature and scenery we knew that the real display was yet two days away in the Fjords to the north, but for content, even our few hours in the city gave us much to think about. The tradition of peace as a concept is strong in the country, and it is worth thought to consider how our own countries can follow in the example. And especially for Japan, a country with a magnificent example of peace in its constitution that needs to be appreciated and followed in spirit by the government and people. |
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| Peace Boat's
37th Voyage |
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PEACE BOAT is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. |
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