The Nobel Peace Prize has gone to some less-than-deserving recipients over the years (understatement). But in honour of St Patrick's Day, here's some homework for you on two recipients who did, in fact, deserve the prize.
https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1998
You can read the entirety of the Good Friday Agreement online. For such an incredibly important document, it isn't that long.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-belfast-agreement
The Good Friday Agreement only came about through a heroic effort by so many people. A tremendous amount of forgiveness and forbearance was needed on both sides to even sit in the same room as each other after all that had been done to their people. But there they sat, eventually, and they talked, and they agreed.
Peace once seemed to be impossible in Northern Ireland. It wasn't. We've been at peace for 28 years now.
It wasn't easy. But it reminds you of what can be possible.
@astronomerritt One afternoon, we were loaded into cars for a drive around the countryside, and one older colleague told us that a particular patch of grass was where he had to pass the border to go to school and had to let heavily-armed soldiers check his school bag every single day.
I don't think people appreciate just what a momentous occasion the GFA were. Which is good, because the collective trauma is healing. But it is also bad, because peace needs to be protected.
Steph (crisis version)
Hein Ragas