Barak's Peace Prize

Pic: macondaily.com

By Jessica Kriedemann

As if the mention of the name, ‘Barak Obama’ isn’t enough to get a three hour debate going, now he has been awarded the Nobel Prize for 2009. Many seem to be upset by the fact that America’s first black president hasn’t really done anything to deserve the highest award for peace...just yet.

With eight months in office and his continuous struggle with harmony in the Middle East, the Norwegian Nobel Committee states that the award was given for his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples”.
However, the possibility of the prize simply being another jab at the anti-Bush campaign has been brought up in many recent dining hall discussions.

In comparison with Nelson Mandela who jointly won the prize with F.W. de Klerk in 1993 after suffering in jail for 27 years and returning to peacefully help build a democratic state without bitterness, one can see why Obama’s win doesn’t seem justified. He certainly has become an iconic figure who has seemingly united the nation with a promise for a brighter future and his attitude and values are something that should be recognized and admired, but maybe not awarded for at this stage.

With already high expectations of the new president, I’m sure receiving this award adds on the pressure as well. Venezuela's socialist leader Hugo Chavez harshly compared Obama to a basketball player who had won his trophy before a match, with the promise of winning the game.

I don’t believe that the prize was unjustified, as I have high hopes for Barak, but I do think that the committee should have waited at least another year allowing him to deliver on promises made.