The monumental building of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Foundation for Peace Research rises 30 meters into the sky of Yamoussoukro, the capital of Côte d’Ivoire, strangely quiet, far from the madding crowd of the economic metropolis of Abidjan. At the entrance of the building, located in a sprawling park, a dove of peace decorates a globe.
Now, from the building’s glass facades hang panels of cloth with the printed face of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel. It is a very special milestone for Merkel’s return to Africa, a year after leaving office. This Wednesday (8.02.2023), Merkel will receive, in the self-styled “Capital of Peace”, the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize from UNESCO for her contribution to the management of the so-called refugee crisis in Europe.
“An extraordinary woman”
Huge posters of Angela Merkel are seen all over the city. The former foreign minister became the favorite subject of the people in Yamoussoukro. “I read in the newspaper that the former chancellor will receive the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Prize for Peacebuilding. She deserves it because she is an extraordinary woman. He carried out many actions for peace,” a resident of the Ivorian capital told DW. He adds: “She is really an admirable woman. We would like to be like her.”
People on the streets of Yamoussoukro express their enthusiasm for the new ambassador of peace. “She was a true leader. He did many things, helped migrants to reach Europe, and opened the doors to several thousand of them,” one man praised her in an interview with DW.
Merkel and her historical legacy
The jury for the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize, named after the former president of Côte d’Ivoire, is impressed by Merkel’s courage in 2015, when she opened Germany’s doors to refugees. With her now legendary phrase “We will make it!”, during the press conference of the German Government, on August 31, 2015, the then head of government of Germany manifestly welcomed the refugees and, for this, garnered both recognition and criticism.
Angela Merkel’s selfie with Syrian refugee Anas Modamani went around the world in 2015.
“The entire jury was moved by his courageous decision in 2015 to host more than 1.2 million refugees, particularly from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Eritrea,” said jury chair and 2018 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Denis Mukwege at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. According to him, that is the lesson that Angela Merkel leaves as a historical legacy.
UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay also honoured Merkel’s effort. “Suffering is universal, solutions to suffering must also be universal. Peacebuilding is also about opening doors to those who suffer. This jury decision is a reminder that welcoming migrants and refugees is a primary challenge.”
Peace, an achievement, and a prize
With her policy of welcoming refugees, Merkel earned a place alongside illustrious UNESCO prize winners who fought for peace, a series that began in 1991 with South Africans Nelson Mandela and Fredrik Willem de Klerk. But most of those prizes were presented at UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris, which is curator of the award and currently also administrator of the Félix Houphouët Boigny Foundation. The fact that Merkel, the third winner, receives the prize at the foundation’s headquarters in Yamoussoukro also has a high symbolic value.
In fact, the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Foundation celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, 30 years after the death of Côte d’Ivoire’s first president. In that country, marked in its beginnings by the civil war, Houphouët-Boigny is a symbol of the peaceful struggle for independence. An image that he wanted to cement with the construction of a gigantic basilica, and that he was able to expand with his foundation.
The prize is endowed with 150,000 dollars (about 122,000 euros), and is also made up of a gold medal and a diploma signed by the Director-General of UNESCO. A number of West African heads of government are expected to take part in the award ceremony. Angela Merkel will surely remember her old days as chancellor, although she is now traveling with a small delegation on a commercial flight.
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