2015 HONOREE
FEDERAL & STATE PROSECUTION & DEFENSE TEAMS & JUDGES
Through very difficult and challenging times, these men and women brought justice and hope to the people of Oklahoma, and the nation following the largest domestic terrorist attack on American soil. The investigation, two federal trials and one state trial that followed were historic in scope. Above all, a fair trial was of paramount importance. At the sentencing of Terry Nichols, Justice Steven Taylor, presiding judge at the state trial said, “It is truly ironic that the very government and Constitution…you professed to hate is the very government that assured you a fair trial and protected your rights.”
2014 HONOREE
ROMÉO DALLAIRE
The Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum honored Romeo Dallaire, a retired lieutenant-general, senator, and celebrated humanitarian with the 2014 Reflections of Hope Award. In 1993, LGen Dallaire was appointed Force Commander for the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR), where he witnessed the country descend into chaos and genocide. More than 800,000 Rwandans were killed in less than 100 days. LGeneral Dallaire, along with a small contingent of Ghanaian soldiers and military observers, disobeyed the command to withdraw and remained in Rwanda to fulfill their ethical obligation to protect those who sought refuge with the UN forces. Dallaire is credited for saving 32,000 people during the Rwandan conflict. 2014 marks the 20th anniversary since this tragedy.
2013 HONOREE
MALALA & ZIAUDDIN YOUSAFZAI
The Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum honored human rights activists Malala Yousafzai and her father, Ziauddin, with the 2013 Reflections of Hope Award for their resilient leadership in support of women’s right to education.
“Today I have been given the Reflections of Hope Award, and it’s an honor for me. It’s not only an award. It’s hope. It’s more courage. It’s more strength,” said Malala Yousafzai in her first globally telecast remarks since returning to school in March. “I hope that we all will work together, and we all will fight for the rights of girls. And the day will come when all girls can go to school.”
“I’m proud that in this world of men, I’m one of the few fathers who is known for his daughter,” said Ziauddin Yousafzai during his acceptance speech of the award. “I dedicate this prestigious award to all fathers, brothers, sons, and husbands who accept and respect their daughters, sisters, mothers, and wives as individuals equal to them.”
2012 HONOREE
ANTHONY SHADID, POSTHUMOUSLY
The Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum was honored to award the 2012 Reflections of Hope Award posthumously to two-time Pulitzer Prize journalist Anthony Shadid. This award was given for his life’s work as a foreign correspondent, his understanding of the Middle East and his role in giving people impacted by terrorism and violence a voice through his story telling.
Shadid’s widow Nada Bakri and children accepted the award on his behalf at a luncheon on Thursday, May 10th.
“Anthony had the unique ability to give a voice to those we would have never known if not for his writings. He gave us an understanding of what it was like to live daily with the horror of violence in their lives and he put a human touch to each story,” said Kari Watkins, Executive Director, Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. “Sadly, our Selection Committee had discussed him as an honoree the day before his death.”
2011 HONOREE
PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH & FAMILY
The Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum honored President and Mrs. George W. Bush and family with the 2011 Reflections of Hope Award. Barbara Pierce Bush and Jenna Hager, daughters of President George W. Bush, were in Oklahoma City on April 20, 2011, to receive the award on behalf of their family.
From their years in the White House to efforts today, the Bush family has been dedicated to improving the welfare of others by tackling international humanitarian challenges. While President Bush dedicated his efforts to spreading freedom, his wife used her background in education to simultaneously fight for women’s rights in the Middle East. The Bush daughters continue this legacy through their work to enact meaningful change on a global scale.
“We are humbled to be selected for an award that holds such great personal meaning coming from an institution that is closely tied to overcoming terrorism,” said Bush and Hager in a statement. “In his first official visit outside of Washington after the inauguration, our parents came to Oklahoma City to dedicate the opening of the Museum and all of the hope it inspires. Little did we know that in a few months, we would face terror again on American soil. Since that time, the Memorial & Museum has evolved not only as a powerful healer of a community, but as a national role model. Its example motivates us even more to pursue professions that can make a difference in people’s lives.”
2010 HONOREE
PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON
The Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum honored President Bill Clinton, on April 21, 2010, for his work in helping Oklahoma City transform following the bombing of the federal building almost 15 years ago and for his international peace work during his presidency and over the past decade.
President Clinton founded the William J. Clinton Foundation to focus on worldwide issues that demand urgent actions, solutions and measurable actions. The Foundation’s mission is to strengthen the capacity of people in the United States and around the world to meet the challenges of global interdependence. The Clinton Foundation has several initiatives which work to fight climate change, promote sustainable development, expand economic opportunity, and encourage healthier lifestyles. In addition, the Clinton Global Initiative, established in 2005, convenes global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges.
“In the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing, I tried to comfort and encourage those who had lost their loved ones, and the country at large, and to step up our efforts to protect Americans from terrorism. Fifteen years later, my life remains indelibly marked by the people I met and the stories they told me as work through my Foundation to address issues of insecurity and instability around the world. I sincerely thank the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum for this award and for all it continues to do to instill hope and promote healing across our nation,” said President Clinton.
2009 HONOREE
FATHER ALEX REID, C.S.S.R.
Father Reid is being honored for his life’s work in the peace process in Northern Ireland. His work was long term and behind the scenes. He brought to the Irish conflict two very important recognitions: (1) in order to have the space to initiate a peace process, you have to stop the atrocities being committed by both sides and (2) success in any peace process requires inclusion of all parties who speak for recognized constituencies. Even today, as dissidents continue outbreaks of violence, Father Reid’s philosophies are being used to promote peace. His goal was to stop the killing in Northern Ireland so peace could start, and it was his early work that persuaded the Irish Republican Army to put down their arms.
Father Reid worked to bring all parties together first by opening communication between groups of Irish Catholics, then by bringing them to the table for discussions with the government of Ireland, and finally by helping bring all parties together to work toward peace with the British government.
Father Reid recently said his philosophy in solving a conflict is, Don’t stand at a distance and shout at them, you must talk to them and engage them. You have to create space to make peace. In the wake of renewed killings, Northern Ireland’s people and its leaders are uniting against a return to the violence that plagued them for years.
Father Reid never saw people as Catholic or Protestant. He never saw the conflict in Northern Ireland as religious. Rather, he saw the problem as political and all participants as equal human beings. Father Reid sorrowed over unequal or inhumane treatment of any person and the loss of life, no matter religion or ethnicity.
“I am honored to receive this award,” Father Reid said from Dublin, Ireland. “I look forward to being in Oklahoma City to accept this award and am delighted to have the opportunity to see the Memorial and Museum.”
2008 HONOREE
CAROLINA FOR KIBERA & DOM TOMAS BALDUINO
The 2008 Reflections of Hope Award honoree was Carolina for Kibera, Inc., an organization whose mission is to fight abject poverty and prevent violence through community-based development in the Kibera slum of Narobi, Kenya. An inaugural award for lifetime achievement was presented to Dom Tomás Balduíno for his work in helping the poor of Brazil.
2007 HONOREE
SEEDS OF PEACE
Founded in 1993, Seeds of Peace first brought together 46 Israeli, Palestinian and Egyptian teenagers in an effort to change their perceptions of each other before fear, mistrust and prejudice blinded them from seeing the human face of their enemy. The program goes beyond international agreements and treaties. It reverses the legacy of hatred by nurturing lasting friendships that become the basis for mutual understanding and respect. By training these young leaders in conflict resolution skills, Seeds of Peace helps them become the seeds from which an enduring peace will grow.
The program had grown so that in 2007, more than 300 outstanding Egyptian, Israeli, Jordanian, Palestinian, Pakistani, Indian and American teenagers will be chosen from more than 2000 applicants to participate in the program. Thirty American delegates will participated in the summer camp as well. Since its inception through 2007, Seeds of Peace has increased its leadership network to encompass more than 3000 young people from several conflict regions around the world.
2006 HONOREE
DURGA GHIMIRE
Co-founder of Tamakoshi Service Society (TSS), a community-based organization improving the lives of marginalized people in Ramechhap, Nepal
In the midst of civil war in Nepal, where widespread intimidation, coercion and human rights abuses are prevalent, Ghimire and her husband Jagdish grew this voluntary grassroots organization to over 6,000 members in 40 villages, providing basic services in preventative and reproductive health care, sustainable agriculture, water supply and income generation through rural micro-enterprise. With no government aid, and with the help of only a few external agencies including World Neighbors, TSS is the only agency providing these essential services in the Maoist guerilla controlled areas of Ramechhap.
2005 HONOREES (Inaugural Award)
VOICE OF AFGHAN WOMEN RADIO
Kabul, Afghanistan’s first radio station managed by women, represented by Jamila Mujahid and Najiba Maram.
Since winning the award, the women have continued their work in giving the women of Afghanistan a voice in their new democracy and are hard at work expanding their organization to include television broadcasts as well.