S. Korea recommends two Austrian 'angels' for Nobel Peace Prize
Former Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, right, shakes hands with Sister Marianne Stoger at an event on Sorok Island in Goheung County, South Jeolla Province, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Sorokdo National Hospital’s establishment and the 13th Leprosy Day on May 17, 2016. / Korea Times file
By Ko Dong-hwan, You Soo-sun
The government plans to recommend two nurses from Austria as candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize for their more than 40 years of dedication to leprosy patients on a remote southern island.
Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said Monday he will form a committee to push for the nomination of Sister Marianne Stoeger, 81, and Sister Margaritha Pissarek, 80.
Lee recommended to the presidential office that former Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik head the committee and first lady Kim Jung-sook be its honorary representative. Cheong Wa Dae expressed its intention to support Lee’s recommendation.
Lee’s office said a Korean government official aims to give a speech during a peace prize planning meeting this year to recommend the nuns.
The South Jeolla provincial government also announced it plans to recommend the nurses in recognition of their contributions on Sorok Island in South Jeolla Province.
The provincial government is discussing measures to push ahead with the plan, including forming a committee for the nomination. The committee will consist of members representing areas of welfare, human rights, medicine and public administration.
Graduates of a state nursing school in Austria, the two nurses began the mission of treating leprosy patients on Sorok Island in 1966. It had been an uninhabited and remote island, to where leprosy patients were exiled and where they would suffer from other forms of abuse. Yet, the nurses would stay there until December 2005, when they abruptly departed leaving only a letter behind.
Sisters Marianne Stoeger, back row right, and Margareta Pissar, back row left, pose with co-workers treating leprosy patients on Soroko Island off the southern Korean coast in this picture taken in 1970 at the Sorokdo National Hospital. / Courtesy of Goheung County Office
The two women are today hailed as “angels of Sorok Island” for their sacrificial service as well as their genuine care for the patients. It is said the two had only worn white gowns as they looked after 6,000 patients — a stark contrast to others who geared themselves up with masks, gloves and quarantine gear.
They cared for the patients, old and young, as well as their children, while receiving medicine from their families in Austria. The financial support they received from their hometown was used not for themselves but for facilities to treat the patients.
Initiatives to honor the two women have grown nationwide over the last few years. In April 2016, they were invited by the Sorokdo National Hospital, Sorokdo Catholic Church and Goheung County to attend the hospital’s centennial anniversary. Stoeger attended the event, while Pissarek was unable to attend due to illness.
President Moon Jae-in attended a ceremony at the Goheung Cultural Center honoring the two as residents and paid a visit to Sorok Island in May 2016.
In June this year, a group of government officials including Woo Ki-jong, vice governor of the province, met with the two nurses in Tyrol, Austria, to discuss the idea of a joint nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Vienna’s Urania Cinema screened “Marianne and Margaret,” a two-hour documentary about the nuns’ efforts on the Korean island, a few days later.
The screening attracted 230 people who celebrated the 125th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Austria.
Korean Ambassador Shin Dong-ik said at the event that the legacy of Stoeger and Pissarek “gives particular significance to the anniversary” and he hoped this film “will raise public awareness of their sacrifice.”
The Korean government plans to screen the film on Aug. 17 in Seoul and Sejong City as part of its plan to promote the nuns’ service.