Efforts to begin next month to get 2 Austrian nurses Nobel Peace Prize

By Lee Kyung-min

A special committee will be up next month to help two Austrian nurses win this year’s Nobel Peace Prize for their more than 40 years of dedication to treating leprosy patients on Sorok island, South Jeolla Province, the government said Friday.

The government confirmed former Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik will lead the committee, along with first lady Kim Jung-sook. The nomination process for this year’s prize starts in September.

Marianne Stoeger, 83, and Margaritha Pissarek, 81, came to the island in 1962 and 1966, respectively, and left for their home country on Nov. 11, 2005. They are called “angels of Sorok Island.”

In April, “Marianne and Margaret,” a two-hour documentary was released, and Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon who was moved by the film came up with the initiative.

Leprosy patients were exiled to the remote island and were subjected to alleged abuses as well as social stigmatization.

While most Korean medical service professionals shunned the patients, the two nurses stayed there until 2005. It is said the two had worn only white gowns while treating almost 6,000 patients, unlike workers at the hospital that wore masks, gloves and quarantine gear.

Last April, the nurses visited the island at the invitation of Sorokdo Catholic Church and Goheung County in the province to attend the centennial anniversary of the Sorok National Hospital.

Stoeger was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago, and Pissarek is showing mild symptoms of dementia, according to officials.