ASMARA OCTOBER 6, 2015(CISA)- 40-year-old Fr Mussie Zerai has been nominated for the Nobel peace prize award.
Fr Zerai was nominated for his role in saving the lives of thousands of migrants and refugees crossing the Mediterranean by simply answering his cell phone.
“They wake him in the middle of the night crying for help from flimsy boats taking on water. They dial his mobile from inside stifling cargo compartments of trucks in the Sahara desert,” reported The Telegraph October 6.
Fr Zerai often receives calls from satellite phones and then communicates GPS coordinates and basic information to Italy’s coast guard and EU naval authorities so that rescues can be launched.
Kristian Berg Hapviken, the head of Oslo’s Peace Research Institute told Journalist this week that he had placed Pope Francis at the top of the list for 2014, but this year, with the migration crisis worsening daily, Fr Zerai is now one of his favourites to win.
Other nominees for the prize include Pope Francis and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The Pope was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his focus on social justice and the environment.
Angela Merkel was nominated as the champion of the migrant cause, after opening the country’s doors to hundreds of thousands of migrants from the Middle East and Africa.
