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It is hard to imagine the surprise of the Argentine government in 1980 when Adolfo Perez Esquivel received the Nobel Peace Price. The same man that the Argentine military dictatorship (supported by the United States) had imprisoned and tortured for 14 months, was being recognized and awarded a prize for his nonviolent action. The award was an embarrassment to the government, which took 36 hours after the announcement to draft an explanation of its past actions against PErez Esquivel.
Esquivel was born in Buenos Aires in 1931. His father was a fisherman who emigrated from Spain; his mother died when he was three. Esquivel is remembered by some as a difficult child, stubbornly determined to engage the world on his own terms, with fists if need be. Despite his family's modest circumstances, he was able to attend Catholic boarding school before working his way through the National School of Fine Arts in Buenos Aires. He received his master-of-arts degree at the age of 25 and became an art teacher and a sculptor. He continued to teach at primary, secondary, and university levels for over 15 years.
From an early age, Esquivel was a devout Catholic who took the message of the Gospels seriously. As a boy he admired Mahatma Gandhi's and Martin Luther King Jr.'s work and philosophy. He was inspired by writings of the Catholic monk Thomas Merton and by Charles de Foucauld. In the early 1970s, as Esquivel came into contact with people dedicated to nonviolent action, his sculptures and artwork began to reflect the suffering around him. During this same time, liberation theology spread rapidly across Latin America.
Esquivel understood the teachings of the Bible well but recognized that it was difficult to put them into action. His progress towards nonviolent action was gradual. He was involved peripherally with small organizations working for peace while he was teaching in Buenos Aires. He also helped with the Young Catholics organization, attending meetings, organizing events, and pitching in when he had time.
After a series of events, meetings, and conferences with bishops, archbishops, cardinals, priests, and lay volunteers across Latin America, Esquivel began writing and publishing a small bulletin. The bulletin began by documenting human rights abuses, reprinting sermons on nonviolence, and informing...