Alternative Nobel Prizes awarded in Stockholm Saudi Arabia wants to board at London’s Heathrow Airport

The European aid organization SOS Méditerranée, environmental activists from Cambodia and activists from Ghana and Kenya were honored in Stockholm with the Right Livelihood Award. Three representatives of Mother Nature Cambodia, women’s rights activist Eunice Brookman-Amissah from Ghana, Kenyan environmental activist Phyllis Omido and Caroline Abu Sa’da from SOS Méditerranée in Switzerland received the prizes, also known as the Alternative Nobel Prizes, on Wednesday evening.

This year’s winners are witnesses to unspeakable suffering and are committed to saving lives, preserving nature and protecting the dignity and livelihoods of people around the world, the foundation said. Brookman-Amissah paved the way for liberalized abortion laws and greater access to safe abortions. Omido advocates for the land and environmental rights of local groups in Kenya. Mother Nature Cambodia fearlessly fights to protect the environment, despite severely limited democratic rights. And SOS Méditerranée saved the lives of approximately 39,000 migrants in the Mediterranean. Foundation director Ole von Uexküll took up one of Omido’s comments and said that anyone who wants to change the world should just start doing so.

The Right Livelihood Award has been presented annually since 1980 to courageous individuals and organizations that support human rights, the environment and peace. This year’s winners were announced at the end of September. The prize is at a critical distance from the actual Nobel Prizes, whose winners will receive their awards in just over a week and a half in Stockholm and Oslo. (sda/dpa)