Brief Chat
It ' s not about me . It can ’ t be just about me ,” Nobel Peace Prize nominee Hope Cristobal said , dedicating her nomination to her home island . “ This nomination really highlights Guam and our people .”
The former Guam senator is in the company of Pope Francis , Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya , Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and British environmentalist David Attenborough among others .
According to the Nobel Committee , there are 343 candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2022 out of which 251 are individuals and 92 are organizations . The Oslo-based committee will announce this year ' s laureate in October . Last year , the prize went to two journalists fighting for freedom of speech , Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Russia ' s Dmitry Muratov .
“ You can ’ t forge peace as an individual . Peace must be forged by many . That formula has to come out ,” Cristobal said . “ You can be at peace with yourself but what does that mean ? That means little if anything .”
Cristobal inspires and is inspired by indigenous women in the Pacific island region . “ To me , the nomination is a product of all of this activity , this energy that women have . I don ' t claim it alone . It is a product of the energy of indigenous Pacific women . I just happened to be there at these occurrences , at these events ,” said the former senator , who is a representative of the Guam Coalition for Peace and Justice , which advocates for CHamoru rights at the United Nations .
Cristobal , who served as a senator from 1995 to 1997 , was the sponsor of local statutes that created the Commission on Decolonization and established the CHamoru registry .
Cristobal earned a bachelor ’ s degree in secondary education and a master ’ s in education at the University of Guam , where she used to teach history . She completed doctoral classes at the University of Eugene in Oregon . She is the chair of the CHamoru Language
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Hope Cristobal
First and foremost , a nurturer
By Johanna Salinas
Commission and the director of the Guam Museum .
While she has held many titles through the years , Cristobal sees herself first and foremost as a nurturer .
In 2019 , Cristobal coordinated the CHinemma ', Nina ' maolek , yan Inarespetu para Direchon Taotao , a conference that focused on building a self-sustaining Pacific beyond the military economy .
“ The conference had Pohnpei women . We had Okinawa women and women from the Philippines ,” Cristobal said . “ The whole energy level that indigenous Pacific women have is amazing . These women are mindful of life as it is and how life can be better . Because we are nurturers , we are defined by nature nurturers .”
As an activist , Cristobal is not afraid of confrontation . “ At the Black Lives
Matter rally in Hagatna last year , there were counter-protestors harassing us ,” she said . “ I wasn ’ t afraid to back down . There are always people out there who will challenge you . These are just a part of the journey . It can be hard because I am an educator . I went to the BLM rally because I want to show my support for oppressed people . I follow the news and I ' m aware that innocent people are getting killed just because of their skin color . We need to see each other beyond the color of our skin .”
As an educator , she favors peaceful debates . “ There are methodologies associated with debates . And when confronted , especially at that moment , it ' s like , whoa , I better get myself in gear here and defend ,” she said . “ And I do defend my beliefs . I have to because when push comes to shove , you ' ve got to show strength . You ' ve got to show a more informed way of doing things . It ' s not just about the physicality of it . It ’ s about the mentality of it . And so you learn .”
Notwithstanding the global recognition that comes with the Nobel nomination , Cristobal remains humble . “ I ’ m glad I ' m just here to enjoy my life . I reflect on how I grew up in the ranch without electricity or running water , but with a catchment system ,” she said .
Cristobal is the oldest of eight children . At a young age , she looked after her siblings after their parents divorced when she was 11 .
“ By that time most kids were just learning how to make rice or care for yourself ,” she recalled . “ I had to care for my siblings and do their socks and shoes in the morning . I had to be like a second mother to my siblings . I washed clothes with the washboard . We would walk from the ranch to school at C . L . Taitano .”
As a single parent , Cristobal ’ s mother had to work harder . “ My mom had to work as a cafeteria aide at C . L . Taitano and a waitress at night ,” she said .
On behalf of her mother , the young Cristobal attended the Parent-Teacher Association meetings . “ I became the secretary of the PTA as a young kid ,” she said .
Growing up , Cristobal was surrounded by women who had a big influence on her traditional values . “ I was raised by my mother and her oldest sister . My auntie was like a stay-at-home mom for us ,” she said .
Cristobal is proud of being raised with CHamoru values and hopes that the current generation can perpetuate them .
“ I ' m currently in a women ’ s focus group ,” she said . “ We ’ re just a bunch of old people contributing our approach to handling some cultural aspect or discipline as older saina . In this focus group , there are about 12 of us and we get together to contribute to the understanding of inafa ’ maolek ( the miracle of our coming together ), ginefli ’ e ’ ( brotherhood and sisterhood ), inaguaiya ( love among us ).”