World Peace Prize Presented to Tefere Gebre

Posted By: December 06, 2017

Tefere Gebre, Executive Vice President AFL-CIO, and Fr. Sean Mc Manus

CAPITOL HILL. Wednesday, December 6, 2017— Yesterday, a top leader of the giant Labor Movement was presented with the World Peace Prize.

The event took place at the AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, DC. The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is composed of 56 national and international unions representing more than 12 million workers, active and retired.

The World Peace Prize was initiated in Seoul, South Korea in 1989 by the visionary Reverend Dr. Han Min Su, a Presbyterian Minister, who has dedicated his life to promoting world peace by bringing together East and West and representatives of all the major world religions: Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Orthodox and Zoroastrianism.

Fr. Sean Mc Manus — President of the Capitol Hill-based Irish National Caucus and Chief Judge of the World Peace Prize Awarding Council (WPPAC)— presented the Peace Prize, saying: “Tefere holds a rather unique place in the history of the AFL-CIO. In 2013, he became the first immigrant, political refugee, black man and local labor council leader elected as a national officer of the AFL-CIO. This is all the more remarkable when one considers his early background: At the age of fourteen, Tefere had to flee political violence and oppression in Ethiopia. With a nephew and three friends, he walked for ninety-three days across the desert to Sudan. He finally made it to the United States. Such an early traumatic experience might have broken many young boys. But with grace and courage, Tefere survived and flourished …  and now he is the third-ranking leader of the AFL-CIO!

And that is why he is a most worthy recipient of the “Roving Ambassador for Peace” award for 2017.”

The event was chaired by Barbara Flaherty, Executive Vice President of the Irish National Caucus and Corporate Manager of the World Peace Prize.

The Irish-born president of the Bricklayers’ Union, Jim Boland, also addressed the event.

The event was rounded off by a powerful rendition of the labor ballad “Joe Hill” by the famed singer Derek Warfield. Derek also sang the Irish song “God Save Ireland” in honor of the 150^TH Anniversary of The Manchester Martyrs.