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The 2007 Oscar Romero Award

“Peace is not the product of terror or fear. Peace is not the silence of cemeteries. Peace is not the silent result of violent repression. Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all to the good of all. Peace is dynamism. Peace is generosity. It is right and it is a duty.” - Oscar Romero, January 7, 1978

    

On Sunday, April 22, 2007, the Rothko Chapel presented the ninth Oscar Romero Award to Shanti Sellz and Daniel Strauss, student volunteers for the human rights organization No More Deaths. They were each awarded $5,000 for their work with No More Deaths, a diverse coalition working to end the suffering and the deaths of migrants in the Arizona-Sonora (Mexico) borderlands.  Sellz and Strauss chose No More Deaths to receive half of the award in the amount of $10,000. 

On July 9, 2005, Daniel Strauss and Shanti Sellz found three migrants in urgent need of medical care in a desert arroyo. Conscientiously following the protocol agreed upon between the human rights organizations and the Border Patrol, the two volunteers put the migrants into their vehicle and drove toward Tucson for medical help. On their way, they were arrested by the Border Patrol and charged with two felonies: conspiring and illegally transporting undocumented migrants. They each faced a possible fifteen year sentence and a $500,000 fine.

The case drew national attention. Human rights groups such as Amnesty International, religious leaders, and many others spoke out in support of Sellz and Strauss.  Motions to dismiss the charges against the two volunteers were denied. They were offered plea bargains to avoid jail time if they admitted that they had committed a crime. Sellz and Strauss turned these down insisting that their actions had not been criminal. Finally on September 1, 2006, U.S. District Judge Raner C. Collins dismissed all charges against Sellz and Strauss, finding that they had made reasonable efforts to ensure that their humanitarian actions were not in violation of the law.

The Oscar Romero Award, established by Dominique de Menil in 1986, commemorates the sacrifice of Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez, Archbishop of San Salvador, martyred on March 24, 1980. Monseñor Romero had become a vocal advocate of a just peace, openly opposing the forces of violence and oppression. The award is presented periodically to persons or organizations who distinguish themselves by their courage and integrity in defense of human rights. This is the first time that the Oscar Romero Award focused on human rights issues in the United States.
                                                                                                                              A welcome by Executive Director Mary L. Welch, who briefly reviewed the history and mission of the Rothko Chapel, opened the ceremony. Gayle Ross DeGeurin, President and Chair of the Chapel Board of Directors, then greeted the overflow crowd and introduced fellow Board member Rev. Joe Eldridge to give the invocation. Rev. Eldridge followed his invocation with personal reflections on the moral and social transformations that had taken place in the life of Archbishop Oscar Romero. The Chapel’s past Board President, Frances T. “Sissy” Farenthold, introduced keynote speaker, Amy Goodman, host and Executive Producer of Democracy Now! Well-known for her interviews, Ms. Goodman invited award recipients Shanti Sellz and Daniel Strauss to join her on stage and discuss the actions for which they received the Oscar Romero Award; then she addressed the role of the media in time of war and the urgent need for an independent media.

Gayle DeGeurin presented the award first to Mr. Strauss, then to Ms. Sellz. The recipients donated half of their award to No More Deaths which was accepted by Rev. John Fife, Pastor Emeritus of Southside Presbyterian Church in Tucson, Arizona. Rev. Fife, who has a long association with the Sanctuary Movement, discussed it's history and significance. There is a historic parallel to the Rothko Chapel awards received by Shanti Sellz and Daniel Strauss. In 1986 Rev. Fife received the Rothko Chapel Award for Commitment to Truth and Freedom for his leadership in the Sanctuary Movement.
                                                                                                                         Click here to purchase a DVD or CD of this event.                                                  Click here to learn more about No More Deaths.                                         
Shanti Sellz and Daniel Strauss on Democracy Now!                                        The Reverend John Fife on Democracy Now!

This event was funded in part by the James R. Dougherty, Jr. Foundation and Martha Claire Tompkins.

 

  

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