Platon Instagram – dr. denis mukwege conducting a prayer vigil during his morning sermon. “I am writing to you from my hotel room in Oslo, Norway. This week I witnessed history unfold before me. I was invited by my friend and hero, Dr. Denis Mukwege, to attend the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony. It was a humbling moment in my life to watch the global establishment acknowledge the courage and compassion of this year’s two recipients – Dr. Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad. Over the past few years, Dr. Denis has taught me the meaning of empathy, truth, and righteousness. His resilience in fighting rape as a weapon of war is remarkable – everyday he faces daunting obstacles and risks, yet he is driven forward by a hope that justice will prevail over injustice, and that action will triumph over inaction. Nadia’s family was murdered by ISIS in Iraq. She herself was then abducted and forced into sexual slavery by the terror organization. Yet somehow, she has survived the horrors of history and has joined the battlefront to end this dark epidemic of sexual violence. Nadia’s Nobel lecture was an exemplary demonstration of stoic nobility. Dr. Denis Mukwege followed with a thunderous call to the world to end this barbaric brutality. He asked the question – how can we live in the 21st century with all our technological advances and yet we refuse to halt a war on women and children, forged with weapons of a bygone era. Through dark days, Denis and Nadia have not lost the capacity to dare. And so, to my friends of peace who read these words – Now is the time to speak truth to power. Now is the time to hold compliant corporations and governments accountable. Now is the time to rise above our differences and end this moral bankruptcy. Dr. Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad, I salute you.”