Tomo Kriznar

Tomo Križnar with a member of Nuba tribe

I don't really have a hero- a person that I'd like to be. But there are many persons that I admire for what they do or what they have done. One of them is Tomo Križnar, a Slovene traveller journalist and free lancing cultural worker, who unselfishly helps poor people in Africa especially in the country of Sudan.

He was born in Jesenice, Slovenia in 1959. He liked travelling from a very early age. He started travelling because the environment was too tight for him. In 1977/79 he went hitch-hiking all around the world. Next two years he was travelling in Africa and South America with his bycicle. He came to Sudan for the first time in 1980 where he met Nuba's tribe. There he got ill and turned back to Slovenia. Doctors prognosticated him about a year of life. Even though he soon got better and started to work in a project of IBM International…

In the meantime his son was born. But soon things changed. Then the period came when everything started to fall into pieces: his family, the firm he worked, the state, his ideals, everything at all - except … It was 1985 and he had just entered his 30's. When he saddled his bicycle and went again around the world his friends considered him crazy. But he said to them:»Life is a present. It behooves us to accept a present, to examine it, to touch it, to feel it, to enjoy it and to use it.«

In 1985 he went to Pakistan India and Sri Lanka as volunteer to help in refugee camps. Then in years 1989 to 1999 he published 5 books about survived aborigines and how to protect them. While he was travelling around the world he was imprisoned four times, twice he was dangerously ill.

His daughter was born when he was in Australia. He settled there and became naturalised. But it all turned out differently than it had been expected. In May 1990 he was found riding his bicycle while he was smuggling himself from the Chinese side into occupied Tibet. Being a banished person he was accepted to his friend sailing ship's deck in north-western Australia, but there were numerous troubles with it. Among other things, the ship disappeared and the crew of four men escaped into one of the most traditional Aborigine communities where he realised (after initiation) that he is quite a great deal of Aborigine at his heart, not just Nuba. He was sent (again) to search for Maori in New Zealand by the seniors. Maori hypnotised him so that he was found among their ancestors in Polynesia. On Tahiti he was robbed to the last. He saved himself to California, where he was prying for Indians.

It was not before 1995 when he heard about genocide in Nuba Mountains from the book »Facing Genocide: The Nuba of Sudan«. At first he did not believed, then he decided to try to return and check by himself. Since 1998 Tomo is returning to Nuba Mountains every year. When he published a book in 1999 called »Nuba - pure people«, created positive public reactions. In 2000 and 2001 documentary films - »Nuba, pure people« and »Nuba, voices from the other side« attracted also attention of international institutions for human rights…

To gain legal access for reporters and observers on the rebel held areas of the Nuba Mountains he is now lobbying with human rights activist, UN humanitarian agencies, European community and American government and all other kind of influential power institutions all round the globe. He is also collaborating with organisations like Slovenian Karitas, Italian Amani, German Emergency doctors … to deliver basic humanitarian aid (salt, seeds, tools, medicine, school items …).

For his support for Nuba survival he was chosen Personality of the year 2000 by main Slovene newspaper DELO. And again in 2001 by woman magazine NAŠA ŽENA. In February 2006 he became Slovene presidential envoy and went to Darfur to present Slovenian president's proposal of peace agreement to the rebels. He got famous when he introduced Nuba's tribe to the world. A tribe that lives in Nuba Mountains and was for many years exposed to genocide, wars…This people he called Pure people. Meanwhile people were blind and didn't know what's happening in Sudan. Tomo bravely helped them also by writing about them and speaking loudly about what's happening there.

And that is the main reason why I admire Tomo Križnar- because he can be so unselfish. A lot of people in a modern world are occupied with their problems and selfishly think they are the only one with problems. But not many realize what is the real problem- there are many poor countries where there are wars and many innocent people are suffering and dying.

We should be aware of ourselves. The same or even more disastrous situation may happen to us, especially if we lose our human attitude in this global and uncertain world. Changes- I mean those environmental are coming.