Gerson Gu-Konu, also Gerson Konu, real name Kwadzo Gaglo Gù-Konu (1932–2006), was a

peace Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...

and

human rights activist A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campai ...

and member of the Parliament of

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

Life

Gerson Gu-Konu was born in 1932 in Kuma-Adame, in the Southwest of Togo. He did his primary education in Kpalime. He continued his secondary studies until 1949 at the ''Collège moderne de

Lomé Lomé ( , ) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Togo, largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437

'' (known as P''etit Dakar'' at the time). He started his professional life as a teacher for the Evangelical Mission, first in Kpalime, then in Lomé until 1954 before returning to Kpalime where he continued teaching at the ''Collège Espoir'' until 1956. Group photo with Gerson gu-Konu 1961 Togo

Group photo with Gerson gu-Konu 1961 Togo

In 1955, he founded an association called in French ''Les Volontaires au travail (LVT)'' - The Volunteers At Work. 1957 he discovered international voluntary

workcamp A workcamp in international volunteering, is an arrangement where groups of volunteers from different countries work and live together as a team on a short-term basis and for a not-for-profit cause, usually for one to three weeks. Workcamps are co ...

s in

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

, and heard the first time about ''

Service Civil International Service Civil International (SCI) is an international peace organisation, founded by Swiss pacifist Pierre Cérésole in the aftermath of World War I to foster understanding and a culture of peace between people from different countries. Since ...

'' (SCI). In 1960 Togo became independent and Gerson Gu-Konu was elected Member of Parliament for the region of

Kpalimé Kpalimé is a city in the Plateaux Region, Togo, Plateaux Region of Togo, 120 km north of Lomé and 15 km from the Ghana–Togo border, border with Ghana. It is the administrative capital of Kloto Prefecture. Kpalimé has a population ...

. He supported the first president

Sylvanus Olympio Sylvanus Épiphanio Olympio (; 6 September 1902 – 13 January 1963) was a Togolese politician who served as prime minister, and then president, of Togo from 1958 until his assassination in 1963. He came from the important Olympio family, ...

. After the coup d’état of 1963, and the assassination of President Olympio, Gerson Gu-Konu was arrested and tortured. He was freed four years later thanks to petitioning by

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

(AI) and the ''

International Voluntary Service International Voluntary Service (IVS), formerly International Voluntary Service for Peace (IVSP), is the British branch of the Service Civil International (SCI). Founded in 1931, IVS promotes peace through volunteering, both in the United King ...

'' (IVS), the British branch of the SCI. He then fled to France where he found work in SCI Paris office, and became a member of staff. From 1970 to 1978 he was SCI International Secretary for

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

. In 1978, he went to work for the International Secretariat of Amnesty International in London. He was in charge of the development and support of AI branches in Africa. Throughout his exile, he was threatened by the régime in Togo, and was not even able to visit his homeland. He became very ill, and on retiring shared his time between London and Ho, a small village in Ghana not far from the Togolese border.

Bibliography

* ''Gerson Konu (1932–2006)'', in: ''Words about Deeds : one hundred years of international voluntary service for peace : Service Civil International 1920–2020,'' edited by Chantal Doran, Heinz Gabathuler, Philipp Rodriguez. Antwerpen: SCI International Secretariat ; La Chaux-de-Fonds: SCI International Archives, Bibliothèque de la Ville 2019, ISBN 9789463965385. Page 86. *Nigel Watt: F''irst communist in Fort Jameson, recollections of africa and other places 1955-2018''. Books of Africa, London 2018. ISBN 9780993503672. Page 140. * Olivier Bertrand: ''Breaking down barriers 1945–1975, 30 years of voluntary service for peace with Service Civil International'', Paris 2008.

Sources

* Nigel Watt
''Gerson Gu-Konu'', in: The Guardian, 31. August 2006
* Steven Hogg
''In Memoriam of Gerson Konu'', Service Civil International – International Archives
15. December 2006 * Godwin Tete
''Togo: Hommage à un grand combattant de la liberté, Gerson Gu-Konu''
12. December 2006, letogolais.com

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gu-Konu, Gerson 1932 births 2006 deaths African pacifists Amnesty International people Members of the National Assembly (Togo) 20th-century Togolese politicians Togolese human rights activists

Life

See also

Bibliography

Sources

References