Tomo Križnar - traveler, journalist, writter, documentarist and free lancing cultural worker, (born in 1954 in Slovenia, university degree in economics and mechanical engeniring) has from his very early age liked to brethe deeply, to dream into stars, to walk barefoot across morning dew; in winter he has climbed frozen mountains and every spring he has fretted bows and arrows and built cabins by the local brook.
He started travelling when his home environment suddenly seemed to be too tight for him.
First - hitchhiking around the world. After that - around Africa by 100 ccm motorbike. Then around South America by even smaler 80 ccm motorbike. And then in 1980 accompanied by donky, two goats and four hens illegally to the mountains of Nuba in the middle od central Sudan.
The naked »savages« tested him and after that invited him to stay. They offered him an traditional hut, a piece of land to cultivate and one, two, tree girls to mariage. He stayed for four months, served as an apprentice to local witch doctor and learn to respect happy healthy tribal folk. He named them Pure people.
Africa's elementary joy helped him to retain the balance betwen the years of study stuffed with theory and the first five years being employed as a project manager in the biggest telecomunication enterprise in Slovenia. In those times he was searching for people like Nuba in the countries of central Africa by his 49 ccm motorbike. But to no awhile.
In the meantime his son was born. 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 set for the tour around the world his friends considered that he had lost his mind.
»Life is a present. It behoves to accept a present, to examine it, to touch it, to feel it, to enjoy it and to use it,« he said to his people, who were still aphatic into socialistic disability, and pushed across the planet. The Balkans, Bulgaria, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Ausatralia. He was riding his bicycle, he was engaged in voluntary work in refugee campuses and in leper colonies; he was experiencing the transcendency of fanatical religious sects; four times he was imprisoned; twice he was dangerously ill and desperately in love. By the way his doughter was born in Australia and therefore he ceased, he settled and become naturalised.
But it all turned differently that it has 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 by the skin of their teeth into one of the most traditional Aborigine communities where he realised (after initiation) that he is quite a greath 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. He equipped a new bicicle and started to search for coincidental encounters with indigenious people across Baya California, Mexico, Guatemala, Hounduras. Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama …
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 dicided to try to return and cheque by himself. In the dry season of 1998 he legally entered Sudan by boat from Egypt and traveled by bicycle all the way up the Nile to capital Khartoom. After he collected all necesary informations he left south and after Kosti sneak through the frontline into war area no foregners penetrated for over decade.
Since 1998 Tomo is returning to rebels held Mountains every year. In 1999 he published book »Nuba - pure people«, which created greath public reactions. In 2000 and 2001 documentary films - »Nuba, pure poople« and »Nuba, voices from the other side« atracted also attention of international institutions for human rights…
To gain legal acces for reporters and observers on the rebel held areas of the Nuba Mountains he is now lobbying with human rights activist, UN humanitarian agancies, Evropean community and american government and all other kind of influential power institutions all round the globe. He is also colaborating with organisations like slovenian Karitas, italian Amani, German Emergency doctors … to deliver basic humanitarian aid (salt, seeds, tools, medicene, school items …).
For his support for Nuba survival he was choisen Personality of the year 2000 by main slovenian newspaper DELO. And again in 2001 by woman magazin NAŠA ŽENA.
The Nuba Mountains have been subject to a cease-fire since 2002, and this has been incorporated into the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. International personnel have participated in a peace-monitoring mission since 2002. The book and films were made before that therefore they don't represent the current situation.
In February 2006 he became Slovene presidential envoy and went to Darfur to present Slovenian president's proposal of peace agreement to the rebels.
Tomo Križnar's books:
All books are bestselers and regularly reprinted.
Documentary films: