Swedish army Maj. Wilbert Algotson was 39 when he packed his wife and two small children into the family car and drove off to the battlefield, to a war not his own. The Algotsons headed for Central Asia, where he helped supervise the India-Pakistan cease-fire as a U.N. observer. Fifteen years later, the 36-man U.N. Observer Group in India and Pakistan is still on duty along the disputed Jammu-Kashmir frontier, and Algotson, along with thousands like him, has a small share of the Nobel Peace Prize for 1988. The prize was awarded Thursday to the United Nations peacekeeping forces. Algotson will never see any of the $390,000 in prize money, but, in a telephone interview, he sounded satisfied all the same. ``I'm very pleased and also proud of having been part of it,'' he said. An army veteran, Algotson, like all other U.N. peacekeepers, volunteered for the job. In neutral countries like Sweden and Finland, which regularly contribute men and money to peacekeeping efforts, such duty is usually the only chance to see action. ``I knew it could be dangerous, too. There were still exchanges of fire over the line of control, in spite of the peace accord after the Bangladesh war,'' he said. At that time, in 1973, making the drive was a popular thing to do for the Finns, Danes, Swedes and other Europeans on the force, he said. It was partly for the adventure, partly because of the money involved. Algotson was entitled to an airline ticket for himself, but not his family, so driving was the most economical way to get there. The policy has become more generous in recent years. The plan, he said, was to do his job along the cease-fire line while his family lived in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Getting there was trouble enough. The drive took them through Europe, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. In Afghanistan, a French family traveling ahead of them was murdered during an overnight stop. During his one-year tour, Algotson served in several field stations along the dividing line between hostile Indian and Pakistani troops. ``We were out for three to four weeks with the Indian or Pakistani units and then had a week or so off,'' he said. After a year, he and his family drove back to Sweden. Algotson said he felt that people at home were interested and felt positively about the United Nations and its work. He said there were a few extra allowances, but on the whole financial rewards were few. ``My economy took a slight turn for the better. But at that time the state didn't pay for the family, or for home leaves, so all in all it probably was about the same,'' he said. ``The (1988 Nobel Peace Prize) choice was well motivated, since everyone enlists to serve peace,'' Algotson said. ``It would be very troubling if the U.N. role became so weak that this working process was no longer possible.'' Algotson said it was gratifying to know that he helped prevent the spread of a regional war. But of the conflict itself? ``I see no end to it,'' he said. At 54, and still on army duty, Algotson said he was considering volunteering again. ``If something comes up in Namibia I might go for it,'' he said. U.N. officials are considering sending a peacekeeping force to Namibia, or South-west Africa, pending successful negotiations between South Africa and Angola.
