Sudanese physician from Darfur honored with Kennedy Award
November 17, 2007 (WASHINGTON) — Mohamed Ahmed Abdallah, a Sudanese physician, received the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award on Friday November 16 for his assiduous work in Darfur, where he provides medical care and assists survivors of torture and violence.
As head of a center for the treatment, documentation and counselling of victims of torture and rape in Sudan, Abdallah, from the majority ethnic Fur tribe, became a target for government scrutiny.
He was the first physician from his region in Jabal Marra, and later built a network of doctors in Darfur to help document rapes and other abuses that victims were too afraid to report to local police.
Though officially appointed to represent his region in formal commissions and forums with the government, Abdallah said in an interview this week that he is not immune to harassment or the occasional reminder, delivered sometimes by the most courteous of ministers, that he actually is at the head of a list of wanted men.
“This prize will offer some form of protection. … They keep reminding me to watch myself,” he said with a smile.
Speaking in interviews Monday and Tuesday, Abdallah predicted that failure by an expanded U.N. force of 26,000 peacekeepers to deploy by Dec. 31 would probably lead to more suffering and starvation, especially if humanitarian groups are not protected.
The Kennedy award comes with a cash prize of US$30,000, coupled with a partnership over five to six years for comprehensive support, human rights projects and advocacy with the Boston-based Physicians for Human Rights organization.
PHR has worked closely with local partners like Dr. Ahmed to address the human rights crisis that continues to unfold in the region, especially on the critical issue of sexual violence.
PHR’s Darfur Survival Campaign mobilizes health professionals, students, and members of the general public to press for urgently needed security in Darfur, including augmented African Union troops and a UN peacekeeping force of 20,000, as authorized by UN Security Council Resolution 1706. In addition, the Campaign insists on compensation and restitution for survivors.
(ST)