The Speech of Dr. Mudawi Ibrahim Adam

This award, for me, is a lucky charm.

And, fortunately, it is not a charm I have to wear around my neck to benefit from its protection. It is a bit big for that.

For me, this award has the protection of recognition. If I am arrested again, which in Sudan today is always a real possibility, this award can help protect me from being harmed in prison.

And so I thank you and my family thanks you.
Every night if I do not walk through the door at the minute I’m supposed to, my youngest son calls me and says “Where are you now?”

Your support gives me a lifeline of protection.

So while I am privileged because I have people like you asking about me and watching out for me, there are thousands of people who are risking their lives trying to protect other people - and many, many people losing their lives without being seen, noticed, or felt.

Imagine the girls and women in Darfur who are losing their dignity and security through rape.

Imagine a man losing his dignity in front of his sons, being beaten, humiliated, in front of those to whom he is supposed to give protection.

Imagine a mother giving birth to a child being born from an enemy.

Imagine a man losing his dignity seeing his wife’s belly cut in front of him to kill his future child.

Imagine a man losing his humanity - seeing his beloved young daughters, his old mother and his wife being raped in front of him.

What is happening in my country can only be described as savagery.

By profession, I am an engineer. My expertise is water supply systems. I founded an organization with others devoted to development, which we see as a human right.

But we quickly realized we needed to address other human rights issues. What would you do if this were your country, if you were faced with these atrocities? You would fight them too.

And so, SUDO’s mission is to create a human rights movement capable of defending itself and seeking a society free from all forms of human rights violations.

So how can we address the situation in Sudan? I wish I could stand here tonight and lay out a blueprint to solve the crisis. After all, I live and work in Sudan. I am being given this award tonight. I should know. But I need to tell you the truth: I do not believe there is a simple answer.

The best course, in my view, would be a political solution - a peaceful political negotiation - mediated by a prominent figure with the active support of the international community including the United States.

Unfortunately, this seems a distant prospect. The Sudanese government will need to come under intense international pressure, and today that is not happening.

Such a negotiation between all parties including the Janjaweed, must be accompanied by a lasting ceasefire.

I am here to ask you to help me achieve this. As long as I am able, I will dedicate my life to making this happen.

This is my first visit to the United States. I fear that most people in this country are paying little attention to my country and have only a vague sense of what is happening there.

You can help change that. I urge you to talk about what is happening in Sudan, tell people about what you have heard and seen tonight about my beloved, bloody country. Get involved in human rights. Call newspapers and television stations. Give money to efforts that tell our story and promote peace. Call your leaders - tomorrow morning. Call anyone you know in a position to do something.

My organization and my colleagues and I will continue to do what we can on the ground, but without greater international involvement and support, we will not prevail.

When I go back to Sudan later this week, I will be asked—at SUDO, by my friends, by my family—if I brought you this message and delivered it well.

They will ask me if I think people will act as a result of my trip.

And in response, I will show them this award. I will tell them that we have been recognized. That Americans appreciate what we are doing. I will tell them you care.

And they need this. The people I work with are in the line of fire - helping others at great personal risk. You know that many humanitarian organizations have left Sudan. Groups like ours are all that is left.

So I will do everything I can to make sure the aura of protection afforded by your recognition tonight extends to them.

Thank you so much for this award.