Activist Wardah honored

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Honors and awards are the last thing an activist fighting for the rights of the poor seeks.

The looks on the faces of people who have gotten back their homes after being evicted, the smiles of pedicab drivers who have not lost their sole means of support, these are all the recognition a dedicated activist requires.

However, through her tireless efforts on behalf of the poor, staunch government critic Wardah Hafidz has been honored by the Korean-based Asian Human Right Commission, which named the activist this year's winner of the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights.

Wardah, the leader of the Jakarta-based Urban Poor Consortium (UPC), has been recognized for her work on behalf of the urban poor, including pedicab drivers and street vendors.

"Aware of the alienation of the poor under such political and social conditions, Wardah Hafidz, leader of the Urban Poor Consortium in Indonesia, has played an active role in formulating social welfare policies for the poor by empowering them ...," the committee said in a written statement.

Wardah will be receive a gold medal, a certificate and US$50,000 in a ceremony scheduled for May 18.

Previous winners of the award include East Timor's Xanana Gusmao and democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar.

The UPC works to raise awareness of issues such as the demolition of homes by developers and the lack of clean drinking water, electricity and public infrastructure, as well as other issues that marginalize the urban poor.

The non-governmental organization received the prestigious Yap Thian Hien human rights award in 2000.