Activist Wardah honored

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.