In Wallenberg’s memory
THE second annual NSW Human Rights Award, which is dedicated in memory of Righteous Among the Nations Raoul Wallenberg, has been awarded to Muslim Women’s Association executive officer Maha Krayem Abdo.
THE second annual NSW Human Rights Award, which is dedicated in memory of Righteous Among the Nations Raoul Wallenberg, has been awarded to Muslim Women’s Association executive officer Maha Krayem Abdo.
Krayem Abdo was presented with the award at a ceremony at NSW Parliament House last week.
NSW Jewish Board of Deputies CEO Vic Alhadeff, one of three judges who selected Abdo, said the panel was unanimous despite there being a high calibre of nominations.
“Maha Krayem Abdo has a demonstrated commitment to inclusion and harmony stretching back two decades, including working closely with the Jewish community,” he said.
Speaking to The AJN, Krayem Abdo said the award’s significance in remembering Wallenberg represented struggle.
“But with a light at the end of the tunnel. You can never stop the struggle, but I think there’s an end,” she said.
Accepting the award, Krayem Abdo said she “was no human rights activist, just a servant of humankind”.
“I think this very much hopefully will carry much more than just a symbolic award of human rights,” she said.
“I hope and pray that [it] will change and bring together Australians from all walks of life to really cherish the faculty of the mind that we’ve been given, and to analyse and criticise and really value the life that we all have, the beauty that we have as Australian citizens, and how can we translate that into practice everywhere we go, whether it’s here in Australia, or on the other side of the world.”
Minister for Citizenship and Communities Victor Dominello said Krayem Abdo had worked tirelessly over the past 25 years to empower young women and promote harmony between multicultural communities.
“She has taken a leading role in working with religious leaders from other communities in NSW to support interfaith initiatives which foster greater understanding and tolerance,” he said.
“In recent years she has been a highly effective community advocate on a number of complex issues including facial identification, female genital mutilation, human trafficking and underage forced marriage.”
Krayem Abdo migrated to Australia from Lebanon during the 1960s and established the Muslim Women’s Support Centre, a refuge for women escaping family and domestic violence.
She was awarded an Order of Australia medal for her work in 2008.
She will serve as Human Rights Ambassador for 12 months.
GARETH NARUNSKY
Award winner Maha Krayem Abdo with NSW Minister for Citizenship and Communities Victor Dominello. Photo: Gareth Narunsky
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