Mohammed Ahmed Abdallah (born c. 1953) is a

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

ese physician and human rights activist.

Biography/Education

A member of the

Fur people The Fur ( Fur: ''fòòrà'', Arabic: فور ''Fūr'') are an ethnic group predominantly inhabiting Darfur, the western part of Sudan, where they are the largest ethnic group.Gettleman, Jeffrey, "Chaos in Darfur on rise as Arabs fight with Ara ...

, he is from the

Marrah Mountains The Marrah Mountains or Marra Mountains (Fur, Fugo Marra; , Jebel Marra) are a range of volcanic peaks in a massif that rises up to . They are the highest mountains in Sudan. Geography The mountains are located in the center of the Darfur region ...

in Central

Darfur Darfur ( ; ) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju () while ruled by the Daju, who migrated from Meroë , and it was renamed Dartunjur () when the Tunjur ruled the area. ...

. As a boy, he walked three days to reach his middle school, and five days to reach his high school. He then attended medical school at the

University of Khartoum The University of Khartoum (U of K) () is a public university located in Khartoum, Sudan. It is the largest and oldest university in Sudan. UofK was founded as Gordon Memorial College in 1902 and established in 1956 when Sudan gained independen ...

, graduating in 1976. The first physician from his area, he later constructed a medical network throughout Darfur to report rapes and other violence. He became a medical professor at Darfur's Al Fashir University and acted as director of the Amel Center for the Treatment & Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture in Darfur during the

War in Darfur The War in Darfur, also nicknamed the Land Cruiser War, was a major armed conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan that began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army, Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equalit ...

Career

Abdallah served as a delegate to peace negotiations between 33 Darfur tribes in 1989. At the beginning of the Darfur crisis in 2003, he again served as a peace delegate.

Award

In 2007, he was awarded the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award for being "steadfast in his efforts to rectify the region's human rights crisis through serving victims of torture and providing leadership in the movement for peace." The award came with a US$35,000 cash prize as well as a five-year partnership with the U.S.-based organization

Physicians for Human Rights Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is a US-based not-for-profit human rights NGO that uses medicine and science to document and advocate against mass atrocities and severe human rights violations around the world. PHR headquarters are in New Y ...

. In accepting the prize, Abdallah stated his desire to act not only as a physician, but also a hakim (the Arabic word for doctor):

The role of the Hakim is not only to treat the patients but to protect his community... In Darfur, my role is not just that of a doctor, but someone who must work to protect the community, uphold the human rights of the people of Darfur and work towards peace.

Policy Disagreement

In 2009, Abdallah criticized the policy of U.S. President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

toward Sudan, stating that though the situation in Darfur was worsening, the U.S. government still lacked a "coherent policy" for the region. Ahmad argued that a regional approach including Chad, Egypt, Libya, and the Central African Republic was the only way to find a long-term solution to the ongoing crisis.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdallah, Mohammed Ahmed 1950s births Living people People from Darfur Sudanese human rights activists Sudanese physicians University of Khartoum alumni Academic staff of Al Fashir University Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award laureates Year of birth missing (living people)