Alganesh Fessaha

Alganesh Fessaha , also Alganesc Fessaha , (* 1948 in Asmara ) is an Italian - Eritrean human rights activist .

biography

After leaving school in her native Alganesh Fessaha went to Milan to there political science to study. She then stayed there and later completed training in Ayurvedic medicine. She now has Italian citizenship. In 2003 Fessaha founded the non-governmental organization (NGO) Gandhi together with other doctors and friends , which cares for refugees and orphans in twelve North African countries.

Engagement in Africa

Human rights organizations estimate that since 2009 up to 30,000 people have been displaced from the Horn of Africa by human traffickers , half of them women and children. The victims are brutally tortured and forced to call their family members in their countries of origin, but also in Germany and other countries, in order to extort a ransom. Activists estimate that at least 600 million US dollars have been extorted in this way so far . There are also reports that organs are being removed from prisoners.

The main concern of Alganesh Fessaha and Gandhi is the liberation of these African refugees. Fessaha travels regularly to the Sinai and Libya , where she locates displaced persons at personal risk and with the help of local rulers, frees them and hands them over to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) or other refugee organizations. In the past five years she has been able to free around 550 refugees from the hands of people smugglers and 2,300 from prisons in Sinai.

Honors

2010: Premio de la Pace by the Lombardy region
2013: Ambrogino d'oro through the city of Milan
2013: Premio Nazionale "Maria Rita Saulle"
2017: Premio Incontro tra i Popoli al 30 ° Tignano Festival per l'Ambiente e l'Incontro tra i Popoli 2017

Publications

Gli Occhi nel deserto. Gandhi nel deserto del Sinai . 2014, ISBN 978-88-99055-00-4 .

Web links

Nadina Schwarzbeck: Tireless fight against torture on the Sinai. In: Deutsche Welle. March 5, 2014, accessed April 30, 2015 .
Dan Connell: The Rerouted Trafficking in Eritrean Refugees. In: MERIP. June 12, 2012, accessed April 30, 2015 .

Individual evidence

^ ^A ^b Vanessa Simili, Milan: An Eritrean woman helps captive compatriots: They torture refugees for ransom. In: nzz.ch. April 16, 2015, accessed April 30, 2015 .
↑ ^a ^b Alghanesh Fessaha. In: en.gariwo.net. Retrieved April 30, 2015 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c Dr. Alganesc Fessaha. (No longer available online.) Roland Berger Foundation, formerly the original ; Retrieved April 30, 2015 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2
↑ ^a ^b assenna: The True Hero of Sinai Dr Alganesh Fesseha Gandi Awarded “Ambrogino d'oro golden medal” by the Mayor of Milan & Received National Prize in. In: assenna.com. December 9, 2013, accessed April 30, 2015 .

personal data
SURNAME	Fessaha, Alganesh
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Fessaha, Alganesc (alternative spelling)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Italian-Eritrean human rights activist
DATE OF BIRTH	1948
PLACE OF BIRTH	Asmara

[nzz-1] A ^b Vanessa Simili, Milan: An Eritrean woman helps captive compatriots: They torture refugees for ransom. In: nzz.ch. April 16, 2015, accessed April 30, 2015 .

[gariwo-2] Alghanesh Fessaha. In: en.gariwo.net. Retrieved April 30, 2015 .

[roland-3] Dr. Alganesc Fessaha. (No longer available online.) Roland Berger Foundation, formerly the original ; Retrieved April 30, 2015 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2

[oro-4] ssenna: The True Hero of Sinai Dr Alganesh Fesseha Gandi Awarded “Ambrogino d'oro golden medal” by the Mayor of Milan & Received National Prize in. In: assenna.com. December 9, 2013, accessed April 30, 2015 .