[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 055 (Monday, April 7, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E692-E693]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        HONNORING THE 2003 REEBOK HUMAN RIGHTS AWARDS RECIPIENTS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 7, 2003

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to draw my colleagues' 
attention to a group of incredible human rights defenders. Each year 
the Reebok Human Rights Award recognizes young activists who, early in 
their lives and against great odds, have made significant contributions 
to the field of human rights strictly through nonviolent means. The 
Award aims to generate positive international attention for the 
recipients and to support their efforts. Honorees receive a $50,000 per 
person grant to a qualifying organization to further their work from 
The Reebok Human Rights Foundation. The recipients of the 2003 Award 
will visit Capitol Hill this week. I take this opportunity to commend 
Paul Fireman for creating this innovative corporate program for raising 
public awareness of human rights at Reebok and I congratulate the 2003 
Award recipients for their remarkable accomplishments.
  At a time when the world's attention is focused on the war in Iraq, 
we ought not lose sight of the fact a more safe and stable world rests 
in our ability to promote human rights and the rule of law. Recipients 
of the Reebok Human Rights Award are working every day to defend 
fundamental rights on every continent.
  Award candidates must be 30 years of age or younger and cannot 
advocate violence or belong to an organization that advocates violence. 
Award candidates must be working on an issue that directly relates to 
the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Women and 
men of all races, ethnic groups, citizenship and religions are 
eligible.
  Each year the Reebok Human Rights Award program undertakes an 
extensive nomination outreach program, with over 10,000 nomination 
packets being sent worldwide. After all nominations are received, a 
team of international human rights experts and researchers begin the 
exhaustive task of researching and qualifying all nominees. Over the 
next several months, references are obtained, facts are checked, and 
accomplishments are verified for each and every application received. A 
group of finalists is presented to the Reebok Human Rights Board of 
Advisors, who select the Award recipients.
  A total of 72 women and men from 34 countries have received the 
Award. These young heroes have ranged from a Cuban prisoner of 
conscience to a Liberian human rights monitor to an American advocate 
for battered women. All of them have taught us unforgettable lessons 
about the true nature of courage and humanity.
  The recipients of the 2003 Reebok Human Rights Award are:


                     Ernest Guevarra (Philippines)

  Early on, Ernest Guevarra (age 24) knew his life's mission was to be 
a doctor and to

[[Page E693]]

promote human rights. As a student activist, he helped found Medical 
Students for Social Responsibility and spearheaded campaigns advocating 
for the health needs of the vulnerable and disadvantaged. When Ernest 
graduated, he became a volunteer doctor in Mindanao with the Medical 
Action Group, providing care to victims of human rights violations. One 
month after September 11th, Ernest was asked to join a fact-finding 
mission to Basilan, an area with a number of Muslim rebel groups. 
Government forces were aggressively arresting hundreds of Muslim 
suspects, and it was alleged that many of them were being tortured.
  As Ernest was examining the prisoners, an armed guard threatened him 
with an M-16 rifle and locked him up with the detainees. Undaunted, 
Ernest continued his examinations and demanded that the prisoners 
receive proper treatment. When he was finally released, Ernest and the 
team pressed on into the perilous region controlled by separatist 
rebels to provide humanitarian assistance to a community under siege.
  They soon found themselves hostages. ``After hours of talking and 
offering sacks of rice and dried fish, we were able to negotiate a safe 
passage home,'' Ernest said. ``I was happy to come out of that 
situation alive, but sad that people there continue to confront harsher 
forms of violence and abuse. And, unlike us, they do not have the 
option to leave.''
  Despite the personal risk, Ernest chose to remain in Mindanao. 
Several days ago, the Philippine military invaded the region where 
Ernest is working in search of a rebel group. Thousands of villagers 
have been forced to leave the area. As the only doctor in the region, 
Ernest is responding to the crisis, providing an emergency health 
response system to over 40,000 refugees.


                      Pedro Anaya (United States)

  In his early teenage years, Pedro Anaya (age 24) was more interested 
in gangs than he was in human rights. But some influential mentors and 
a school assignment helped steer him in a different direction. When 
asked to write about an American hero, Pedro chose Mexican American 
activist Cesar Chavez. Dismayed when his teacher rebuked him for 
writing about a ``Mexican'' rather than an American hero, Pedro vowed 
to raise awareness about Chavez. Since then, he has used Chavez's life 
and values as a model to inspire young people.
  Pedro fights human rights abuses against Latinos of Mexican origin, 
the frequent target of discrimination and prejudice in the San Diego 
area. While still in high school, he organized a campaign to rescind 
the California proposition that would prevent undocumented immigrants 
from receiving benefits or public services. In college, Pedro brought 
campus groups and inner-city organizations together to support the 
United Farm Workers. He proved to local farm workers that by 
organizing, they could gain a voice, regardless of legal status or 
language. And he marshaled support to force growers to address health 
and safety problems and to replace deplorable worker encampments with 
proper housing.
  As continuing education director for the National Conference for 
Community and Justice, Pedro now pursues his personal campaign to 
empower Latinos. He has already worked with more than a thousand young 
people, fostering leadership and mobilizing them to learn to combat 
social injustices and prejudice.


                    Oona Chatterjee (United States)

  Community organizer Oona Chatterjee (age 29) took inspiration from 
poet Antonio Machado who wrote, ``Searcher, there is no road. We make 
the road by walking.'' Oona became an activist for social change in 
Bushwick, a poor and largely immigrant neighborhood in Brooklyn, New 
York. In 1997, she and a colleague founded Make the Road by Walking 
(MRBW), a unique community-based organization built on the belief that 
the center of leadership must be within the community itself. Since 
then, the organization has grown dramatically and now includes over 600 
members, a member-elected board composed of low-income community 
residents, and a staff of twelve.
  Over the past 5 years, MRBW has achieved many improvements to the 
lives of Bushwick residents. Members recently forced New York City to 
conform to federal law and provide translation services to non-English 
speakers in all of its food stamp, welfare, and Medicaid offices. They 
also forced dozens of neighborhood employers to pay more than $100,000 
in illegally withheld wages to garment workers. They have educated 
residents on how to prevent, detect, and treat lead poisoning. They 
launched GLOBE (Gays and Lesbians of Bushwick Empowered) to fight 
homophobia and to provide the community's first safe space for gay men 
and women. And, with Oona as the driving force, their Youth Power 
Project recently helped redirect $53 million of New York City's budget 
away from the expansion of juvenile jail facilities and toward youth 
development projects.


                 Mohamed Pa-Momo Fofanah (Sierra Leone)

  Mohamed Pa-Momo Fofanah (age 30) is an attorney in Sierra Leone 
dedicated to defending the rights of children caught in a web of 
poverty and unspeakable atrocities.
  Sierra Leone recently emerged from a ruthless, decade-long civil war, 
in which tens of thousands of civilians were killed, over 100,000 were 
mutilated, tortured and raped, and millions were driven from their 
homes. Many were compelled to work as slave laborers, and children were 
forced to become soldiers and commit violent acts against family and 
neighbors. This decade of destruction has left 75% of Sierra Leone's 
population under the age of 25, and has decimated the country's economy 
and infrastructure. Extreme poverty is rampant, and an adequate 
juvenile justice system is nearly non-existent. As a result, children 
have become both victims of abuse as well as offenders--often resorting 
to crime just to survive.
  Since receiving his law degree in 1998, Pa-Momo has worked tirelessly 
to defend the rights of children and to improve the treatment of 
juveniles in the justice system. He has worked with the Sierra Leone 
office of Defense for Children International, where he provides free 
legal advice on children's rights, represents juveniles arbitrarily 
arrested and detained, and takes up cases of child abuse and rape. To 
further strengthen his fight for the protection of children, Pa-Momo 
also helped create the Lawyers Centre for Legal Assistance (LAWCLA), 
the only organization in Sierra Leone to offer free legal services to 
indigent victims of human rights abuses.


                 Christian Mukosa (Dem. Rep. of Congo)

  Christian Mukosa (age 28), also an attorney, fights to expose human 
rights violations in the Kivu provinces of the Democratic Republic of 
Congo, in one of the world's most dangerous and turbulent settings. 
Since 1998, the Kivu provinces have been the battleground between 
Congolese forces and a host of armed rebel groups. The broader war has 
fueled interethnic strife, resulting in civilian deaths and the 
punishment of groups for suspected loyalty to rival forces. Human 
rights defenders who try to report on the abuses are repeatedly 
threatened and arrested.
  As a field investigator and lawyer for Horitiers de la Justice, 
Christian gathered information on abuses by meeting with victims and 
visiting detention centers. He also represented indigent victims at no 
cost, pressured local authorities to respect the law, and trained local 
activists to monitor human rights violations.
  Christian and his colleagues responded to reports of human rights 
violations by confronting authorities directly with evidence. Each 
week, they released one-page appeals on particular cases and 
distributed them to local and international human rights organizations 
and the United Nations. They also published an annual report on human 
rights violations.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to join these outstanding human 
rights defenders at a reception in their honor on Tuesday, April 8, at 
6:00 p.m. in the Rayburn Foyer.

                          ____________________