Dr. Eyad El Sarraj will receive the award in Stockholm Friday 28
th of January 2010.
The Olof Palme Prize was founded one year after his death, in
1987. The 2010 Olof Palme Prize is awarded to the Palestinian
psychiatrist Eyad El-Sarraj, peace and human rights activist in
Gaza, for his self-sacrificing and indefatigable struggle for
common sense, reconciliation, and peace in a region characterized
by violence, occupation, repression and human misery. In his
professional and political work, Eyad El-Sarraj has stood on the
side of the individual human being, regardless of nationality,
gender or social position. He has brought into the light the
destructive influence of repression on mental health. He has shown
the connections arising between confinement, hopelessness,
desperation and violence, and how this is neglected by both
Palestinian and Israeli authorities. Read more
here
Eyad El-Sarraj gives hope and voice to a tormented people, and for
a just peace between Israel and Palestine, and for reconciliation
within Palestine itself.
Along with the prestigious prize, Dr. Sarraj receives 75,000
USD.
Dr. Sarraj founded Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP)
in 1992 and has since 1994 received support from Denmark through
RCT. GCMHP is a Palestinian NGO and focuses on mental health. Since
1990, the organisation has provided aid in the Gaza strip.
The organisation mainly focuses on helping children, women and
victims of torture and organised violence. GCMHP consists of three
health centres where they provide psychological counselling and
support for social development. As a part of their preventative
approach, police officers, prison guards and health personnel are
offered an additional education to decrease the likelihood of the
application of torture.
Furthermore, GCMHP also cooperates with other Palestinian,
Israeli and international organisations regarding initiatives to
enhance the peace process and a peaceful future for Palestine.
On February 1st at 10:30 a.m., the human rights activist and
Olof Palme prize awarded Dr. Sarraj will give a press conference in
IPC, Vestergade 2, Copenhagen.
At 16:30-18 there will be a public meeting at the Daily
newspaper Politiken, Vestergade 28, Copenhagen.
For further information: Coordinator Tue Magnussen, RCT, phone: + 45 33 76 06
00.