YEREVAN, APRIL 24, ARMENPRESS. The three heroes of the 2019 Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity have been announced: Mirza Dinnayi, co-founder of a humanitarian organization, lawyer Zannah Bukar Mustapha and human rights activist Huda Al-Sarari, reports Armenpress.

Their names have been announced by the co-founders of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative Noubar Afeyan and Ruben Vardanyan during today’s press conference in Yerevan.

“The selection process was difficult for the Committee, but they have chosen three names. The first one is Mirza Dinnayi, co-founder and head of the Airbridge Iraq. The second candidate is lawyer Zannah Bukar Mustapha, who founded the Future Prowess Islamic Foundation School. And the third candidate is lawyer and human rights activist Huda Al-Sarari”, Noubar Afeyan announced.

Noubar Afeyan added that Huda Al-Sarari has painstakingly documented evidence of the torture and abuse that take place within those detention centers and succeeded in raising international awareness of the human rights violations in Yemen. Despite facing death threats for her work, Huda Al-Sarari has no intention to stop.

In his turn Ruben Vardanyan introduced the next candidate - Mirza Dinnayi, who dedicated his whole life to saving the victims of the Iraq war, evacuating women and children from territories controlled by ISIS and providing those tortured and violated with rehabilitation and support. Having co-founded Luftbrücke Irak (Airbridge Iraq), he personally transports people to safety and delivers food and water to isolated areas, even after surviving a helicopter crash. 

Introducing the third hero - Zannah Bukar Mustapha, Afeyan said he is a lawyer and founded the Future Prowess Islamic Foundation School and the two schools of the Foundation. Mr. Zannah Bukar Mustapha abandoned his 20-plus years in law to focus on education after realizing the scale of the damage done to the youngest generation of Nigerians in Maiduguri.

The 2019 Aurora Prize Laureate will be announced on October 20.

Founded on behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and in gratitude to their saviors, the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative seeks to empower modern-day saviors to offer life and hope to those in urgent need of basic humanitarian aid anywhere in the world and thus continue the cycle of giving internationally. The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative is Gratitude in Action. It is an eight-year commitment (2015 to 2023, in remembrance of the eight years of the Armenian Genocide 1915-1923) to support people and promote global projects that tackle the needs of the most helpless and destitute, and do so at great risk. This is achieved through the Initiative’s various programs: The Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity, the Aurora Dialogues, the Aurora Humanitarian Index, the Gratitude Projects and the 100 LIVES Initiative. The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative is the vision of philanthropists Vartan Gregorian, Noubar Afeyan and Ruben Vardanyan who have been joined by more than 440 new supporters and partners. The Initiative welcomes all who embrace a commitment to our shared humanity.

The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative is represented by three organizations – Aurora Humanitarian Initiative Foundation, Inc. (New York, USA), the 100 Lives Foundation (Geneva, Switzerland) and the IDeA Foundation (Yerevan, Armenia). 

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan