On Monday, September 15th, Helena Maleno was honored with the XVII International Hrant Dink Award. The award was announced during the ceremony held at the Lütfi Kırdar International Convention and Exhibition Centre in Istanbul, attended by 1,200 people.
Helena Maleno, founder of the Colectivo Caminando Fronteras, was recognized for dedicating her life to making visible the violence at borders and defending the human rights of migrants. For years, Helena has worked courageously to give voice to thousands of people struggling to survive on migration routes to Europe. As Ayşe Kadıoğlu recalled on behalf of the International Hrant Dink Award Committee, “we are here to applaud those who do not give up on human connection.”
The national category award went to Bülent Şık for his work as a facilitator of technical and scientific information on issues such as food safety in a clear and concise manner.
During the ceremony, Rakel Dink, president of the Foundation that grants the award, addressed attendees defending the need for justice, especially for the most vulnerable, who suffer most when violence, harassment, resentment, and hatred grow.
Helena Maleno, in her acceptance speech, stated: “We are here to confront the racism that sustains the ideology behind death and suffering. We are here to honor the 31,258 people whose deaths our organization, Caminando Fronteras, has documented along the borders of Spain and Africa from 2018 to the present, and the thousands of people who lose their lives every day in border areas. Their memory sustains us. Because of them, we cannot surrender to despair or fear. Dignity is the path forward when the roots of life and solidarity are being attacked on so many fronts.”
Hrant Dink, a Turkish-Armenian journalist, was assassinated in 2007 for his defense of human rights, especially those affecting minorities, and for defending peace and harmony. Since then, on his birthday, the work of two people who fight for a more just world at national and international levels is recognized. The awardees are chosen for their dedication, their ability to inspire and give hope to people to continue fighting, and their commitment to working for a world free of discrimination, racism, and violence. Helena Maleno, like Hrant Dink, has taken personal risks to achieve these ideals, break stereotypes, and use the language of peace.
Awards like this commemorate struggles, connect the past with the present, but also create global networks of Resistance at a time of uncertainty and crisis of human rights worldwide.
Helena Maleno concluded her speech calling for an end to the genocide and Freedom for the Palestinian people.
