Maysoon Al-Masry dedicates Gandhi Peace Prize for fellow Civil Defence workers

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Prominent rescue worker Maysoon Al-Masry has expressed her pride and honor after being awarded the Gandhi Peace Prize by Promoting Enduring Peace (PEP) organization.

The former volunteer in the Syrian Civil Defence, was awarded the Gandhi Peace Price last March alongside Syrian doctor Zaher Sahloul from MedGlobal for their efforts in saving and preserving the lives of the civilians under attack from the Syrian regime and Russian forces.

Al-Masry, who now lives Canada, has dedicated the price to the martyrs and the wounded of civil defense and the Syrian people, especially those who are still detained in the regime prisons, and those who believed in the white Helmets noble missions.

The Syrian Civil Defense had won several similar international awards including the Nobel Prize in September 2016 and Women of the Year award, in mid-October 2017 in a ceremony held in London, in appreciation of the efforts Civil Defense volunteers to protect and assist civilians in Syria.

The Gandhi Peace Prize, established by the PEP in the US in 1952, was awarded to many personalities who contributed significantly to world peace, justice, and the defense of human rights, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Chairperson of the drafting committee of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), and Martin Luther King, Nobel Peace Prize winner for his peaceful fight for African American political and civil rights.

Al-Masry started her journalism work in 2009, moving later to education giving open learning sessions for the children of southern Daraa province, contributing to the education of around 200 children and helping establish the Baraem Center for Children, as well as small projects for women.

In April 2013, a sniper killed Al-Masry’s brother. The incident pushed her to join the civil defense in the end of 2014, to be among the first women in the SCD. She underwent first aid training, qualifying her to participate in missions and, was later appointed head of the Daraa City Women’s Center while continuing her work in the media and education.

Zaman Al Wasl