At first glance, tirana hassan doesn't fit the image of a frontline human rights worker.Instead, she looks like one of the fashionable young women who shop on king william rd, with her stylish bob, luminous dark eyes highlighted with makeup, and casually elegant khaki shirt, jeans and high heels.But then she starts to talk about her recent experiences documenting human rights abuses in libya.And the scene rapidly shifts from her parents' sunny goodwood home to the destruction and carnage in sirte, site of muammar gaddafi's last stand.
"Human rights watch had sent a team to sirte during the siege,"Hassan says matteroffactly. "About 3am the ground began shaking and we heard heavy artillery and rocket fire in the distance.The revolutionaries were clearly bombing the city.Some of gaddafi's loyalists were literally penned into a corner of the city. "
It wasn't until the next morning that hassan and her colleagues cautiously emerged from their shelter. "We always have very good security,"She says. "I don't run around places just to hang out in a war zone.We're very careful and work with local human rights organisations and local fixers who help us assess the risks.If there's bullet fire, i'll wear a flak jacket and won't go walking through the streets. "
Still, she reluctantly acknowledges, her work does pose real threats.On a previous assignment with save the children in darfur, sudan, one of the group's convoys was ambushed, and in another incident, two colleagues were murdered.
And some places are never safe, no matter how many precautions are taken. "When i worked for medicins sans frontieres as a humanitarian affairs officer in somalia there were several places that were so dangerous, like mogadishu, that you just got in ichaeloronlineale and got out as quickly as possible,"She says.
So what compels her to put herself on the front line? "In human rights watch we take those risks because if no one is there to witness what's happening then no one will michael kors bags hear about it and more people will die or be hurt or get arrested or raped,"She says.
Yet it is a confronting job.In sirte, the team found the remains of 57 executed bodies scattered in the gardens of the amhari hotel. "It had been a base for the rebel brigade and those dead men had probably been taken prisoner from the gaddafi convoy, which was fleeing the town,"Hassan says. "We were able to piece together their final moments by interviewing witnesses. "
Is it important for all prisoners in conflicts to be treated humanely, regardless of who they are.Even for monsters such as gaddafi? "Yes,"She says with certainty. "We are sure that gaddafi and his son muatassim died at the hands of their captors.But they should have gone before the international criminal court.It was a chaotic situation, with people having lost control of their lives, then finding the person who had oppressed them for 42 years.But the laws of war still apply.There were those who were somewhat relieved he died but there were also many libyans who wanted him to be accountable for decades of crimes, oppression and brutality. "
Hassan's commitment to battle oppression and injustice has driven her for the past 15 years.Although just 37, she has already had a lifetime of experiences, rescuing lost children after the tsunami in aceh;Working to reintegrate child soldiers in sierra leone, liberia and the ivory coast back into their communities;And now witnessing a pivotal moment in libya's history.
Yet she remains upbeat. "I think if i had just documented these events and walked away, it would have had a profound impact on me,"She says. "But these are real people's stories.I have a responsibility to do something with this information, not just record it.Even with everything i've seen, i still have hope for the future.It's not to say there are not moments when i shake my head and wonder what drives people to commit crimes and violence.But for the most part, the witnesses, survivors and victims whose experiences we document are probably among the most strong, compassionate, generous and courageous people i have ever met.I often walk away humbled by these meetings. "
She credits her parents, riaz and selva hassan, for giving her a strong sense of social justice.Riaz, who is emeritus professor in sociology at flinders university, and selva, who ran a dental practice in hackham for over 20 years, met and married in singapore in the 1960s.They had two children, haroon, who is now a lawyer in melbourne, and tirana.The family moved to adelaide when tirana was three, where she attended blackwood primary school and scotch college.
When the hassan family travelled to pakistan and malaysia to visit relatives, tirana began to gain a world view. "While my father was working, my poor mother dragged her reluctant children to temples and historical places,"Hassan says. "In the long term, what they both did gave us a broader perspective.We went to places, especially in southeast asia and asia, where you see a lot of poverty, but we didn't baulk at it. "
During the family's stay in java, she vividly remembers seeing a man with leprosy, who used to come to their house and beg for food. "We were taught by our parents to give alms to the poor.That's also one of the teachings of islam. "
Hassan enrolled in social work at the university of south australia, then worked for the adelaide central mission, and youth homelessness.Later, she enrolled in law at the university of adelaide and soon after joined a team of lawyers working for nothing to represent the asylum seekers at the woomera detention centre.She was appalled at the government's hardline stance. "It wasn't just about the mandatory detention policy,"Hassan says. "It was also the fact that the asylum seekers had been stripped of all their legal right to appeal. "
After completing her law degree, hassan joined save the children, overseeing child protection in emergencies in indonesia and africa.She met her partner, malik, a french humanitarian aid worker while posted in darfur.Over the next four years she worked as a child protection advocate for save the children, medicins san frontieres and unicef.In 2010, she became an emergencies researcher for human rights watch, based in brussels.Living in brussels gives her a welcome break from the frontline horrors and the opportunity to enjoy the simple pleasures of everyday life. "I walk my dogs every day(A kenyan street dog she rescued from an animal shelter and a chocolate labrador from dakar), I cook for my friends;It's a very normal life.But when we work, we work. "
When hassan's team goes on assignment, they hit the ground running. "We investigate human rights abuses as they're occurring.We try to get on the ground as quickly as possible and then get the information out within 24 hours so there can be a quick response to prevent further abuses,"Hassan says.They also work at an international level, taking their collected evidence to international media outlets, the european union, the african union and the united nations.
She remembers one recent win with particular pride.She and her team were investigating abuses against protesters in bahrain. "At the time there was a formula one grand prix in bahrain run by the crown prince.We went to the formula one organisers in london and explained to them what the regime was doing to its people.We asked the organisers if they wanted their brand to be associated with those abuses. "
started by sdf gfjh on 26 Feb 14
At first glance, tirana hassan doesn't fit the image of a frontline human rights worker.Instead, she looks like one of the fashionable young women who shop on king william rd, with her stylish bob, luminous dark eyes highlighted with makeup, and casually elegant khaki shirt, jeans and high heels.But then she starts to talk about her recent experiences documenting human rights abuses in libya.And the scene rapidly shifts from her parents' sunny goodwood home to the destruction and carnage in sirte, site of muammar gaddafi's last stand.
"Human rights watch had sent a team to sirte during the siege,"Hassan says matteroffactly. "About 3am the ground began shaking and we heard heavy artillery and rocket fire in the distance.The revolutionaries were clearly bombing the city.Some of gaddafi's loyalists were literally penned into a corner of the city. "
It wasn't until the next morning that hassan and her colleagues cautiously emerged from their shelter. "We always have very good security,"She says. "I don't run around places just to hang out in a war zone.We're very careful and work with local human rights organisations and local fixers who help us assess the risks.If there's bullet fire, i'll wear a flak jacket and won't go walking through the streets. "
Still, she reluctantly acknowledges, her work does pose real threats.On a previous assignment with save the children in darfur, sudan, one of the group's convoys was ambushed, and in another incident, two colleagues were murdered.
And some places are never safe, no matter how many precautions are taken. "When i worked for medicins sans frontieres as a humanitarian affairs officer in somalia there were several places that were so dangerous, like mogadishu, that you just got in ichaeloronlineale and got out as quickly as possible,"She says.
So what compels her to put herself on the front line? "In human rights watch we take those risks because if no one is there to witness what's happening then no one will michael kors bags hear about it and more people will die or be hurt or get arrested or raped,"She says.
Yet it is a confronting job.In sirte, the team found the remains of 57 executed bodies scattered in the gardens of the amhari hotel. "It had been a base for the rebel brigade and those dead men had probably been taken prisoner from the gaddafi convoy, which was fleeing the town,"Hassan says. "We were able to piece together their final moments by interviewing witnesses. "
Is it important for all prisoners in conflicts to be treated humanely, regardless of who they are.Even for monsters such as gaddafi? "Yes,"She says with certainty. "We are sure that gaddafi and his son muatassim died at the hands of their captors.But they should have gone before the international criminal court.It was a chaotic situation, with people having lost control of their lives, then finding the person who had oppressed them for 42 years.But the laws of war still apply.There were those who were somewhat relieved he died but there were also many libyans who wanted him to be accountable for decades of crimes, oppression and brutality. "
Hassan's commitment to battle oppression and injustice has driven her for the past 15 years.Although just 37, she has already had a lifetime of experiences, rescuing lost children after the tsunami in aceh;Working to reintegrate child soldiers in sierra leone, liberia and the ivory coast back into their communities;And now witnessing a pivotal moment in libya's history.
Yet she remains upbeat. "I think if i had just documented these events and walked away, it would have had a profound impact on me,"She says. "But these are real people's stories.I have a responsibility to do something with this information, not just record it.Even with everything i've seen, i still have hope for the future.It's not to say there are not moments when i shake my head and wonder what drives people to commit crimes and violence.But for the most part, the witnesses, survivors and victims whose experiences we document are probably among the most strong, compassionate, generous and courageous people i have ever met.I often walk away humbled by these meetings. "
She credits her parents, riaz and selva hassan, for giving her a strong sense of social justice.Riaz, who is emeritus professor in sociology at flinders university, and selva, who ran a dental practice in hackham for over 20 years, met and married in singapore in the 1960s.They had two children, haroon, who is now a lawyer in melbourne, and tirana.The family moved to adelaide when tirana was three, where she attended blackwood primary school and scotch college.
When the hassan family travelled to pakistan and malaysia to visit relatives, tirana began to gain a world view. "While my father was working, my poor mother dragged her reluctant children to temples and historical places,"Hassan says. "In the long term, what they both did gave us a broader perspective.We went to places, especially in southeast asia and asia, where you see a lot of poverty, but we didn't baulk at it. "
During the family's stay in java, she vividly remembers seeing a man with leprosy, who used to come to their house and beg for food. "We were taught by our parents to give alms to the poor.That's also one of the teachings of islam. "
Hassan enrolled in social work at the university of south australia, then worked for the adelaide central mission, and youth homelessness.Later, she enrolled in law at the university of adelaide and soon after joined a team of lawyers working for nothing to represent the asylum seekers at the woomera detention centre.She was appalled at the government's hardline stance. "It wasn't just about the mandatory detention policy,"Hassan says. "It was also the fact that the asylum seekers had been stripped of all their legal right to appeal. "
After completing her law degree, hassan joined save the children, overseeing child protection in emergencies in indonesia and africa.She met her partner, malik, a french humanitarian aid worker while posted in darfur.Over the next four years she worked as a child protection advocate for save the children, medicins san frontieres and unicef.In 2010, she became an emergencies researcher for human rights watch, based in brussels.Living in brussels gives her a welcome break from the frontline horrors and the opportunity to enjoy the simple pleasures of everyday life. "I walk my dogs every day(A kenyan street dog she rescued from an animal shelter and a chocolate labrador from dakar), I cook for my friends;It's a very normal life.But when we work, we work. "
When hassan's team goes on assignment, they hit the ground running. "We investigate human rights abuses as they're occurring.We try to get on the ground as quickly as possible and then get the information out within 24 hours so there can be a quick response to prevent further abuses,"Hassan says.They also work at an international level, taking their collected evidence to international media outlets, the european union, the african union and the united nations.
She remembers one recent win with particular pride.She and her team were investigating abuses against protesters in bahrain. "At the time there was a formula one grand prix in bahrain run by the crown prince.We went to the formula one organisers in london and explained to them what the regime was doing to its people.We asked the organisers if they wanted their brand to be associated with those abuses. "
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