On 15 January 2020, Dr. Amani Ballour, a paediatrician from Syria who ran an underground hospital in Eastern Ghouta in 2012-2018 and is now a refugee in Turkey, has been awarded the Council of Europe’s Raoul Wallenberg Prize for her personal courage, bravery and commitment in saving hundreds of lives during the Syrian war. “Human rights and personal dignity are not a peacetime luxury. Dr. Amani Ballour is a shining example of the empathy, virtue and honour that can flourish even in the worst circumstances: in the midst of war and suffering,” said Marija Pejčinović Burić, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe. “A young paediatrician just out of university, Dr Ballour started as a volunteer helping the wounded and ended up, several years later, managing a team of some 100 staff members at the subterranean hospital, the ‘Cave’, in her hometown near the Syrian capital. The Cave became a beacon of hope and safety for many besieged civilians. There, Dr Ballour risked her own safety and security to help those in the greatest need. She and others acted day after day to save the lives of so many people, including children suffering the effects of chemical weapons,” the Secretary General added. Now, after leaving Syria in 2018, Dr. Ballour continues to help people through her involvement in a fund supporting female leaders and medical workers in conflict zones.

The 17th of January marks the 75th anniversary of Raoul Wallenberg’s arrest in Budapest. A Swedish diplomat, Wallenberg used his status to save tens of thousands of Jews from the Holocaust. The Prize was instituted in 2012 by the Council of Europe at the initiative of the Swedish Government and the Hungarian Parliament and contributes to keeping his memory and outstanding achievements alive.