The event was held on October 21, 2019 at the Yerevan State University. The fourth annual Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity was awarded to Mirza Dinnayi, Co-Founder and Director of Luftbrücke Irak (Air Bridge Iraq), just the day before. The fearless Yazidi activist talked to the guests about his doubts and achievements, modern genocides, and the importance of giving our children tools for peaceful coexistence.
Driven by his passion to save lives, Mirza Dinnayi has found a way to overcome numerous bureaucratic and logistic obstacles to help the most vulnerable members of the Yazidi community during numerous conflicts in Syria and Iraq. Nevertheless, he shies away from taking credit for his courage, and has stated during the meeting: “It is not a privilege; we’re doing our duty. And this is the most important [thing].”
Each year the Aurora Prize Selection Committee puts forward several Aurora Humanitarians for their outstanding work. In 2019, besides Mirza Dinnayi, it has chosen Zannah Bukar Mustapha from Nigeria and Huda Al-Sarari from Yemen. The Laureate has given high praise to his colleagues, stressing out that there could be no competition between them as they’re all doing the same job. “I told on the stage [during the Ceremony] from the bottom of my heart, emotionally, that both my colleagues deserve the same title like me, and even more,” he said.
The event was attended by Mr. Mustapha and Ms. Al-Sarari, as well as Aurora Chair Dr. Tom Catena; 2016 Aurora Prize Laureate Marguerite Barankitse and many others. Speaking of his experience as negotiator with Boko Haram, Zanna Bukar Mustapha encouraged all to look deeper into what separates and unites us: “We should understand our diversity. We should know about our diversity. And when there’s conflict, there should be conflict analysis to know where the issues are.”
As the 2019 Aurora Prize Laureate, Mirza Dinnayi receives a $1,000,000 grant to continue the cycle of giving by supporting organizations that have inspired his work. He has chosen to donate the funds to three organizations that provide medical care and rehabilitation to victims of ISIS terror: Air Bridge Iraq, SEED Foundation and Shai Fund, and used this opportunity to explain to the audience the main activities of the selected foundations and what he was hoping to achieve by supporting them.
“This prize was founded by the grandchildren of the Armenian Genocide survivors. I heard many times from the Co-Founders of this organization that they don’t like to feel like victims. So they tried to change something, to have some impact in the world <…> And to me, as a survivor of the Yazidi genocide in the 21st century, it is bringing this message of humanity and distributing this message of humanity through the Humanitarians, through the Laureates of all years, and also through the Ambassadors of the Aurora Forum,” said Mirza Dinnayi.
“I am asking every one of you to find a simple moment in your life and to recognize that every one of you has meaning in this world. Every one of you. We are a part of an ecologic system and every one of us, we have reason [to exist], and we should protect these reasons, protect the world. This is the soul, the spirit of the Aurora Prize. We are all human beings, nothing else <…> Only coexistence can save the world.”
You can watch the full video with the conversation below.