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	True change starts at the grassroots level by Ole von Uexkull 2010 Right Livelihood Awards   Sept 2010   Rights Activists from Nepal, Nigeria, Brazil and Israel were named the winners of this year"s Right Livelihood Award, also known as the "alternative Nobel," for work that includes fighting to save the Amazon rain forest and bringing health care to Palestinians cut off from services.   The award founded by Swedish-German philanthropist Jakob von Uexkull in 1980 to recognize work he felt was being ignored by the Nobel Prizes.   Nigeria"s Nnimmo Bassey, 42, chairman of Friends of the Earth International and director of Environmental Rights Action in Nigeria, was honored for standing up "against the practices of multinational corporations in his country and the environmental devastation they leave behind."   The citation praised Bassey for helping reveal the "ecological and human horrors of oil production and for his inspired work to strengthen the environmental movement in Nigeria and globally."   It also recognized Catholic Bishop Erwin Kraeutler, 71, for his "lifetime of work for the human and environmental rights of indigenous peoples" in Brazil and for his "tireless efforts to save the Amazon forest from destruction."   Kraeutler, helped secure the inclusion of indigenous people"s rights in the Brazilian constitution in the 1980s, the prize committee said.   He has also played an important role in the protests against plans to build the world"s third-largest hydroelectric plant, Belo Monte on the Xingu River in Brazil, which activists say would devastate wildlife and the livelihoods of some 40,000 people.   "He is being threatened for this work and has police protection," the executive director of the Right Livelihood Award Foundation, Ole von Uexkull, told reporters in Stockholm. "We hope that the prize will also help protect this man."   The jury also honored 65-year-old Shrikrishna Upadhyay for his persistent fight against poverty in Nepal, "even when threatened by political violence and instability."   Upadhyay founded the organization Support Activities for Poor Producers of Nepal, through which he has helped build hundreds of water systems, rural roads and schools in 12 districts in Nepal. He has also set up micro-credit systems to support local communities and helped plant trees and improve literacy.   "What is so special with his way of working in this very poor country is that it is really development work from the bottom up," von Uexkull said.   "He doesn"t go to a village and offer some kind of technical solution, but he starts by making people aware of why they are poor, and what they could do to become richer. Then he helps them organize themselves."   The organization Physicians for Human Rights Israel was included among the winners for its "indomitable spirit in working for the right to health for all people in Israel and Palestine."   The PHRIA, which was founded in 1988, uses mobile clinics to bring health services to Israelis and Palestinians.   "Although they are physicians they also see themselves as a political organization. They participate in the debate about health policies in Israel," von Uexkull said. Visit the related web page
	Defending the rights of peasants and indigenous peoples by RFK Center for Justice & Human Rights Mexico   Champion of Mexican Indigenous and peasant communities awarded RFK Human Rights Award.   Mr. Abel Barrera Hernández, the founder and Director of the Tlachinollan Human Rights Center of the Montaña in Guerrero, Mexico will receive the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award for his determined efforts to end human rights abuses resulting from military impunity and narco-violence.   Mr. Barrera and his colleagues work under constant threat to protect the rights of peasants and indigenous peoples against forced disappearances, rape, arbitrary detentions, intimidation, dispossession of lands and illegal interrogations, and to improve their access to healthcare, legal representation and education.   “Justice for the indigenous peoples of the Mexican mountains does not exist; it must be won inch by inch and confronting grave dangers. Those that seek a better life and organize to realize their human rights are sought out and assassinated,” said Abel Barrera Hernández. “The award that we are presented today by the RFK Center for Justice & Human Rights comes to refresh our dreams.”   The Tlachinollan Center, established in 1994, engages grassroots groups in the struggle for justice and the protection of human rights. The Tlachinollan Center’s expert staff use a broad array of tools, including legal aid, advocacy on public policy and psychological support for victims. “Tlachinollan” is an indigenous word for the mountainous region of east Guerrero and symbolizes the commitment of the Tlachinollan Human Rights Center to serve the indigenous peoples of the “montaña” (mountain).   “Our friends at the Tlachinollan Center represent true courage in their struggle to expose and confront ongoing human rights abuses. By standing with the most vulnerable communities, Abel Barrera Hernández and his colleagues are at great personal risk and we are proud to recognize their work with this prestigious award,” said Claudio Grossman, RFK Human Rights Award Judge and Dean of Washington College of Law, American University.   “In giving him the award, we recognize his tireless efforts to defend the rights of peasants and indigenous peoples, and we begin a long-term partnership to support him and the Tlachinollan Center in their struggle,” said Monika Kalra Varma, Director of the RFK Center for Human Rights. Visit the related web page
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