Annalena Tonelli
| Annalena Tonelli | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 2 April 1943 Forlì, Italy |
| Died | 5 October 2003 (aged 60) Borama, Somalia |
| Cause of death | Assassination |
| Resting place | Kenya |
| Nationality | Italy |
| Known for | Nansen Refugee Award, volunteer aid worker, Catholic missionary |
| Religion | Catholicism |
Annalena Tonelli (2 April 1943 - 5 October 2003) was an Italian Roman Catholic volunteer working for 33 years in the Horn of Africa focusing on tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, campaigns for eradication of female genital mutilation, and special schools for hearing-impaired, blind and disabled children.[1] In June 2003, she won the Nansen Refugee Award, which is given annually by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to recognize outstanding service to the cause of refugees.[2] In October 2003, Annalena Tonelli was killed in her hospital by Islamic Somali gunmen belonging to Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya.[3]
Biography
Annalena Tonelli was born in 1943 in Forlì, Romagna, Italy. She had a University degree in Law. After "six years of service to poor people of the suburbs, to orphan children, mentally or physically disabled or abused kids" of her own town,[4] in 1969, the then 25-year-old Annalena Tonelli went to Africa supported by the Committee Against World Hunger of Forlì, that she had helped to start its activity.[5]
At first, she worked as a high school teacher in Wajir, a semi-desert region in North-East Kenya, inhabited by nomadic people of Somali origin. The dismal local community health condition pushed her into medical studies: she qualified in Kenya for tuberculosis treatment, in United Kingdom for Tropical Medicine and Public Health, and in Spain for leprosy.
Already in 1976, Annalena Tonelli became responsible for a World Health Organization (WHO) pilot project for treating tuberculosis in nomadic people. So, Annalena invited nomadic tuberculotic patients to camp in front of the Rehabilitation Centre for Disabled she was running with other female volunteers who joined her to serve poliomyelitic, blind, deaf-mute, and disabled people. This approach guaranteed patients' compliance in taking the therapy over the needed six-month treatment, and it was adopted by WHO as DOTS (Directly Observed Therapy Short).[6]
In 1984, following political and inter-clan clashes, the army of Kenya started a repression campaign against Somali clans in the Wajir area.[7] The public denunciation of Annalena Tonelli helped to stop the killings. Arrested and taken in front of a martial court she was told that the fact she escaped two ambushes was not a guarantee to survive a third one, and she was forced to leave Kenya.[8]
Annalena Tonelli went to Somalia, first in Merca (where, in 1995, it was assassinated Graziella Fumagalli, an Italian medical doctor working for Caritas International[9]) and then in Borama in the Somaliland region. Here, her work included: a 250-bed hospital, a Special Education School (with 263 students) [10] for deaf, blind and disabled children (a unique school in all Somalia), a program for eradication of female genital mutilation (infibulation), cure and prevention of HIV/AIDS, aid to outcasts, orphans and poor people.
In June 2003, Annalena Tonelli won the Nansen Refugee Award, which is given annually by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to recognize outstanding service to the cause of refugees.
In October 2003, Annalena Tonelli was assassinated at the tuberculosis hospital she started in Borama by Somali Islamic gunmen of Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya group.[3]
Two weeks after Tonelli's assassination, Dick and Enid Eyeington were murdered in their flat at the SOS Sheikh Secondary School in town of Sheikh in the Somaliland region of Somalia by the same terror cell. The killers were reportedly arrested in 2004, tried and sentenced to death under a local court.[11][12]
References
- ^ "People - Annalena Tonelli, an inspired ally in the humanitarian effort in Somalia". UNICEF. Retrieved 2010-11-15.
- ^ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (2003-04-15). "Italian woman wins Nansen Refugee Award for work in Somalia". UNHCR. Retrieved 2010-11-15.
- ^ a b Bandits murdered two aid workers, BBC (23 December, 2005)
- ^ http://www.centroannalenatonelli.it/pdf/tonelli.pdf
- ^ "Comitato .html". Marbriella.it. Retrieved 2010-11-15.
- ^ "WHO | Pursue high-quality DOTS expansion and enhancement". Who.int. 2010-05-27. Archived from the original on 23 November 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-15.
- ^ "US and UK Government International Intervention Since 1945: Kenya". Us-uk-interventions.org. Retrieved 2010-11-15.
- ^ "Awdalnews". Awdalnews. Retrieved 2010-11-15.
- ^ http://www.caritasitaliana.it/caritasitaliana/allegati/528/annualreport_2006.pdf
- ^ "Awdalnews". Awdalnews. Retrieved 2010-11-15.
- ^ Death for Somaliland aid killers - BBC]
- ^ "issue 200". Somalilandtimes.net. 2005-11-14. Retrieved 2010-11-15.
