Since 2019, DefendDefenders has been partnering with Mouvement Inamahoro. Marie Louise acknowledges how the partnership connects them to a larger network of HRDs and civil society organisations from the region, helping to amplify the Burundian HRDs’ advocacy efforts.
“So, it is a successful partnership. And what I like about DefendDefenders is their way of working with others, they are friendly. You never feel that they are ‘just doing their job’. There is this humanity, not just with a few that I can pick out, but with all the staff. Whenever we reach out to them, whenever they have the resources, they never stop supporting us. I think many people appreciate that. DefendDefenders helps them to start a new life, they can stand on their legs again and continue working in the field of human rights.”
“I get the ‘side-eye’ a lot; eyebrows are raised. People wonder if I am doing this work for selfish gain. They want to know the story behind the decision I made to follow this path.”
“I have been working as a doctor and a human rights defender (HRD) for over 10 years. During this time, I have witnessed the many violations that doctors and health workers, in particular, are subjected to in my native Sudan.
“It is interesting that we are talking about 20 years of DefendDefenders. It actually feels like two years, because it feels like DefendDefenders keeps recreating itself. Its presence and the energy feels like it has just begun its work. The staff, the management, everyone at DefendDefenders, is very, very committed to defending human rights defenders and I can only wish them well and wish that we can grow as Defend Defenders, beyond 20 years, into the kind of future that they deserve.”