Abdalmageed S. Haroun
Abdalmageed Haroun is a Darfur genocide survivor. In 2003 his village was destroyed; luckily he was able to continue his education and graduated from University of Juba in 2006. After graduation he returned to his community to help displaced Sudanese in IDP (internally displaced persons) camps. He has also worked with youth and women to help the marginalized communities within Sudan. In 2010, he worked with the Carter Center and ERIS UK as the regional coordinator (Darfur region) for the Election-related Violence Tracking Project during the Sudanese General Elections.
During the last several years Haroun’s human rights activities drew the attention of Sudan’s security services and he was arrested, detained and tortured several times. The last detainment lasted four months and he was only released because of pressure from the United States. He has since fled Sudan and is now a political refugee in the US. Haroun continues to be involved with Darfuri and Sudanese issues; he is the co-founder and current Chairperson of Human Rights and Advocacy Network for Democracy (HAND).