February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Hassan worked as head of Care International’s Iraq operation and was kidnapped in Baghdad on Oct. 19. Although a video showing her execution was released in November, her body has never been recovered.
The award’s citation states that she “”paid the ultimate price for her dedication to the poor and vulnerable in Iraq.”
The Tipperary Peace Convention said in a statement that the honor “salutes the extraordinary life of a Dublin-born aid worker.”
The citation also states that: “She showed extraordinary courage, tenacity and commitment in her concern for those who were living in the most difficult of circumstances.”
While Hassan was still believed to be alive in captivity, Irish taoiseach Bertie Ahern and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair issued pleas for her release.
When she was kidnapped, Hassan had been head of Care International’s operations in the country for 12 years.
Filmmaker and friend Felicity Arbuthnot described her as “an extraordinary woman.”
A funeral Mass was held for her in Westminster Cathedral in London and an ecumenical service took place in Kenmare, Co. Kerry, where Hassan’s mother was born and where her sister Geraldine lives.
The Tipperary Peace Convention was founded in 1983 with the aim of promoting peace and rewarding people who make a noteworthy contribution to peace-related issues.
Nelson Mandela and Bill Clinton are among previous prize recipients.
Hassan began working for Care International soon after it began operations in Iraq in 1991 and provided humanitarian relief to the most needy Iraqis in a professional career spanning more than 25 years.
The aid worker held dual Irish and British citizenship but had lived in Iraq since the 1970s with her Iraqi husband, Tahseen.