Daowd Salih

Daowd Ibrahim Salih is a founding member and Board President of the Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy (www.damanga.org). A former assistant field officer for the German Red Cross, Swiss Red Cross and Sudanese Red Crescent, Mr. Salih came to the United States as a refugee in exile from Darfur. He was forced to leave Sudan due to his advocacy work on behalf of the Massaleit and other Darfurian ethnic groups. As co-author of an influential open letter to the international community entitled "The Hidden Slaughter and Ethnic Cleansing in Western Sudan," Mr. Salih was among the first activists to focus global attention on the crisis in Darfur. This report and other human rights publications have been referenced by the UN General Assembly and Secretary-General, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. In his ongoing work with Damanga, Mr. Salih has spoken at venues across the nation in an effort to educate the public about the genocide in Darfur, and to mobilize an effective response that will bring peace and justice to the region.