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Doreen

23 October 2012
Author: Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty
Yesterday I watched my friend and Liberty’s great supporter Doreen Lawrence win a Special Award at the Women of the Year event in central London. The Internet is a wonderful thing. Today I have read both the plaudits and predictable unkind comments online. So let me share my view of one of the most amazing people I have ever met.

As both a mother and campaigner, I cannot begin to imagine Doreen’s painful journey. The untimely, unnecessary, unnatural death of a child must surely bring the most unspeakable grief that any parent can imagine. Doreen has borne this grief and injustice and somehow found the strength to convert it into a campaign that has transformed the conscience of our country. Right and left, black and white, rich and poor, uniformed and civilian have all united around Doreen’s kind, proportionate and vital mission towards a policing service and society that values the precious nature of every single human life and all of its potential.

 

There is no greater human rights defender in Britain today. There is no greater Briton. As she said yesterday: “I have cried so much for so many years”. But her tears were those of compassion, not just for her own family but for every family. They became the fuel of progress. We are so proud of her.

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