SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Tony Blair pictured at the Munich Security Conference 2014. (Photo: Marc Muller/cc)
Uproar as Tony Blair Given 'Global Legacy' Award From Renowned Charity
'We consider this award inappropriate and a betrayal to Save the Children’s founding principles and values,' charge Save the Children staff.
Nov 25, 2014
International charity Save the Children is facing uproar, including from internal staff, for granting the "global legacy award" to former UK Prime Minister and Iraq War architect Tony Blair.
The award was given to Blair by the U.S. arm of the organization at a gala in New York City last week. Save the Children, which claims "protecting children from harm" as a key mission, lauded Blair for his alleged role heading anti-poverty initiatives at the 2005 Group of Eight summit in Scotland and for his "continued commitment to Africa."
The move unleashed a torrent of criticism, including a petition, with over 90,000 signatures so far, calling on Save the Children to revoke the award on the basis that Blair is seen by many as "the cause of the deaths of countless children in the Middle East with damning allegations relating to his role as Middle East envoy and businesses dealings with autocratic rulers and others in the region."
Critiques erupted across social media platforms, including Twitter:
Tweets about #warcriminal #Blair
Within Save the Children, an internal letter denouncing the award as "morally reprehensible" gathered nearly 200 signatures, including from some senior staff members, the Guardianreports.
"We consider this award inappropriate and a betrayal to Save the Children's founding principles and values," the letter states. "Management staff in the region were not communicated with nor consulted about the award and were caught by surprise with this decision."
Staff warned that the award threatens the credibility of Save the Children, given that figures at the head of the charity have close ties with Blair, including John Forsyth, UK chief executive for Save the Children, who was a special adviser to Blair for three years.
Krista Armstrong, global media manager for the charity, reportedly told the Guardian last week that Save the Children has received a "high volume of complaints and negative reactions to rewarding the award."
Blair was also awarded as "philanthropist of the year" by GQ in September--a decision that was also met with widespread criticism and shock.
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare was a staff writer for Common Dreams from 2013-2016. She is currently web editor and reporter for In These Times.
International charity Save the Children is facing uproar, including from internal staff, for granting the "global legacy award" to former UK Prime Minister and Iraq War architect Tony Blair.
The award was given to Blair by the U.S. arm of the organization at a gala in New York City last week. Save the Children, which claims "protecting children from harm" as a key mission, lauded Blair for his alleged role heading anti-poverty initiatives at the 2005 Group of Eight summit in Scotland and for his "continued commitment to Africa."
The move unleashed a torrent of criticism, including a petition, with over 90,000 signatures so far, calling on Save the Children to revoke the award on the basis that Blair is seen by many as "the cause of the deaths of countless children in the Middle East with damning allegations relating to his role as Middle East envoy and businesses dealings with autocratic rulers and others in the region."
Critiques erupted across social media platforms, including Twitter:
Tweets about #warcriminal #Blair
Within Save the Children, an internal letter denouncing the award as "morally reprehensible" gathered nearly 200 signatures, including from some senior staff members, the Guardianreports.
"We consider this award inappropriate and a betrayal to Save the Children's founding principles and values," the letter states. "Management staff in the region were not communicated with nor consulted about the award and were caught by surprise with this decision."
Staff warned that the award threatens the credibility of Save the Children, given that figures at the head of the charity have close ties with Blair, including John Forsyth, UK chief executive for Save the Children, who was a special adviser to Blair for three years.
Krista Armstrong, global media manager for the charity, reportedly told the Guardian last week that Save the Children has received a "high volume of complaints and negative reactions to rewarding the award."
Blair was also awarded as "philanthropist of the year" by GQ in September--a decision that was also met with widespread criticism and shock.
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare was a staff writer for Common Dreams from 2013-2016. She is currently web editor and reporter for In These Times.
International charity Save the Children is facing uproar, including from internal staff, for granting the "global legacy award" to former UK Prime Minister and Iraq War architect Tony Blair.
The award was given to Blair by the U.S. arm of the organization at a gala in New York City last week. Save the Children, which claims "protecting children from harm" as a key mission, lauded Blair for his alleged role heading anti-poverty initiatives at the 2005 Group of Eight summit in Scotland and for his "continued commitment to Africa."
The move unleashed a torrent of criticism, including a petition, with over 90,000 signatures so far, calling on Save the Children to revoke the award on the basis that Blair is seen by many as "the cause of the deaths of countless children in the Middle East with damning allegations relating to his role as Middle East envoy and businesses dealings with autocratic rulers and others in the region."
Critiques erupted across social media platforms, including Twitter:
Tweets about #warcriminal #Blair
Within Save the Children, an internal letter denouncing the award as "morally reprehensible" gathered nearly 200 signatures, including from some senior staff members, the Guardianreports.
"We consider this award inappropriate and a betrayal to Save the Children's founding principles and values," the letter states. "Management staff in the region were not communicated with nor consulted about the award and were caught by surprise with this decision."
Staff warned that the award threatens the credibility of Save the Children, given that figures at the head of the charity have close ties with Blair, including John Forsyth, UK chief executive for Save the Children, who was a special adviser to Blair for three years.
Krista Armstrong, global media manager for the charity, reportedly told the Guardian last week that Save the Children has received a "high volume of complaints and negative reactions to rewarding the award."
Blair was also awarded as "philanthropist of the year" by GQ in September--a decision that was also met with widespread criticism and shock.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.