People of Peace

Wangari Maathai was the first female East African to receive a PhD, and the first African woman to receive a Nobel Peace Prize. As an environmentalist and activist, for over two decades she worked in nonviolent opposition to the oppressive Kenyan ruling class in the name of democratic reform and environmental protection. During this time she formed the Green Belt Movement and sought to register voters and organize a multi-party democratic movement that valued, among other things, freedom of expression. Her efforts landed her on a secret list for potential assassination, and shortly after this list became public, she was arrested for her political beliefs and involvements. International pressure enabled her release, but she was to face several physical attacks and arrests for her activities over the next decade. After a series of failures during this time to win political office, in 2002 Maathai won a major victory by finally unifying the opposition and being elected to the Kenyan parliament. In 2004 she received a Nobel Peace Prize.

As a young lawyer, Gandhi worked for the civil rights of native Indians in a deeply prejudiced South Africa. Upon returning to his homeland, he became the leader of Indian independence from a paternalistic British colonial rule that had imposed extremely burdensome taxes on the people of India. His principled commitment to truth was embodied in the movement known as satyagraha, which employed nonviolent non-cooperation as a means for social and political change. His efforts were met with constant opposition, and he was attacked and arrested on numerous occasions. Throughout his struggle, Gandhi employed hunger fasts unto death as a means to influence political decisions. Though at times the passions of the people of India manifested violently, Gandhi's nonviolent strategy for independence eventually succeeded, and India freed itself from the taxation without representation of British colonialism. Gandhi maintained a life of simplicity, nonviolence, vegetarianism, and self reliance. He was assassinated for his beliefs by a Hindu radical in 1948.

As the chosen candidate for Burma's National League for Democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi won the right to be Prime Minister in the 1990 election. Because of her dedication to democracy was a threat to the ruling party, she had been placed under house arrest, and when it was clear that she won the election by a vast majority, instead of assuming office, she remained under house arrest by the illegitimate and oppressive military junta. She has remained under arrest for the majority of the past three decades. Though she has been released from her arrest on a number of occasions, she has always refused to leave the country, knowing that she would be barred from reentry, a move which would compromise the struggle for freedom in a nation that has been enslaved by a violent regime. As a result, she has been re-arrested on multiple occasions, and is awaiting verdict from the Burmese kangaroo courts who say because an American recently swam to her house and she allowed him to stay for two days in response to his exhaustion, she broke her house arrest and may face further imprisonment. Like the Buddhist monks who protested the heavy handed Burmese government in 2007, Aung San Suu Kyi follows a path of nonviolence specified by the Buddhist religion. Despite urgent international calls for her release, and her reception of various awards including the Nobel Peace Prize, there is currently little evidence that the Burmese will drop charges against her and let her live freely in her home country.