Nobel laureate Maathai given a state funeral
Source: Agencies |
October 9, 2011, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
KENYANS yesterday bid farewell to the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize in a colorful state funeral marked with prayers, praises and tree planting.
Thousands of Kenyans, including President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, gathered at a landmark park in the capital Nairobi to attend prayers held for the late Wangari Maathai. Maathai, who won the Nobel in 2004 for her work in conservation and women's rights, resisted a government plan to build a complex at Uhuru Park, where the funeral took place.
"Wangari's legacy goes beyond Kenya - all over the world," said Odinga. "We have lost a dedicated selfless Kenyan patriot," and her work will continue to inspire the rest of the world.
Reverend Phyliss Ochillo who prayed for Maathai yesterday said the laureate was concerned about the environment when he visited her in hospital only a day before her death. "She did not respond to anything but when I talked about the environment that's when she responded."
Maathai was seen as a threat to the rich and powerful. She was beaten, arrested and vilified for the simple act of planting a tree, a natural wonder she believed could reduce poverty and conflict.
Maathai, best known as the Tree Mother of Africa, believed that a healthy environment helped improve lives by providing clean water and firewood for cooking, thereby decreasing conflict. The Kenyan organization she founded planted 30 million trees in hopes of improving the chances for peace, a triumph for nature that inspired the United Nations to launch a global campaign that resulted in 11 billion trees planted.
Maathai died late last month after a long battle with cancer. She was 71.
"The best way we can honor her is to carry on the great work she started especially in the fields of environmental conservation, social justice, human rights and democracy," President Kibaki said.
Maathai asked to be cremated because burying her in a wooden coffin would mean that a tree was cut. The casket carrying her body to be cremated was bamboo-framed, made of water hyacinth and papyrus reeds and draped with a Kenyan flag.
Maathai was the first African woman to get the Nobel Peace Prize. But on Friday three women's rights activists in Africa and the Middle East were also awarded the prize. The Norwegian Nobel Committee split the prize between Tawakkul Karman, an anti-government protest leader in Yemen; Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first woman to win a free presidential election in Africa; and Leymah Gbowee of Liberia, who campaigned against the use of rape as a weapon in her country's civil war.
Thousands of Kenyans, including President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, gathered at a landmark park in the capital Nairobi to attend prayers held for the late Wangari Maathai. Maathai, who won the Nobel in 2004 for her work in conservation and women's rights, resisted a government plan to build a complex at Uhuru Park, where the funeral took place.
"Wangari's legacy goes beyond Kenya - all over the world," said Odinga. "We have lost a dedicated selfless Kenyan patriot," and her work will continue to inspire the rest of the world.
Reverend Phyliss Ochillo who prayed for Maathai yesterday said the laureate was concerned about the environment when he visited her in hospital only a day before her death. "She did not respond to anything but when I talked about the environment that's when she responded."
Maathai was seen as a threat to the rich and powerful. She was beaten, arrested and vilified for the simple act of planting a tree, a natural wonder she believed could reduce poverty and conflict.
Maathai, best known as the Tree Mother of Africa, believed that a healthy environment helped improve lives by providing clean water and firewood for cooking, thereby decreasing conflict. The Kenyan organization she founded planted 30 million trees in hopes of improving the chances for peace, a triumph for nature that inspired the United Nations to launch a global campaign that resulted in 11 billion trees planted.
Maathai died late last month after a long battle with cancer. She was 71.
"The best way we can honor her is to carry on the great work she started especially in the fields of environmental conservation, social justice, human rights and democracy," President Kibaki said.
Maathai asked to be cremated because burying her in a wooden coffin would mean that a tree was cut. The casket carrying her body to be cremated was bamboo-framed, made of water hyacinth and papyrus reeds and draped with a Kenyan flag.
Maathai was the first African woman to get the Nobel Peace Prize. But on Friday three women's rights activists in Africa and the Middle East were also awarded the prize. The Norwegian Nobel Committee split the prize between Tawakkul Karman, an anti-government protest leader in Yemen; Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first woman to win a free presidential election in Africa; and Leymah Gbowee of Liberia, who campaigned against the use of rape as a weapon in her country's civil war.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
