The Hindu : International : `World facing litany of threats'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Dec 11, 2004

International

International

`World facing litany of threats'

Wangari Maathai of Kenya holds her Nobel Peace Prize in the Oslo City Hall on Friday. - AP

OSLO (NORWAY), DEC. 10. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Wangari Maathai, warned on Friday that the world remained under attack from a litany of threats, ranging from disease, deforestation and war, and urged a shift in human thinking to save the earth.

``Today, we are faced with a challenge that calls for a shift in our thinking, so that humanity stops threatening its life-support system. We are called to assist the earth to heal her wounds and in the process heal our own indeed, to embrace the whole creation in all its diversity, beauty and wonder,'' she said. ``This will happen if we see the need to revive our sense of belonging to a larger family of life, with which we have shared our evolutionary process.''

The 64-year-old Kenyan environmental activist made her remarks after receiving the traditional gold medal and diploma that accompanies the 10 million kronor prize. ``You are an extraordinary example for women throughout Africa, throughout the world,'' Ole Danbolt Mjoes, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said in his speech, looking at Ms. Maathai, who listened intently.

Before she took the stage, the traditionally rigid and formal ceremony lit up with colour and sound as three African dancers and accompanying drummers pounded out a brief piece of African music. ``In the course of history, there comes a time when humanity is called to shift to a new level of consciousness, to reach a higher moral ground. A time when we have to shed our fear and give hope to each other,'' she said. ``That time is now.''

As she spoke in English, many in the crowded auditorium, nodded their heads in agreement. The audience included hundreds of dignitaries, including the Norwegian royal family, and American royalty, too, including talk show host and entertainer Oprah Winfrey and Kerry Kennedy, a member of the U.S. political family.

Ms. Maathai, who is the first African woman to receive the prize and the 12th woman since it was first awarded in 1901, said she would use it to encourage more environmental protection, adding that the relationship between a safe environment and peace was and remains forever linked.

The Nobel Prizes are always presented on December 10, the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel. The peace prize is presented in Oslo, while the other Nobel prizes are awarded in the Swedish capital of Stockholm. _ AP

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