Bruno Manser Fonds
Heuberg 25
4051 Basel
Switzerland
phone +41 61 261 94 74
fax +41 61 261 94 73
updated 2001-05-25
Documentation "Totem for Bruno Manser"
Text for Bruno
Tribute to BRUNO MANSER.
By James Barclay
Bruno and I became friends in May 1989 when I went to interview him in the ulu Akar, Sarawak, and offer him assistance in his fledgling campaign to create a Penan homeland. I remember the dramatic impression he made when he appeared silently across a river in the forest dressed in a loin cloth like a Penan, carrying a blowpipe and darts, wearing his round, pebble, spectacles, and the solid handshake from a huge hand that seemed out of proportion to his slight stature.
He had already spent five years in the forest where he had become a fugitive after being arrested twice, and escaping twice from the Malaysian Field Forces. He had become a Robin Hood legend, with numerous articles written about him (not with his cooperation), and he was anxious to turn the attention away from himself, and onto the plight of the Penan people.
In October 1989 the Italian Primo Mondello Gaia prize, in collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund of Italy, voted him Man of the Year for 1989. I accepted this award on his behalf in Palermo, Sicily, together with a cheque for 4,000,000 lire.
In December 1989, I returned with a video camera to see Bruno; present him with his award, bring mail from family and friends and update him on what was going on. Shortly before he had been bitten by a pit viper, and was hobbling around on homemade crutches. The wound on his shin was open. One of the muscles had atrophied, and started to go gangrenous where it joined the bone. In a makeshift operation he inserted a fishhook inside his leg, and hooked out the useless muscle.
He lay it on a piece of wood, and, jokingly, contemplated it as a tasty snack. This black humour, and the way he coped with the whole long drawn out incident, was typical of his amazing toughness, and resourcefulness. The Penan referred to him as Laki Penan - "the Penan Man". His short wiry physique was ideal for surviving in the forest.
His exceptional stamina throughout his time in the forest meant he not only survived the rigours of being a nomadic hunter-gatherer, but also acted as counsellor, translator, and general advisor through endless nights of tiring discussion, (he had learned to speak Penan fluently) and created a unique collection of ethnographic drawings, and notes. His early collection, confiscated by the Field Force when he was arrested, was never returned to him, and it's whereabouts in Malaysian custody remains a mystery. He always advocated non-violent protests, "You don't kill" he told me in 1989, "but somehow you give your own life, it's a very difficult thing to do." True to the promises he made to the Penan, he never wavered in focusing all his enormous energy in trying to shame the Malaysian authorities, in particular Sarawak's Chief Minister Taib Mahmud, into honouring the public promises they made to create a homeland for the Penan.
Around March 1990, Bruno returned to Switzerland to develop the campaign on a worldwide basis. His commitment, and lack of concern for his own safety, inspired me to help him where I could, and this was reinforced by having seen the effects of the logging.
Over the next ten years we met once or twice a year, either campaigning or on recreational trips in the Swiss Alps. He had had a successful operation to graft some muscle onto his shin enabling him to raise his foot, and he seemed as hardy as ever. On one hiking trip he suggested we climb up a wall of rock as a short cut. He didn't know the area - I had selected it - but he was confident. After a few hundred feet he had to pull me up and over an overhang. We had no ropes, there was no going back, he was counting only on being able to cope with any obstacle that might present itself on the way to the top. For me it was an alarming experience that I had no wish to repeat, but for Bruno the danger, and confidence that he could deal with it, was central to his character.
In 1989 he described how he had climbed Batu Lawi and of his fearful sensation using the old, partly rotten ropes left behind by a previous expedition. He would climb where the Penan fear to tread.
Bruno played his Penan flute in the early morning wherever he was, thick bunches of rattan bracelets dangled from his wrists whether he was in a western restaurant or a Penan sulap, and his clothes could be equally incongruous. However, behind this folksy image, was a character and constitution of iron that kept him on the go night and day. He corresponded with innumerable people, and was always prepared put himself out for the "struggle" as he called it. The support from his efficient office was also invaluable.
Exhibitions, publications, demonstrations, meetings, blockading, he never stopped, but somehow he always seemed to have time, and be well humoured with a distinctive chuckling laugh. He reminded me of the aphorism - "if you want something done quickly and well, ask the busiest man in the office." However, for all his practicalities, I remember him as much for his metaphysical appetite. He needed no prompting to get onto subjects such as the difference between good and evil.
Uncompromising with grit that you could cut with a knife, he earned the permanent respect of the Penan people, who universally regarded him as a true friend and spokesman .
For me, it's a sad closing of an important chapter in my life? It's "Goodbye Bruno, you have 'joined the ranks of the unreturning brave' and I pray that from this tragedy, your name, and work, and struggle will continue until some sort of success is achieved."