Maria Gunnoe, who has
worked for environmental and social justice in West Virginia, has just received
the University of Michigan's Raoul Wallenberg Medal.
For
the last eight years, Gunnoe has marched, organized, written, and spoken out
against the practice of mountaintop removal. She has testified in front of congressional committees and is the recipient of the Goldman Environmental
Prize.
The
Raoul Wallenberg Medal is given to individuals who have worked against great odds for peace and human dignity. Wallenberg was a Swedish diplomat in Hungary during World War II. He saved the
lives of tens of thousands of Jews—some believe the number is in the hundreds
of thousands—by issuing passports and finding other means of protection for
Jews. Last year Aung San Suu Kyi received the medal. Archbishop Desmond Tutu received the medal in 2008.
If
there are any folks treated like second-class citizens today in this country,
it is the people who live around mountaintop mines, and Gunnoe has bravely
spoken up against the mine companies and our government that enables them. If
anybody deserves this award, it is she.
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Upon receiving the award Maria Gunnoe said, “We demand an end to the abuses of the people of
Appalachia and our human rights. We deserve a life with healthy land, clean
water, clean air and a clean sustainable energy and future for our children.”
Photo from the Goldman Fund
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