Greenpeace Southeast Asia executive director Yeb Saño (Photography by Harris Hassan/The Edge)
A male pilot whale was found struggling to breathe in the waters off south Thailand recently. For five days, rescuers kept him afloat with buoys as veterinarians sheltered his exposed skin from the sun with umbrellas while fighting to save him. The small mammal threw up five plastic bags during the period before dying.
The very next morning, Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior arrived in Malaysia in time for World Environment Day.
A North American Cree Indian prophecy, “When the world is sick and dying, people will rise up like warriors of the rainbow”, gave Greenpeace’s renowned campaign vessel its name. The first Rainbow Warrior started life in 1955 as Sir William Hardy — it was the UK’s first diesel electric ship and was used as a fishery research trawler by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. It was later used to protest against whaling, seal hunting, nuclear testing and nuclear waste dumping activities while the flags of Greenpeace and the United Nations fluttered proudly above the bustle.
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