Bruno Manser was a Swiss environmentalist and human rights activist.
58 Facts About Bruno Manser
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Bruno Manser founded the Swiss non-governmental organization Bruno Manser Fonds in 1991.
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Bruno Manser was born in Basel, Switzerland, on 25 August 1954 in a family of three girls and two boys.
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Bruno Manser's parents wanted him to become a doctor, and he studied medicine informally.
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Bruno Manser later completed his upper secondary school, the first in his family to do so.
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At age 19, Bruno Manser spent three months in Lucerne prison because, as an ardent follower of non-violent ideologies espoused by Mahatma Gandhi, he refused to participate in Switzerland's compulsory military service.
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Bruno Manser laid bricks, carved leather, kept bees, and wove, dyed, and cut his own clothes and shoes.
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At the age of 30, Bruno Manser went to Borneo, looking to live a simpler life.
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In 1983, Bruno Manser went to the Malaysian state of Terengganu and stayed with a family.
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In 1984, while learning more about the rainforests, Bruno Manser learned of a nomadic tribe known as the Penan.
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In Malaysia, Bruno Manser first joined an English caving expedition to explore Gunung Mulu National Park.
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Bruno Manser learned about survival skills in the jungle and familiarized himself with the Penan's culture and language.
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Bruno Manser dressed in a loincloth, hunted with a blowgun, and ate primates, snakes, and sago.
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Bruno Manser created notebooks that were richly illustrated with drawings, notes, and 10,000 photographs during his six-year stay from 1984 to 1990 with the Penan people.
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Bruno Manser created audio recordings of oral histories told by Penan elders and translated them.
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Bruno Manser claimed that the Penan people were never argumentative or violent during his time with them.
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In 1988, Bruno Manser tried to reach the summit of Bukit Batu Lawi but was unsuccessful, finding himself hanging on a rope without anything to grab on for 24 hours.
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Bruno Manser got a malaria infection while living in the jungles.
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Unfortunately, deforestation of Sarawak's primeval forests started during Bruno Manser's stay with the Penan.
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Bruno Manser worked with Along Sega to teach the Penan how to organize road blockades against advancing loggers.
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Bruno Manser gave many lectures in Switzerland and abroad, making connections to people within the European Union and the United Nations.
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Bruno Manser returned almost every year after leaving the Penan to follow up with the logging activities and to provide assistance to the tribe, often entering these areas illegally, crossing the border with Brunei and Kalimantan, Indonesia.
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Bruno Manser discovered that logging conglomerates such as Rimbunan Hijau, Samling, and the WTK Group continued their operations in Sarawak rainforests.
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On 17 July 1991, during the 17th G7 summit, Bruno Manser climbed unaided to the top of a 30-foot high lamp post outside of the summit's media centre in London.
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Bruno Manser chained himself to the lamp post for two and a half hours.
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Bruno Manser climbed down the lamp post without force at 1:40 PM.
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Bruno Manser was then taken to the Bow Street police station and held until the summit ended at 6:30 PM, when he was released without being charged with an offense.
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Bruno Manser ran the fund from his home at Heuberg 25, Basel, Switzerland.
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In June 1992, Bruno Manser parachuted into a crowded stadium during the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
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Bruno Manser only stopped the hunger strike after his mother requested that he do so.
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In 1995, Bruno Manser went to Congo rainforests to document the effects of wars and logging on Mbuti people.
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Bruno Manser received $20,000 a year until 1998 for the rights to film his life.
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Bruno Manser's actions drew anger from Malaysian authorities, who declared him persona non-grata in the country.
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Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad blamed Bruno Manser for disrupting law and order.
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Bruno Manser was first arrested on 10 April 1986 after being spotted by police inspector Lores Matios.
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Bruno Manser was delivering a document for Kelabit chiefs at Long Napir to sign to confirm their wish of further protecting their territories.
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Bruno Manser immediately arrested Manser for breaking immigration law and brought him to Limbang police station for interrogation.
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Bruno Manser was not handcuffed, as the inspector did not carry them while on holiday.
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On 14 November 1986, Bruno Manser met with James Ritchie, a reporter from the New Straits Times, in an isolated hut in the Limbang jungles.
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Bruno Manser immediately put down his blowpipe and a rucksack on the river bank, then dove into the river and disappeared under the heavy undergrowth of the forest floor.
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Bruno Manser successfully evaded capture, but he lost seven months of his drawings and notebooks in the rucksack.
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On 25 March 1990, Bruno Manser was disguised as "Alex Betge" to board MH 873 flight from Miri to Kuching.
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In mid-1998, Bruno Manser offered an end of hostilities with the Sarawak government if Chief Minister Taib Mahmud would be willing to cooperate with him in building a biosphere around the Penan's territory.
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Bruno Manser wanted the government to forgive him for breaking Malaysian immigration laws.
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Bruno Manser planned to deliver a lamb named "Gumperli" to Taib Mahmud by air as a symbol of reconciliation during the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration.
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Bruno Manser later carried the lamb with him on a plane and parachuted over the United Nations Office at Geneva, hoping to bring international attention to Sarawak.
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In March 1999, Bruno Manser successfully passed Kuching immigration by disguising himself in a business suit, carrying a briefcase, and wearing a badly knotted tie.
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Bruno Manser was then transported to Kuala Lumpur, briefly imprisoned, then deported back to Switzerland via Malaysia Airlines Flight MH2683.
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Bruno Manser was seen playing with his knitted toy lamb by his jailers.
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On 15 February 2000, Bruno Manser left to visit his Penan friends via the jungle paths of Kalimantan, Indonesia, accompanied by BMF secretary John Kuenzli and a film crew.
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At the time, Bruno Manser was still writing postcards to his friends.
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Bruno Manser continued his journey with another friend who knew the way around the territory.
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Bruno Manser slept on a hammock while his friend slept on the ground.
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Bruno Manser asked his friend to carry a postcard back to Charlotte, his girlfriend in Switzerland.
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Bruno Manser complained about diarrhea and a broken rib in the postcard.
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Bruno Manser's last known communication was a letter mailed to Charlotte while hiding in Bario.
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Bruno Manser was last seen carrying a 30-kilogram backpack by his Penan friend, Paleu, and Paleu's son on 25 May 2000.
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Bruno Manser stated his intention to climb the mountain alone and requested Paleu to leave him there.