penan-1-copy

Bruno Manser is one of the very few persons who, after growing up in "civilization" (in his case, Switzerland), managed to become fully integrated into the simple (and often not-so-simple) life of a rainforest tribe. He lived with the Penan from 1984 to 1990, learnt their language and became one of them. He was regarded by the Penan as somewhat of an idol, named "Lakei Penan" (Penan Man). But the discovery of what Manser called his "paradise" happened at an inauspicious time: a ruthless logging industry threatened the very survival of Penan culture. Bruno Manser has been accused by the Malaysian government of arranging many blockades of logging roads (although no proof has ever been produced). He also publicized embarrassing details of Malaysian methods by protesting internationally against the inhumanity and brutality of the tropical timber industry.

Bruno Manser has been missing and must be presumed dead: he was last seen in May 2000 in the isolated village of Bario in the Kelabit Highlands of Sarawak, close to the border with Indonesia. His last known communication is a letter mailed to his girlfriend on 22 May 2000 from Bario to where he had gone to meet the nomadic Penan he had lived with for so long.