Dorothy Stang

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Dorothy Stang (June 7, 1931–February 12, 2005) was an American nun of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur congregation and naturalized Brazilian who was murdered in Anapu, a city in the state of Pará, Amazon Rainforest, Brazil.

Stang was outspoken in her efforts on behalf of the poor and the environment and had previously received death threats from loggers and land owners. She is often pictured wearing a t-shirt with the slogan "A Morte da floresta é o fim da nossa vida", which is Portuguese for "The death of the forest is the end of our life."

Sister Dorothy, born in Dayton, Ohio but a naturalized Brazilian, had been an advocate for the rural poor since the early 1970s, helping peasants make a living by farming small plots and extracting forest products without deforestation. She also sought to protect them from criminal gangs after their land.

Dot, as she was called by her family, friends and most locals in Brazil, was reading from the Bible as the two gunmen aimed weapons at her as she walked to a meeting in the Amazon jungle. According to witnesses, while at gunpoint, she read a line from the Beatitudes: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God." She was shot and killed at point-blank range, and then the two gunmen shot her body 5 more times.

An article in the July/August 2005 issue ^[1] of Maryknoll magazine shows a particularly shocking picture of Stang's body, facing away from the camera, shortly after she was shot. It is accompanied by an article written by her brother, David Stang.

In June 2005, two men from Brazil were charged with conspiracy to murder an American outside the United States in connection with her death. These men, Rayfran das Neves Sales and Clodoaldo Carlos Batista, were convicted on December 10, 2005.

[edit] Quote

"I don't want to flee, nor do I want to abandon the battle of these farmers who live without any protection in the forest. They have the sacrosanct right to aspire to a better life on land where they can live and work with dignity while respecting the environment."