News Summary

In May, David Stang sat through yet another Brazilian trial in which his sister, Dorothy, was described as a gun-runner, a communist, an evil influence and a killer.

The day before Thanksgiving, he received a call with the news that his sister won the United Nations' prestigious human rights prize, along with Benazir Bhutto and five others. "The juxtaposition of those two images is very interesting," said Stang, a Dayton native who now lives in Palmer Lake, Colo. "More than 800 other people have been murdered in the Amazon and all of them have been accused of being communists and gun-runners and murderers."

That argument appeared to work in the retrial of Vitalmiro Moura, one of two ranchers accused of ordering the murder of the 73-year-old nun in 2005.

A second jury voted to acquit Moura only a year after he was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison. (Brazilian law requires retrials for first offenders who are sentenced to more than 20 years.)

Character assassination seemed to have prevailed. But for the Stang family, this prize changes everything. No longer, Stang said, can the "Mafia and the thieves and the thugs" hurl such false accusations against "the martyrs and the prophets."

In announcing the award, the UN News Service stated that "Sister Stang defended the human rights of the poor, landless and indigenous populations of the Anapu region of Brazil for nearly 40 years, despite numerous death threats. She worked with farmers to help rebuild their livelihoods, cultivate their land and defend their rights from loggers and ranchers, becoming a symbol of the fight to preserve the rainforest before being killed in 2005."

In announcing the awards, U.N. General Assembly President Miguel d'Escoto called the winners "symbols of persistence, valor and tenacity in their resistance to public and private authorities that violate human rights. They constitute a moral force to put an end to systematic human rights violations. In doing so, they are an inspiration to all of us who seek and believe another type of society, another type of political system, another economic model, another world is possible where all persons will be treated as brothers and sisters, without discrimination, exclusion or destruction of life in all its forms."

Other winners this year include Louise Arbour, former U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights; Ramsey Clark, former U.S. attorney general; Carolyn Gomes, co-founder of Jamaicans for Justice; Denis Mukwege, a Congolese doctor who treats female victims of sexual violence; and Human Rights Watch, an organization that has documented human rights abuses for 30 years.

The Human Rights Prize was first awarded in 1968 — with Eleanor Roosevelt as a posthumous recipient — and it is given out once every five years on the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Stang's legacy also has been perpetuated through a highly acclaimed documentary, "They Killed Sister Dorothy," by Colorado filmmaker Daniel Junge. It's one of 15 films under consideration for five slots for an Oscar nomination.

Last week the film won the audience participation award at the Denver Film Festival.

"The world is recognizing Dorothy for human rights," David Stang said. "What could be a greater honor?"

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2209 or mmccarty@DaytonDailyNews.com.