Forty years ago — the year I was born — a shocking act of violence sent ripples across the world. In a cowardly attempt to silence peaceful protest, my own birth country, France, planted explosives on the Rainbow Warrior as she lay docked in Auckland Harbour.
The Rainbow Warrior was there to shine a light on France’s nuclear testing in the Pacific and to support the relocation of civilians in the Marshall Islands suffering the brutal legacy of radiation fallout. The attack killed our photographer, Fernando Pereira. It was meant to intimidate us, but instead it ignited a global wave of solidarity and resistance.
Out of tragedy, we rose. Out of tragedy came the voices of millions. And out of the ashes came the Rainbow Warrior II — and eventually III — built not by governments, but by people. By you. Funded entirely by everyday supporters who refused to accept a world ruled by destruction and secrecy.
This wasn’t just a ship. It was a declaration.
Many people know the story of the bombing. What is less known is what the Rainbow Warrior had been doing just weeks before.
Fernando Pereira was on board, helping evacuate families from Rongelap Atoll in the Marshall Islands, affected by radioactive fallout from the Bravo bomb, a thousand times more powerful than Hiroshima. For decades, communities were displaced, poisoned, and treated like guinea pigs in the name of nuclear “defence.”
Greenpeace stood with them. We helped evacuate the people of Rongelap to safety in 1985. And this year, forty years later, we returned to the Marshalls. We met with survivors and descendants who had lost homes, health, and loved ones, yet who still carry incredible courage.
Their stories remind us why we fight. They remind us that Earth needs champions.
And that is where you come in.
Because it is your trust and support that keeps our legacy alive. Your passion carries forward the unbreakable spirit of the Rainbow Warrior: standing up and fighting for what matters even in the face of overwhelming odds.
I also wanted to share this sadder news with you. This past year, we honoured thirty Green Guardians who sadly passed away, leaving Greenpeace a gift in their will. Their legacy will live on in every campaign, every victory, every act of resistance that we will take collectively. Their names are now part of Burrapur — the whale sculpture in the Rainbow Warrior House kitchen. It is our way of remembering them and thanking them for continuing the fight, even in their passing.
To me, this is what legacy means: safeguarding what is precious, taking the courage of the past, and turning it into hope for the future.
Because the threats we face today are grave. Between deep-sea mining, deforestation, giant fossil fuels corporations, over-fishing and the rest, our collective courage is not only the best response, it is the only response.
That is why I still feel hopeful. Because of you. Because you believe this planet deserves better. From our oceans to our deserts, from air to water, from animals to the tiniest plants — it is all connected. And because of you, Greenpeace can continue to defend it.
Thank you for your trust. Thank you for your passion. Thank you for your generosity. We hope this article inspires you as we reflect on the past that shaped us and celebrate the victories that you have made possible.
