Scholars-at-Risk Program // SAFE HAVEN

The Oregon Institute offers safe haven to scholars, writers, artists, poets, activists, journalists, and public intellectuals who find themselves in mortal danger. The persecution of individuals who fight against injustice in all its many manifestations amid the continuing degradation of politics, defined by the late media theorist Marshall McLuhan as “a system of challenge, contest, and negotiation,” happens every day around the world in the form of threats, attacks, arrests, killings, and assassinations. In addition to these casualties are others killed or threatened simply because of who they are, whether ethnic, religious, or creative-expressive. With increasing and alarming frequency, environmentalists, eco-activists, and those fighting for the rights of nonhuman species are also targeted and killed for their work. Indeed, according to the advance version of the UN-backed “Summary for policymakers of the global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services,” 1,000 environmental activists and journalists were killed during the period 2002-2013. With our new series, Eco-Hero, we seek to honor these guardians of the Earth and its creatures.