Anet was one of the most passionate activists I've ever met. She had seemingly boundless energy to pour into multiple causes. She was on the front lines of anti-poverty work, support for Indigenous rights, environmental defence, refugee rights, women's rights and world peace. At the celebration of her life I learned for the first time that she had participated in the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp, which sought to prevent the installation of US nuclear Cruise missiles in England.
Louise, Anet's long-time copine, embraced me and told me how she had held her close during her final hours. Theirs was really a love story. During the four-and-a-half years Anet lived in care homes, Louise visited three or four times a week. They went for walks, they sang and danced. There was so much love between them.
Anet and I were the same age (heading for 70), born in November 1945, just six days apart. Naturally, the celebration of her life was also an occasion for me to consider not only my own mortality, but the ephemeral nature of life itself, and why it is that we desire to find meaning in it. Further, why do some find their meaning in war while others. like Anet, find theirs in working for peace and justice? That's still an open question, as the drumbeat of war grows louder, drowning out the voices for peace. I don't think that Anet would have liked living in the world as it is, although it wouldn't have stopped her from doing everything in her power to turn the tide. What I do think she would have enjoyed is knowing that, during the celebration of her life, she bequeathed to so many of us a renewed sense of dedication to creating a world worth living in.
Here is a selection of Anet's videos from the 2008 Aboriginal Women's Walk for Justice.
ANET HENRIKSO has passed; Commemorative celebration of her life this Monday (from Solidarity City)
We remember Anet Henrikso, former VOW board member (from Canadian Voice of Women for Peace)