Yvette Pierpaoli
Encyclopedia
Yvette Pierpaoli was a French humanitarian. The book The Constant Gardener
was dedicated to Pierpaoli by John le Carré
.
, the fifth child of an Italian father and a French mother.
During a geography lesson about Indochina
Pierpaoli first became interested in the far
east. Pierpaoli's turbulent character manifested itself in an aggressive attitude towards her family and classmates earning her the nickname "the plague".
Having left school at fifteen Pierpaoli found a job as an office clerk. During this time she got interested in amateur radio communication. She became one of the first French amateur radio operators.
In 1958, after a confrontation with her father she left the family home and went to Paris.
Continuing her childhood dreams she got in contact with the Asian community in Paris. After a love affair with a Kampuchean medical student, she became pregnant and had a daughter.
In 1967, aged 29, she went to Cambodia with her baby daughter. In Phnom Penh she proved to be an excellent businesswoman selling small planes, tractors and chemicals.
In 1974, a large number of refugees poured into Phnom Penh, fleeing the advance of the Khmer Rouge
. Moved by the plight of children, Pierpaoli devoted a lot of her time to these children.
She became head of "Continental Air Service", which had been flying regularly between
Phnom Penh and Bangkok on behalf of the U.S. Embassy and other organizations.
When Phnom Penh fell to the Khmer Rouge in April 1975, Yvette Pierpaoli decided to move to Bangkok. She then began to help Cambodians who fled their country and sought refuge in Thailand. Plying the border with a small car, she visited the camps in which they stayed, bringing them food and medicine. In 1985 she decided to pass on her business and return to France. There she met a young monk from Guatemala. He described the plight of his country which had just emerged from civil war. She founded a charity, collected money and went to Zaculeu
, a village in Guatemala. Joined by several volunteers, she undertook to rebuild the houses, to dig wells and return the land to cultivation. Within three years and the village of Zaculeu regained its autonomy,
demonstrating that "a single person can sometimes achieve what large organizations can not".
In March 1986 she returned from Central America, finally closed her business in Asia and returned to France. She settled near Uzès
and began writing her autobiography. The book "Woman of a Thousand Children" was published in 1992.
Yvette Pierpaoli, however, did not consider her mission completed, and remained in contact with humanitarian organizations. She worked on many projects in Africa and Asia.
In 1999 she was on a mission to assist refugees from Kosovo. She was one of four victims who died in a car accident when traveling from Tirana to Kukës
on April 18, 1999.
The Constant Gardener
The Constant Gardener is a 2001 novel by John le Carré. It tells the story of Justin Quayle, a British diplomat whose activist wife is murdered...
was dedicated to Pierpaoli by John le Carré
John le Carré
David John Moore Cornwell , who writes under the name John le Carré, is an author of espionage novels. During the 1950s and the 1960s, Cornwell worked for MI5 and MI6, and began writing novels under the pseudonym "John le Carré"...
.
Biography
She was born in Le Ban-Saint-MartinLe Ban-Saint-Martin
Le Ban-Saint-Martin is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France....
, the fifth child of an Italian father and a French mother.
During a geography lesson about Indochina
Indochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
Pierpaoli first became interested in the far
east. Pierpaoli's turbulent character manifested itself in an aggressive attitude towards her family and classmates earning her the nickname "the plague".
Having left school at fifteen Pierpaoli found a job as an office clerk. During this time she got interested in amateur radio communication. She became one of the first French amateur radio operators.
In 1958, after a confrontation with her father she left the family home and went to Paris.
Continuing her childhood dreams she got in contact with the Asian community in Paris. After a love affair with a Kampuchean medical student, she became pregnant and had a daughter.
In 1967, aged 29, she went to Cambodia with her baby daughter. In Phnom Penh she proved to be an excellent businesswoman selling small planes, tractors and chemicals.
In 1974, a large number of refugees poured into Phnom Penh, fleeing the advance of the Khmer Rouge
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge literally translated as Red Cambodians was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who were the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan...
. Moved by the plight of children, Pierpaoli devoted a lot of her time to these children.
She became head of "Continental Air Service", which had been flying regularly between
Phnom Penh and Bangkok on behalf of the U.S. Embassy and other organizations.
When Phnom Penh fell to the Khmer Rouge in April 1975, Yvette Pierpaoli decided to move to Bangkok. She then began to help Cambodians who fled their country and sought refuge in Thailand. Plying the border with a small car, she visited the camps in which they stayed, bringing them food and medicine. In 1985 she decided to pass on her business and return to France. There she met a young monk from Guatemala. He described the plight of his country which had just emerged from civil war. She founded a charity, collected money and went to Zaculeu
Zaculeu
Zaculeu or Saqulew is a pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site in the highlands of western Guatemala, about outside of the modern city of Huehuetenango. Occupation at the site dates back as far as the Early Classic period of Mesoamerican history...
, a village in Guatemala. Joined by several volunteers, she undertook to rebuild the houses, to dig wells and return the land to cultivation. Within three years and the village of Zaculeu regained its autonomy,
demonstrating that "a single person can sometimes achieve what large organizations can not".
In March 1986 she returned from Central America, finally closed her business in Asia and returned to France. She settled near Uzès
Uzès
Uzès is a commune in the Gard department in southern France.It lies about 25 km north-northeast of Nîmes.-History:Originally Ucetia, Uzès was a small Gallo-Roman oppidum, or administrative settlement. The town lies at the source of the Eure, from where a Roman aqueduct was built in the first...
and began writing her autobiography. The book "Woman of a Thousand Children" was published in 1992.
Yvette Pierpaoli, however, did not consider her mission completed, and remained in contact with humanitarian organizations. She worked on many projects in Africa and Asia.
In 1999 she was on a mission to assist refugees from Kosovo. She was one of four victims who died in a car accident when traveling from Tirana to Kukës
Kukës
Kukës is a town in Albania located at 42.09°N, 20.43°E in the district and county with the same name. It has a population of about 16,000 . The town is set among the mountains of northern Albania. It is famous for its role during the Kosovo conflict for taking in 450,000 refugees from Kosovo...
on April 18, 1999.