Ali Gohar from Pakistan where Gene visited last fall wrote: “Gene was my teacher, guide and mentor in my nonviolent life. What Gene left for us in the way of nonviolence, we will follow… inshallah (God willing).”
Myrla Baldonado, International Coordinator of the Alliance for Bases Clean-up, hosted a 2007 CPT exploratory delegation’s tour of the former U.S. military bases in the Philippines. She said, “Although Gene’s visit to Clark and Subic was brief, he left a great impact on our lives and those of the victims of toxic waste. He really listened.”
Several communities throughout the Philippines, including Clark, held memorial services to remember Gene, who along with his wife Dorothy Friesen had served there with Mennonite Central Committee in the late 1970s.
Many other friends from around the world sent messages and tributes as well.