Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai, the Kenyan founder of the global Green Belt Movement, told a Burkle Center audience that Africans "are literally slaves" to Western nations that profit from excessive interest payments on aid. Event coverage and video are available from Zocalo Public Square.

At an April 20, 2009, event cosponsored by the Burkle Center for International Relations at UCLA, Wangari Maathai, Kenyan Nobel laureate and founder of the global Green Belt Movement, addressed issues affecting the lives of Kenyans and people around the world, including global warming and African debts owed to Western banks. Event organizer Zócalo Public Square has news and video coverage.

"We are telling our government," Maathai said to applause, "if you can't pay, just tell them you can't pay. Finished. You have already paid…your people are dying."

To read more about Maathai's talk, view photos, and watch video of the event, visit the Zócalo website.