On June 3, 2016, American boxing legend Muhammad Ali passed away at age 74. A decade later, his voice still resonates — not in the roar of the crowd or the rhythm of the ring, but in a corridor outside the United Nations headquarters.
On the wall hangs a watercolor painting Ali himself created of the UN building — a gentle, almost affectionate work depicting the iconic symbol of the world’s aspiration for peace.
Ali painted the picture in 1978 and personally gave it to UN officials, calling it a "gift of peace." It is not just a work of art but a bridge between his public courage and his private belief that peace is humanity’s highest calling.
In a letter accompanying the painting, Ali wrote: "Service to others is the rent we pay for our room here on Earth." This line still appears daily as a summons, challenging everyone to reflect on their duty to one another in an era of division, inequality and conflict.
Ten years after his death, Ali’s message has become even more urgent as the world lives through a time when peace is fragile — ravaged by war, strained by rising hatred, tested by the unchecked expansion of new technology, and with the rights of women and girls increasingly under threat.
Ali understood the cost of speaking up when silence was safe. He was once criticized for refusing to fight in Vietnam and punished for standing up against racism and injustice at home. But he never surrendered, using his fame to amplify the truth rather than stay silent.
Ali’s painting at the UN reminds us that peace is built by people who refuse to accept violence as the final word. The image of the United Nations through his brush is both modest and hopeful — a family of nations that is imperfect but always striving to live up to shared ideals.
A decade on, Muhammad Ali’s message remains a reminder: Peace is something we must nurture and protect every day through our words and actions. That is the "rent" each of us must pay to a world yearning for peace.
