Hello my Dear Friends,
Here I am again after a lazy spell, pouring out my thoughts into the great wide internet teeming with ideas, innovation, stories and thoughts.
The world is bustling and bumbling, becoming busier by the day. We are in a constant rush to conquer and have learnt to become complacent in this mad rush to make a living, to be accepted and fit in. In all this, we have, however, started to overlook the little things. What do our actions lead to? In our struggle to save time, are we ignoring something more important? Or is it our way of saying we are just part of the crowd?
Where is this chain of thoughts heading? Well, to ourselves. To us who were younger, stronger and more courageous. To our younger selves who had ideals and who had plans to change the world, even through the smallest of actions. On Children’s Day, a lot of messages crowded our inboxes, asking us to look at the child within. The little people that we were more resilient, and more intolerant of the surrounding injustice. Looking back, it was easier to voice our thoughts. But as we grew older, the prying eyes and the judgmental thoughts all changed us into something we are not.
So, getting to the actual point, COP27, held from 6 November until 18 November 2022 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. COP27 is the Conference of the Parties where the parties are the attending countries that signed up to the original UN climate agreement in 1992. The funny aspect, as highlighted by most climate activists, is that it is nothing but a façade to hide the enormous carbon footprint the countries are really responsible for.
This year there are younger participants joining from different parts of the globe than before. The fact that they are the ones fighting hard to save the planet that they have to live on leaves a definitive question. What have we been doing? Well, struggling to make ends meet, I guess, however, as vulnerable as we have been to the surroundings, the little people of today have a lot to deal with. While we can say that the digital natives have the world at their fingertips, enjoying nature and breathing easily is not.
According to a Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) AR6 Report, “Today, 1 billion of the world’s most vulnerable children are at extreme risk. If the world fails to act, tomorrow it will be all children. It is past time to put children at the center of climate action.”
Together we have seen the effects of a worldwide pandemic, the intense and destructive climate hazards, the heatwaves, droughts, cyclones, floods, and air pollution to top it off. Our childhoods weren’t this harsh, at least in terms of the climate, and that brings us back to the thought of what kind of Children’s Day is this, really?
We see activists like Greta Thunberg, Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, Nyombi Morris, Licypriya Kangujam and many more, raising awareness about climate change. The young voices have relentlessly been repeating how pertinent it is to take action. The world, however, is still to take heed. The COP27 is yet another platform where the little people are leading the way to change. Makes me often wonder what more I need to do. Zero waste, stopping single-use plastic, go-green and more. Would it suffice to get Earth back to its former glory? And just as we wonder, another bomb drops on a small city somewhere far away, destroying everything in its wake. Switch to another aspect that impacts children the most: conflicts, wars and displacement.
According to stats, “36.5 million children were displaced from their homes by the end of 2021”. The story repeats and tends to continue as people fight for vested interests. Children need safe places to grow in, food to provide nutrition, and a shelter where they don’t have to live in fear. Devoid of such basic requirements, millions of children are still struggling on a daily basis. Then comes education, which again cannot be guaranteed at all times owing to the tumultuous situations in many regions.
So, when we think of Children’s Day, we have to rethink again what we are really offering to the next generation. Change we must, in all ways, possibly slowly and gradually rectify the mistakes we and our previous generations have made directly or indirectly. We can choose to live recklessly, but we can also choose to live carefully. Together, the change can be real, but don’t leave it to the little people alone, for the world is as much ours as it is theirs.
Afraid of what others will say? Let’s do our thing, let the naysayers say whatever they want to say. Believe that you can drive change and set out to make a difference. People will definitely take an interest. Let’s stop being adults who try to fit in and join in with the children who choose to stand out. Let’s speak up when we see something wrong. Let us voice our concerns about wars. Let us not be shy about standing out in a crowd. Taking a bag to the grocery is good and so is taking a container for lentils and whole grains. The good old way of taking a container to buy oil would be great too, but sadly, buying it from the oil mills isn’t an easy option everywhere. Growing vegetables at home, cutting down on electricity usage, using environment-friendly washing agents, and composting food waste is all ways in which we can contribute to reversing climate change. There are tutorials for homemade enzyme cleaners, homemade natural shampoo, and moisturizers, all of which can otherwise add to the plastic pile that we create. Small assertive steps that we take as individuals can contribute towards global change. We might not move the mountain, but we can at least decrease the size.
This is Satrangee Parachute triggering thoughts for change.
Sharing some links for extra reading if it interests you all.
https://www.unicef.org/stories/young-climate-activists-demand-action-inspire-hope
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/climate-change-affecting-children-even-before-birth
https://www.unicef.org/migrant-refugee-internally-displaced-children
https://conflictandhealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13031-022-00486-6
https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/10-ways-you-can-help-fight-climate-crisis