The 55-meter high ship that sails primarily under wind power arrived at
the city port Wednesday morning and will stay in the regional capital until
March 5.
Super typhoon Yolanda survivor Joanna Sustento, 26, one of Greenpeace’s
international climate justice champion, said it had always been her dream to
see the campaign ship in her hometown where people suffered the brunt of
climate change.
Sustento from the city’s Fatima village, lost her father, mother,
brother, sister-in-law and nephew when the super typhoon struck on Nov. 8,
2013. She recalled how people from different parts of the world turned
emotional whenever they heard stories of suffering of Tacloban residents.
“For them climate change is just changing winter clothes, but for us,
climate change means losing our livelihood, our homes, and even the lives of
our families,” Sustento told reporters in a press briefing on board the ship
Wednesday.
The typhoon survivor is a business administration graduate working
as call center agent when Yolanda struck central Philippines. Since 2016, she
had visited The Netherlands, Greece, Norway and Germany to share stories of
suffering due to the effects of climate change.
Ship Captain Hettie Geenen said several activities had been lined
up to raise awareness on the need to act against climate change.
“Back in the Philippines after almost 20 years I feel the same.
I’m inspired by all your stories although most of them are quite painful. It’s
time to act, we need to make sure the most responsible for climate change are
accounted for,” Geenen told reporters.
On Thursday, Greenpeace Southeast Asia-Philippines, will launch the
LIVErary - a human library -- where storytellers and experts will share their
knowledge and experiences on themes of loss and hope, pain and perspectives, as
well as justice and injustice in the context of climate change.
“The LIVErary will be collecting and connecting peoples’ stories, as
well as surfacing stories yet untold, of the impacts of the climate crisis on
our rights as human beings. Remembering and sharing are key elements of justice
and healing. They contribute to social memory, build on and strengthen the
social and cultural fabric, and raise questions of accountability and
responsibility, of what is fair and right, and what is unjust,” said Sustento,
who will be one of the story tellers.
Representatives from other countries, who are also fighting to reclaim
rights threatened by climate change, will also participate in the LIVErary.
They are Ingrid Skjoldvær, former chair of Nature and Youth, an organization
that, along with Greenpeace Nordic, has sued the Norwegian government for
allowing new oil drilling in the Arctic; George Nacewa of the Pacific Climate
Warriors in Fiji; and Kelsey Juliana, one of the youth plaintiffs who filed a
constitutional climate lawsuit against the US government.
“Responsible countries leave their oil in the ground. Norway claims to
be a climate hero, but continues to drill in the Arctic. This violates our
constitutional right to a safe environment and is deeply unfair to those
already affected by climate change and future generations,” said Skjoldvær.
A permanent symbol of remembrance will be unveiled in Tacloban during
the Rainbow Warrior’s visit. The Memorial Gift, a 2 meter-high installation
made from scrap metal salvaged in the aftermath of Haiyan, is in the style of a
crinkled paper boat to signify how strength (metal) can come from vulnerability
(paper).
The Rainbow Warrior’s tour in the Philippines, dubbed “Balangaw: The
Climate Justice Ship Tour”, is part of its five-month “Climate Change and
People Power” tour of Southeast Asia.
The Rainbow Warrior is the first ship in the fleet designed and built
specifically for Greenpeace. It’s also one of the most environmentally-friendly
ships ever made, sailing primarily under wind power. (SQM/PNA)
No comments:
Post a Comment