Since the protest outside the Brazilian Embassy last week I've realised how little knowledge I have of activism in other parts of the world and particularly the global south. And if there's one thing I've realised over the last months it's how critical it is to have sufficient knowledge to ensure you're making the right choices. (That needs some thought and another post to explain further).
My introduction to activism began in October 2018 when I went to see Extinction Rebellion block five bridges in London. I followed them on Facebook and started to go along each time there was an event.
After that first October event I also began to spend a lot of time reading and researching everything climate. I started with the science, the predictions, the history, the denial and obfuscation. I looked at the solutions and made a lot of personal change and commitments. I understood that system change was what was really needed and read up on theories of achieving system change.
As a result I steadily increased my involvement with XR to the point where it now takes up most of my time outside of work. (I'm writing this now at 00:30 am having spent the best part of the day planning one of many actions coming up in September).
All of that to explain that my focus has been primarily on the here and now. One thing I hadn't really looked at is the history of the global fight against climate change and environmental destruction.
It was during my involvement in the protest at the burning of the Amazon rainforest that I noted down a reference to a documentary called "When Two Worlds Collide". I then forgot about it until today. And finding myself waiting for responses to all the planning questions I'd fired out, I sat down with some food to watch it.
It covers a period from 2006 when the Peruvian government began to remove protective legislation and encourage industrial exploitation of the Amazon. In response an organisation of indigenous Amazonians rose up in opposition. The film centers around a specific action they took to block the commercial trucking routes. It ultimately ended in violence and a number of deaths on both sides.
What the film brought home for me, that we can't really get a sense of when we take action here in the UK, is the very immediate threat to our existence that extractive industry represents. For these indigenous people their home, their source of food and water, was literally being destroyed. They were fighting for their lives.
When we stand on the streets in London calling for action on climate change the threats can sometimes seem distant. The upset and disruption we cause for local people can sometimes seem more immediate and tangible. And it naturally makes us uncomfortable. So it is good to really take on board that we represent and stand for people the world over. Those whose homes and livelihoods have been destroyed for the sake of profit. Those who have been murdered by corrupt governments for protecting the environment. Those who have died as a direct result of climate change and ecological destruction. We are asking for global system change that is in everyone's interests.
My outlook has been greatly expanded since October 2018. My global empathy has been stretched and strengthened. When I next stand on the street in London and call for action on climate and ecological destruction I will remember the Peruvians fighting for their lives and putting their lives on the line for all of us.
https://filmsfortheearth.org/en/films/when-two-worlds-collide
