“We want to feed ourselves. We want to produce our own food” - Rural Women’s Assembly

March for Climate Justice

Durban, South Africa 

December 3rd, 2011

 

Climate Octopus

Amy Goodman from Democracy Now, interviewing Greepeace Director Kumi Naidoo

UN Officials Greeting Protesto

This past Saturday I participated in a large march for Climate Justice with environmental groups, unions and activists from across the world and the continent of Africa.The lively march was attended by over 20,000 people. Major highways and roads where shut down for peoples voices and concerns to be heard at COP 17. The chants could even be heard through the UN walls! The march stopped in front of the dubbed, “Conference Of the Polluters” and a large rally took place. At the rally UN officials and Christiana Figueres, the Executive Director of the UN Convention and Framework on Climate Change, came out to hear the demands and speak. Of course, what they said was completely irrelevant and choices have all ready been made. As one point Ms. Figueres said, “I see people from all over the world here, even my own brother is in the crowd”. After she left, surrounded by a dozen riot police, the main organizer came up on the stage and said “Ms. Figueres said she saw one brother, but I look around the crowd and see thousands of my brothers and sisters”.



Over three-hundred women came in caravans from all over Africa with the “Rural Women’s Assembly” they joined the protest loudly singing songs, dancing and playing drums. One common chant was “the rain never came, my crops didn’t grow” and the chorus of “I am a Socialist”. It was very unique experience seeing people from the entire African continent joining together and telling the international community that they will no longer stand for environmental exploitation. Exploitation that takes away the ability of people to be self-reliant, work with the systems of Mother Earth to grow food and to provide decent life for themselves and their family.


Last year in Cancun, I was surrounded by indigenous peoples from all over Central America, the sounds of Peruvian flutes, women with long braid and brightly colored skirts. Along with hearing the continuous message and Latino passion for protecting Mother Earth. In Cancun, people were very upset and disappointed with the negotiation processes. But there was still a strong sense of hope that climate change could begin the be reversed and environmental destruction stopped .

Via Campesina - Africa

In Durban, I am surrounded by women singing in Zulu, wearing beautiful colored fabrics, large hair wraps and playing very loud leather drums. People are still widely debating the system that continuously steals natural resources from the soils of the earth and encourages corporate exploitation of impoverished communities. But, the energy is changing, people are very angry and they can not grow crops. In order to survive they are being forced to leave their communities and no resources are being made accessible for farmers to adapt to our changing climate. 

At the march and in various meetings I sense a feeling of frustration. The talks are moving away from how to lower carbons emissions and to climate adaptation. We are being forced to adapt to the changing climate, as result of international governing bodies not enforcing laws and stopping the destruction. People are sadly accepting that countries will continue to focus on their GDP and not the protection of mother earth. 

Myself and Marta, my friend and colleague