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India – ‘A Hindi translation of Greta Thunberg’s speech was read out’

I am part of XR [Extinction Rebellion] Bhopal. The group is still in a very early phase and is working mostly on educating people about climate issues. On the evening of 15 April 2019 some school students and local activists gathered at Bhopal’s upper lake in solidarity with XR international rebellion week. There were speeches, dancing and music. A participant also read out a Hindi translation of Greta Thunberg’s speech to a large crowd.

According to some scientific reports, we might already have crossed major planetary tipping points and are already on the verge of imminent collapse by the end of the century. A more conservative assessment places that threshold 10 to 20 years away. Meanwhile, the impacts of warming and ecological collapse will continue to escalate. In India, natural gas extraction and coal-based power plants are expanding and there has been a massive increase in internal aviation transport. We need to transform or move beyond these suicidal institutions and many individuals and groups are already working on it, including our small group in XR Bhopal.   I hope we will be able to sow the seeds of new institutions to support or replace the collapsing ones – without which there is no chance of maintaining a zero-emission world and no chance of avoiding extinction.

What XR has achieved would have been almost impossible to imagine this time last year. It has brought people on to the streets for the first time and in large numbers. It has done so because of the clarity of its message. I hope many more people continue to join in and for this to continue and grow, both in size and political imagination, nationally in India and internationally.
Sarthak Tomar, law student and activist, Bhopal, India

Ghana – ‘We want people to see the looming danger of climate change’

For the past six years we have been resisting environmental damage locally and trying to compel the government to act. We have been doing this single-handedly – there’s been no international support. We have been looking for solidarity. Luckily we linked with Extinction Rebellion in October 2018 and started the west Africa group covering Ghana, Nigeria, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Togo almost immediately after XR launched in the UK.

We started holding placards at the lorry stations. Then we went to churches. Then we went to market squares. We also go to schools. On 27 February 2018 an honourable chief of Kwashieman township, just outside Accra, declared a pan-African state of climate change emergency at an event and asked us to all join hands together in one love of ubuntunkonso, which means peaceful grassroots resistance.

We had a huge rally on 20 April in Agormanya market, near Accra, for market women. The women spoke about environmental issues – such as the pollution of Lake Volta [one of the world’s largest man-made lakes], which provides drinking water and livelihoods. Environmental issues affect women and children the most here and the market women are especially vulnerable as they can sell affected produce and rely on it to make a living. The area is quite environmentally friendly so people want to resist and air their grievances because they feel the government is not doing anything about it.

Because of the reactionary violence here, we cannot hit the streets like you are doing in the UK. It is risky and dangerous. If we did the same thing the government could clamp down on us, so we have to limit the size of our XR group and do smaller activities like holding placards at the lorry stations. We are calling on the international community to rally support for us. Our experience of XR is so far, so good! Our counterparts in London are doing their best to ensure that we are supported.

As part of the international rebellion week we served the parliamentary committee on science and technology in Ghana with a letter, asking to meet them. We want them to account for the state of the carbon footprint of Ghana. They haven’t responded yet. We also approached the UN office in Accra – they also did not respond. We asked our counterparts in London to put pressure on the Ghana government and some XR activists in London went to the Ghana high commission there to ask them to pay attention to what we are doing.

We want the president of Ghana to ensure a peaceful environment for activists to hit the streets. We want a dialogue. That is all we are seeking, we want them to act now and tell our people the truth about the climate. The majority of people don’t know about the problem and we want them to see the looming danger of climate change. It’s about time that the government educated the people on this and did something before it gets worse.

We have a huge community support base across west Africa, but because of the reactionary atmosphere we have to approach the situation carefully. Which is why not many people are involved – the number is small. But I can assure you that when we can hit the streets peacefully, we will be a bigger number than in London.

Mawuse Yao Agorkor, 39, grassroots social activist, Accra, Ghana

Japan – ‘The strikes in London are making people want to take action here too’

I was born and raised in Tokyo, but I lived in the UK for three years while I went to university where I studied conservation biology and ecology. I saw pictures of the rebellion day in London in November 2018 on social media and wished I could have been there to share the anger and passion with the protesters.

Conversations around topics such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and human rights are almost non-existent in Japan. People who talk about such topics are considered ishiki takai, which means something along the lines of “highly conscious” but with a negative connotation. It saddens me that many people, especially my age, are unaware of what is happening to our environment and in our social system. Our future depends on these things, yet we are passive.

Our group is still in its infancy – we have not had much action so far. From 15–19 April we had two to five people gather in the Shibuya district, the centre of youth culture in Tokyo, to hold some signs and try to get talking to the Japanese public (massive shout out to Peter and Jessica, who were there every day with me!). We stood behind a famous statue in the hope of photobombing tourists (both Japanese and foreign). A few people got extremely annoyed at us, but we were also able to have conversations with a couple of Japanese people.

Our Facebook group was created in December and has reached 116 members, of which 70 have joined this past week. It is obvious that the strikes in London are sparking emotion and making people want to take action here in Japan too. We are rapidly trying to get an organised system so that we can plan actions efficiently.

However, our major issue is that we are mostly foreigners living in Japan and we have almost no Japanese members. In order for XR Japan to work in Japan, we need to turn it into a movement run by Japanese people for Japanese people. In the future, I hope XR Japan can normalise speaking up and demanding change and action.

Emma Suzuki, 23, intern at an NGO in Tokyo, Japan

Colombia – ‘Social and environmental activities in Latin America are high-risk’

I live on a farm near Medellín with my wife. There I take care of my patients and we keep an orchard and take care of a goat.As lifelong environmental activists, my wife and I have worked with groups to defend the jungle and rivers in my country against the threat of large mining companies, the predatory action of the dams, the logging of forests and the constant cover-up of politicians.

When the Extinction Rebellion collective emerged in London in November 2018, we decided to join the international cause with a group of environmentalist friends. Our programme of action is inscribed within the framework of the struggles of the Latin American peoples against the neoliberal system that, by stimulating an irrational and excessive consumption, has been destroying the natural resources indispensable for the survival of our species. Meanwhile, a small group of politicians, managers and bankers accumulates exorbitant profits manifested in an offensive ostentation of wealth.

Social and environmental activities in Latin America are high-risk. Only this year, so many leaders have been killed in Colombia by paramilitary forces, who protect the unpunished actions of politicians, landowners and mining companies.

So far, the work carried out by Extinction Rebellion Colombia has involved workshops on direct non-violent action, participation in marches and protests by other social and environmental groups, a symbolic action of planting trees in a forest reserve near Medellín, and supporting the FridaysForFuture protests in Medellín and Cali.

We think that the scarce mobilisation of the public in Colombia around the climate crisis is due to the phenomenon of “the frog in the boiling pot”. When you put a frog in boiling water, the animal rages furiously to escape a fiery end. But if you put the frog in cold water and slowly increase the temperature of the water, the frog will cook almost without realising it. The Colombian people – terrified by the criminalisation of social protest, anaesthetised by the media and managed by economic groups that dominate the country – ignore the crisis.

We joined the global XR movement with the conviction that only a global mass movement can stop the unhealthy actions of the capitalist system against life on the planet.
Roberto Arias, 62, physician and surgeon, Medellín, Colombia

New Zealand – ‘Multi-corporates have laid waste to our Shire just like Saruman did to Hobbiton’

I’ve been an environmental scientist for 20 years, living on Wellington’s beautiful south coast, and am the Wellington XR spokesperson

We have actions planned almost every day during the rebellion week. Out of respect to the victims of the Christchurch shooting, most of our actions will be minimally disruptive yet poignant and engaging nonetheless.

On 17 April we poured sour milk on the steps of the parliament building here in Wellington while dressed as cows. In New Zealand we call milk “white gold” because it is our biggest export, but intensive dairy farming has a sour side – it has led to us having some of the world’s worst rates of extinction, water quality and habitat and biodiversity loss. Another report on the state of our environment has just come out, and it is worse than ever before. It is like reading a Stephen King novel. Us Kiwis love our country and our natural environment and we are insanely proud of it, yet we seem to be largely oblivious that multi-corporates have laid waste to our Shire just like Saruman did to Hobbiton.

Our style is typically Kiwi – it’s about having fun, while being poignant. We have our own approach: what works for Extinction Rebellion in the UK may not work in exactly the same way here. It’s of utmost importance, for example, that we honour the Te Tiriti o Waitangi – the agreement between Māori chiefs and the crown signed in 1840 – and draw on the Māori concept of kaitiakitanga, the idea of guardianship and conservation of the natural world.

I run a global research collaboration helping organisations change the behaviour of hard-to-reach energy users. It’s not about making individuals feel guilty or scared, but effecting systematic change. It’s a social justice issue as well as an environmental issue – a lot of the current language around solutions is very white middle-class so my work is about making sure no one feels forgotten or excluded.

As a coral reef ecologist, everything I love and have studied and wanted to protect all my life is dying in front of our very eyes. I can barely cope with the grief of the Great Barrier Reef – which I was so privileged to research – going extinct in my lifetime.

Extinction Rebellion is the last hope for this dying planet. That is why we are involved, because we know that science and facts did not save the Great Barrier Reef, nor the majority of our rivers here in New Zealand. Only a huge number of people willing to hold their governments, corporations and media accountable can create the system change we so desperately need. This is why I am a “rebel for life” and this is what I want Extinction Rebellion to achieve: a new eco-socialist way of life where all people and other species have the same right to live peacefully, to have clean water, land and air, and where the short-term greed of the few does not dictate the survival of all.
Dr Sea, 43, environmental scientist, Wellington, New Zealand

Ireland – ‘It’s time to fight back’

I’m a member of the steering committee that set up the Extinction Rebellion Ireland group at a public meeting in November 2018.

We organised our first major event to mark World Wildlife Day on 3 March 2019. We carried a coffin through Dublin city centre and gave it a mock funeral outside St Stephen’s Green shopping centre. The weather was appalling but around 300 people still turned out.

We held a day of rebellion on 19 April where we occupied a bridge in central Dublin and demanded the Irish government take urgent steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Ireland has missed all of its legally binding EU emission targets and it’s time to fight back.

I was arrested this week in London while protesting in Oxford Circus and spent the day in custody. The police treated us very well – most of them are as concerned about climate change as we are. I had a conversation with one of them for about an hour, he’d studied climate change at uni and was sympathetic to our aims.

During my PhD I travelled the world hearing from scientists about the latest climate science and how we were headed for catastrophe. As a result, I travelled to the 15th UN conference of the parties in Copenhagen to urge world leaders to take effective action while there is still time. While peacefully protesting we were kettled and arrested. I felt like nothing was ever going to change. Then 10 years later I saw Extinction Rebellion occupy the bridges in London and thought “Finally! We’re rising up!” and I simply had to join in.

Extinction Rebellion uses non-violent civil disobedience, which history shows to be the most effective way to achieve change. They are using the tactics most likely to make a difference.
Ciarán Ó Carroll, 31, works for a financial services company in Dublin, Ireland

Australia – ‘It’s not a “hippie” thing, it’s a survival thing’

I’m an active member of Extinction Rebellion South Australia, predominately in the arts group, and initiated the #climateactionrocks action.

On 14 April we placed approximately 400 rocks painted in bright colours with non-toxic paint around the Adelaide central business district. The rocks had the Extinction Rebellion logo and the hashtag #climateactionrocks on them. We painted climate change facts on the larger rocks. This was done in the hopes of raising awareness, and generating conversation and interest around climate change issues.

I hope people may start looking into the threats of climate change and perhaps start taking action to let our governments and politicians know that even if they are not taking climate change seriously, we are.

My hopes are that Extinction Rebellion gains the momentum and people power required to force governments worldwide to take climate change seriously and start telling the truth about how scary the consequences of climate change will be if we continue with business as usual and do nothing. I believe that because XR is a global movement with new groups forming all over the world and joining forces, world leaders will have to address our demands and make the changes required to save our planet and all its inhabitants.
Ness Snedden, 49, farm worker, the Fleurieu, Australia

Belgium – ‘We want Europe to respect the Paris agreements’

I’m part of the communication group of Extinction Rebellion, Belgium. We planned a few different events during the week. The kick-off action took place on 15 April: a group of people gathered in front of the European commission building in Brussels at 8am to form the Extinction Rebellion logo and read a declaration of climate and ecological emergency. A second group swarmed the Schuman roundabout near the commission building and disturbed traffic. They laid down on the street until the police arrived and took them away. During this action we were targeting the European Union in particular and its decarbonisation plan, which we find insufficient. We want Europe to put in place a truly ambitious policy, respecting the Paris agreements.

In Belgium, the mobilisation for ambitious climate measures has reached an historic level, yet many politicians continue to deny our movement and some even despise us. The mobilisation of young people has been incredible, we have never seen so many people take part in climate marches. But again, we have not yet achieved anything. Personally, I think we absolutely must move on to more disruptive modes of action in order to change things.

XR goes beyond simply criticising the existing economic and political system. The movement also wants to propose a new model of society: a more egalitarian, more horizontal, less alienating society. The preservation of biodiversity and the limitation of global warming can only be achieved through a radical overhaul of the economy. What I find relevant and realistic in the Extinction Rebellion demands is that members are well aware that this radical change in the economic system can only happen with a change in the political system towards a more direct democracy. This allows for a convergence of struggles: the members of Extinction Rebellion have clearly understood that climate justice goes hand in hand with social justice.
Jean Sobczak, 24, sociology master’s graduate, Brussels

South Africa – ‘A huge public awareness drive is necessary’

A number of people in South Africa joined XR on the international portal in October last year, many of us after reading a George Monbiot article in the Guardian – none of us knew each other beforehand. The group have remained in close contact since, although actions in Cape Town and Johannesburg/Pretoria have been independent thus far. Through the national XR website I was contacted by Otti Neser in Pretoria. The two of us opened an XR stall at a large market in February which drew other isolated XR enthusiasts in and a network quickly started growing. We hosted the school strike for climate in Pretoria in front of the Union Buildings, the seat of national government, on 15 March, giving the children all the limelight. This enjoyed coverage by a dozen media groups, national and international. On the same day, the Cape Town XR group plus fridaysforfuture.org.za and various NGOs like 350 and Greenpeace hosted the school strike for climate as well – 2,000 children took part.

On 15 April the Cape Town branch of XR South Africa handed a document with its demands to the premier of the Western Cape province, Helen Zille. The Gauteng branch (incorporating Johannesburg and Pretoria, now known as Tshwane) assembled in front of the Gauteng provincial legislature in Johannesburg and publicly declared rebellion against inaction on the climate crisis by national and local governments.

A huge public awareness drive is necessary to build the movement in South Africa. We plan to organise flash mobs in shopping malls as well as other actions to raise public awareness and are engaging with our media in South Africa to encourage them to cover the climate crisis. Once we have sufficient numbers, we will start more direct actions until local and national governments start responding appropriately. My hope for the world is that we will unite across all boundaries, like never before, and start healing the web of life on a scale that will see us through this crisis.
Chris Engelbrecht, 60, university professor, Johannesburg, South Africa