Malo ni!
My
name is Mikaele Maiava. I'm writing from the Pacific Island archipelago
of Tokelau to ask you to join with us in action as we take on the
fossil fuel industry.
Last October, Tokelau turned off
the last of its diesel generators. In their place, we switched on our
solar plants, making Tokelau the first country in the world to become
100% renewably-powered.
I woke up before sunrise that
day, excited about the history Tokelau was making. My whole village made
its way to the site of over 100 solar panels -- we could see the many
hours of hard labor that had gone into this project. As we counted down
to the switch, I could feel future generations smiling at us and
thanking us. Our children's future suddenly looked brighter because we
had the vision (and perseverance) necessary to get off fossil fuels and
switch to 100% renewable energy.
You might wonder why we bothered.
Aren't we doomed to lose our islands from sea-level rise? I don't blame
you for thinking that if you did. So often the global media victimises
the Pacific Islands and portrays us as helplessly succumbing to climate
change and rising seas. But the global media know nothing of who we
really are, or how it feels to live on these paradise islands we call
home. They don't know that as Pacific Islanders, we are warriors, and
that the land we live on is part of us.
We
know that the longer the fossil fuel industry gets its way, the worse
climate change will be, and the more sea-level rise will threaten our
islands. But giving up on our home is not an option. We are not drowning.
We are fighting.
We are fighting.
That's why on March 2nd,
Pacific Islanders across 15 diverse nations will be mobilising at
prominent locations to perform our unique war challenges, songs, and
dances. We'll be laying down a challenge to the fossil fuel industry. It
is their coal and oil and gas vs. our future. They cannot both coexist.
And it is our future that has to win.
We want to show the world that
people from countries and cultures everywhere are standing with us --
the Pacific Warriors -- in the fight against climate change.
Fakafetai lahi,
Thank you,
Mikaele Maiava
Thank you,
Mikaele Maiava