What a powerful speech! That is THE one big reason why I am doing what I am doing - for my children, and being able to look in their faces when they ask me what I had done to help. How anybody with children cannot do whatever in their power to ensure their safe future is tragic and beyond my understanding. Maiken
> > Editor's note: The following is the transcript of the speech that > Severn Suzuki gave to the Plenary Session at the 1992 Earth Summit in > Rio Centro, Brazil. Severn was twelve years old. SASS feels there is > no better example of a young person standing up and speaking on > behalf of something in which they truly believe, for the betterment > of themselves and the world around them. > > Hello, I'm Severn Suzuki speaking for E.C.O. - The Environmental > Children's Organisation. > > We are a group of twelve and thirteen-year-olds from Canada trying to > make a difference: > Vanessa Suttie, Morgan Geisler, Michelle Quigg and me. We raised all > the money ourselves to come six thousand miles to tell you adults you > must change your ways. Coming here today, I have no hidden agenda. I > am fighting for my future. > Losing my future is not like losing an election or a few points on > the stock market. I am here to speak for all generations to come. > I am here to speak on behalf of the starving children around the > world whose cries go unheard. > I am here to speak for the countless animals dying across this planet > because they have nowhere left to go. We cannot afford to be not > heard. > I am afraid to go out in the sun now because of the holes in the > ozone. I am afraid to breathe the air because I don't know what > chemicals are in it. > I used to go fishing in Vancouver with my dad until just a few years > ago we found the fish full of cancers. And now we hear about animals > and plants going exinct every day -- vanishing forever. > In my life, I have dreamt of seeing the great herds of wild animals, > jungles and rainforests full of birds and butterfilies, but now I > wonder if they will even exist for my children to see. > Did you have to worry about these little things when you were my age? > All this is happening before our eyes and yet we act as if we have > all the time we want and all the solutions. I'm only a child and I > don't have all the solutions, but I want you to realise, neither do > you! > > * You don't know how to fix the holes in our ozone layer. > * You don't know how to bring salmon back up a dead stream. > * You don't know how to bring back an animal now extinct. > * And you can't bring back forests that once grew where > there is now desert. > If you don't know how to fix it, please stop breaking it! > > Here, you may be delegates of your governments, business people, > organisers, reporters or poiticians - but really you are mothers and > fathers, brothers and sister, aunts and uncles - and all of you are > somebody's child. > I'm only a child yet I know we are all part of a family, five billion > strong, in fact, 30 million species strong and we all share the same > air, water and soil -- borders and governments will never change that. > > I'm only a child yet I know we are all in this together and should > act as one single world towards one single goal. > In my anger, I am not blind, and in my fear, I am not afraid to tell > the world how I feel. > In my country, we make so much waste, we buy and throw away, buy and > throw away, and yet northern countries will not share with the needy. > Even when we have more than enough, we are afraid to lose some of our > wealth, afraid to share. > In Canada, we live the privileged life, with plenty of food, water > and shelter -- we have watches, bicycles, computers and television > sets. > Two days ago here in Brazil, we were shocked when we spent some time > with some children living on the streets. And this is what one child > told us: "I wish I was rich and if I were, I would give all the > street children food, clothes, medicine, shelter and love and > affection." > If a child on the street who has nothing, is willing to share, why > are we who have everyting still so greedy? > I can't stop thinking that these children are my age, that it makes a > tremendous difference where you are born, that I could be one of > those children living in the Favellas of Rio; I could be a child > starving in Somalia; a victim of war in the Middle East or a beggar > in India. > I'm only a child yet I know if all the money spent on war was spent > on ending poverty and finding environmental answers, what a wonderful > place this earth would be! > At school, even in kindergarten, you teach us to behave in the world. > You teach us: > * not to fight with others, > * to work things out, > * to respect others, > * to clean up our mess, > * not to hurt other creatures > * to share - not be greedy. > Then why do you go out and do the things you tell us not to do? > > Do not forget why you're attending these conferences, who you're > doing this for -- we are your own children. You are deciding what > kind of world we will grow up in. Parents should be able to comfort > their children by saying "everyting's going to be alright" , "we're > doing the best we can" and "it's not the end of the world". > But I don't think you can say that to us anymore. Are we even on your > list of priorities? My father always says "You are what you do, not > what you say." > > Well, what you do makes me cry at night. You grown ups say you love > us. I challenge you, please make your actions reflect your words. > Thank you for listening > > > > Severn Cullis-Suzuki has been active in environmental and social > justice work ever since kindergarten. She was twelve years old when > she gave this speech, and she received a standing ovation. Now 23, > Cullis-Suzuki spearheads The SkyFish Project and continues to speak > to schools and corporations, and at many conferences and > international meetings. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. > > -- > Elan Shapiro > Sustainable Tompkins Program Co-Chair > Sustainable Living Associates, Principal > Frog's Way B&B > 211 Rachel Carson Way > Ithaca, NY 14850 > 607-275-0249 > > "We must be the change we want to see in the world" > Mohandas Gandhi > _______________________________________________ > RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: > [email protected] > http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org > _______________________________________________ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
