Standing strong and tall in what is known as the gift, the so called ‘Present’, I fear to look back at the past. I am equally feared to look at the future. I am talking about the environment and i believe you would have guessed it right by now. I was wandering around orkut some days back and found a video in a friends profile. Just out of curiosity, happened to open it and was left amazed after i had seen it. It was about this young girl who gave a speech at UN and she was addressing the big guns of the world. But she had the right words, the right attitude and above all a noble cause. Save the Environment. Some of you might have already come across the video, but just thought it would help by posting it in here. I am sure you would be impressed by her speech as well. I was. Read it yourself.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQmz6Rbpnu0
Some History
Born and raised in Vancouver, Severn Suzuki has been working on environmental and social justice issues since kindergarten. At age 9, she and some friends started the Environmental Children’s Organization (ECO), a small group of children committed to learning and teaching other kids about environmental issues. They traveled to 1992’s UN Earth Summit, where 12 year-old Severn gave this powerful speech that deeply affected (and silenced) some of the most prominent world leaders. The speech had such an impact that she has become a frequent invitee to many UN conferences.
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 “
Hi,
Truly one of the best speaches I have heard so far.
Question is: Are we giving a better world for our CHILDREN to live in.
Answer: Today we can say a big NO. Search your heart and if it tells a YES, then face the children of this world and let them know what is that small action you took to ensure that the world of tomorrow is a better place than today for our children to live in.
Reminds me of the song by Michael Jackson – Heal the world:
Heal the world
Make it a better place
For you and for me and the entire human race
There are people dying
If you care enough for the living
Make a better place for
You and for me.
Well today the action I took to ensure a better place for our Children to Live in was – I said NO to Plastic Cover when I visited a Shop. A small action by 1000’s of the total 5 Billion Population in this world per day would reduce the accumulation of plastics in 1000’s per day. I also forwarded the link of this blog to my team with an intention to spread awareness.
If anyone else thinks of another way to save the earth, then please do submit your methods in this blog.
Thank you
Badri
Employee of IBM
Hello Mr.Badri,
It felt good to know that the article helped the cause of saving earth using your effort in some way.
It is indeed actions like these that shall matter the most for our children. Even though we cannot provide the coming generations a the world in a way we received it, we can at least look them in the eye and say that we made an effort.
There is saying ‘After usage, always leave the Newspaper and the Toilet the way you would expect it to be when you are about to use’
And earth is such a beautiful thing. If we cannot help it anyway, lets try and prevent it from getting any worser.
Refusing usage of plastics and better usage of the power appliances can trigger the change we are aiming at. Its our world and lets treat it the way it has treated us.
It simply does not deserve all this.
Regards,
Noah
Hi Noah,
One thing that I observe when I look around is that “People are Unconscious”. They are unconscious about everything around. About their actions, about their words, about the heaviness of each and every word they speak, about spreading information…just about anything you name…They do not understand the impact of their presence in this world. One thing is for sure…we are all connected in some way or the other. But as I said, we are not aware as to how. The only way to tell people is in the form of numbers.
Let us talk about Fashion industry. In this industry, one person sets a new trend. Another person who is attracted, follows it. Then another and so on until a Critical Mass is reached. Once it is set, then the majority join in to adopt the new trend. The Sphere of Influence starts spreading. Well this is one of the best way to know how we are connected.
Similarly, when tobacco was introduced into the market, the trend started picking up. It flowed not only across cultures and people at that time but also across generations. The impact on society was soo huge that now we can feel the effect. We have cancer (a new trend in Virus techology) being adopted in the Human gene pool. We have passive smokers getting affected more than active smokers. The smoke is also impacting Earth’g global warming. Asthma is at large these days. I mean, why aren’t people able to see the clarity in the picture created by them that depicts their own Doomsday.
Only time can tell. Focus should be one spreading the right trend in this world. And the best way to spread is to correct the roots now. We need to bring in focus from our children. We need to teach children to teach their parents and be adamant until they learn. These children grow to become leaders, engineers, doctors, scientists of tomorrow. We need to strongly inculcate values to protect our environment in them. We need to teach them to be conscious about their actions and how each and every actions has an effect on their Sphere of Influence.
God speed.
Thank you for listening.
Bye
Badri
Hi Badri,
Every word you said is all so true ! Ignorance is bliss and arent we all on our knees before it? The number of people truly concerned about the consequences of the present is so negligible that their voices are hardly let to make sound. We are so used to the feeling thats embodied into our minds that there is somebody to take care of every situation. But we have to realise very soon that this time the battlefield is different and we are fighting against ourselves here.
All of us, must decide on some things and start believing that its now or never. We must never lend ears to some advices of some real losers who claim and also ask us to believe that there really is no problem at all. We know wat their arguments is going to be like, thorughout the past we have heard so many stories of such people tryig to bring down the environmentalists. For example, havent we heard the cigaratte companies and indutries who insisted for so long that wat they do did no harm. To those who seek to obfuscate and obstruct, we should say we will not allow you to put narrow special interests above the interests of all humankind.Now come on, dont we all belong to the same family ?
In the right spirit towards better tomorrow, let us all transcend our differences and commit to secure our common destiny: a planet whole and healthy and pure , where countries ar enot at war but at peace, evreybody has a feeling of being prosperous and free; and where people everywhere are able to reach for their God-given potential. We have to protect our forests and our rivers and our precious public lands – so that families have places where they can hike and climb, and reach out toward the stars. we have to invest more in conservation, in renewable energy, and in fast-growing technologies that combat pollution.We have to do what’s right for our environment, because it involves all of our lives – from the simple security of knowing that our drinking water is safe, to the more ominous thinning of the ice caps at the top of the Earth.Centuries from now, when our great great grandchildren gather to mark an environment eelated occasion, We want them to know that we were thinking of their time with the same vision, the same dedication, and the same commitment that we applied to our own time.
Adios Amigos !
Regards,
Noah
I am so happy that people like that little child still have the mindset to reason like that. I feel very happy for her and may she cointinue to go forward from strenght yo strenght and make up the best in life.
Thanks.
I found your blog via Google while searching for speeches on pollution, thank you for posting the best speeches I have heard !!
I love Law & Order: Special Victims Unit but my favorite show is definitely Bones.
google
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