“Fear makes us feel our humanity.” Benjamin
Disraeli
What a year it’s been. Little did I know in
January of last year, that by December I would be sitting on a bridge in Paris
demonstrating against climate change, or that I would share many meaningful
conversations about climate change at the COP events Emergence organised.
My partner Phil’s father Selwyn told me stories
of how he had collected sheep dung from Singleton Park in Swansea during the
war selling it from his bicycle to local gardeners for profit. Having realized
it was a notable anniversary of the blitz on Swansea during World War 2 I found
myself looking at pictures of the war damage in Swansea and was thoughtful
about the effects of war on people’s lives.
Somehow, this internet quest led me to peace
activism, Satish Kumar and from there to a peace walk being organized right
here in my city by Emergence. I didn’t stop to think. I was going to do the
walk in memory of my mother Esme who was evacuated from Brixton to Cornwall. The
trauma of evacuation and the fact that she never had a chance to reconnect with
her parents probably contributed to her suicide when I was seven. Another reason
to join the walk was I myself now wanted to feel more connected to Swansea. From
these beginnings, the peace walk was the start of something much bigger.
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| The Swansea Station to the Sea Peace Walk - 27th June 2015 |
My climate change interest started in the
80s when we talked about aerosols, and the hole in the ozone layer! Inspired, I
made quirky designer T-shirts to sell in London markets to help get the message
across. Thirty years later living in Swansea, I realised the fast approaching
COP21 climate change negotiations in Paris were the last chance saloon for
taking positive steps to stop the world from overheating. I’d already planned
to go on the London climate march and now became hopeful of making the Paris
demonstrations.
The peace walk turned out to be an amazing
and moving experience in good company. I
followed it by booking a place on a Harvest Walk also organized by Emergence. This included a lovely trek up to Arthurs
Stone on Cefn Bryn on Gower and hearing about local growing and farming. The
experience reminded me of my activist youth and left me even more determined to
go to Paris! A problem for me as a newcomer to Swansea was I was not well
connected locally. I literally had no one to demonstrate with in Paris.
“I define connection as the energy that
exists between people when they feel seen, heard and valued; when they can give
and receive without judgement; and when they derive sustenance and strength
from the relationship.” - Brene Brown
Listening to Fern Smith from Emergence
successfully connect many people together I asked her if there was a way Emergence
might organize something around climate change locally. I suspected there were
other people like me who felt overwhelmed and even isolated in their quest to
do something. To my surprise, out of the blue, a friendly phone call - how
would I like to help out in some potential events she was considering?
These events were to be known as COP1, 2
and 3 here in Swansea. The
events combined discussion, creative offerings from local performers, music and
film screenings. It was fun to be part of the organizing team and to
understand that by sharing our concerns and fears we could plan individual solutions
and collective actions.
These COP events helped me see my own relationship
with climate change. I was encouraged to face up to the guilt I feel, my own
part in it and to recognize the breadth of the issue. There is no easy solution
and the starting gun has already fired. Sparks flew as the audience let off
steam. It was personal and at times challenging. Among the films we saw were Chasing
Ice and This Changes Everything.
The film “Chasing Ice” brought us up close
and personal with the melting of the ice caps. En masse it has enormous beauty.
When it melts it potentially spells disaster in many ways. The film graphically
and beautifully proved it is disappearing and fast. I’m writing this having
read that a few weeks ago the temperature at the North Pole shot up by 30 odd degrees
in winter perhaps due to climate change. On Twitter there is a report that
35000 walrus are currently grouped on one beach in Alaska because they can’t
find any ice nearby. 8000 Arctic Murre birds have been found dead from
starvation on another Alaskan beach because the sea is too warm. Icebergs are
arriving four months earlier than usual off Newfoundland. Where are we heading
on this planet? What can I do about it?
Jack and Finn Harries ’s Arctic Mission
video for WWF (kind of a follow up to Chasing Ice)
The enormity and range of issues that add
up to climate change can be hard to take in. We really can’t do it all alone
but we can do a lot in our own backyards and preferably together as part of
this thing called humanity. Many of the best moments for me in the COP events were
the conversations between us. Diverse opinions were expressed. Personal reactions
and, experiences and inspiring potential solutions were shared. There was much to
listen and learn and reflect upon.
The film “This Changes Everything” was a
collection of stories brought together by Naomi Klein in her book. They showed
the terrifying impacts climate change is already having on this planet’s land,
food and people. Importantly it showcased ways in which people across the world
were banding together to fight the issues, often with very different people
sharing a common cause. Indigenous people were teaming up with ranchers, oil
workers with environmentalists. There was destruction throughout, but also hope,
as progress was being made. It challenged us to think again about the way we
continue on a capitalist growth path and that this threatens our future on
Earth. At the COP events there was live music and time to draw, write and
discuss all helping us to express how climate change affected us. I felt empowered
hearing stories of new initiatives; individual and collective, and found
people’s personal reflections particularly illuminating.
I had mixed feelings when I headed up to
London to join the Peoples March for Climate Justice and Jobs. I was sad to be
missing the local demos yet felt a strong attachment to London, having lived
there for years. I hoped to march with a couple friends and the territory was
familiar and easy. I felt this was a big issue that demanded people power on
the streets. Arriving in London on the Saturday, I’d arranged to meet my friend
Seppe and his new partner Mehmet. We shared a meal together in Soho. The funny
thing was Penny Arcade who played a role in Andy Warhol’s film “Women in Revolt”
had just been sitting in the very same seat I was now sat at having known
Mehmet from his days in New York. I’d just missed her. She is apparently now a
performance artist in her own name.
The demo started in squally weather that
was enough to scare off my friends from coming. So slightly bedraggled I
positioned myself with Greenpeace stuck behind some bear figures held on poles that
threatened to knock our heads as we marched. There was an eclectic mix of music
from Radiohead’s Thom Yorke who was dj-ing from a wooden ship on wheels. I
quickly teamed up with a lovely woman, Jane from Sussex. She shared stories of
her involvement in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament at Greenham Common.
Hearing about activism was an inspiring thread in my climate change journey.
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| Greenpeace Polar Bear - Climate March 2015- Patrick Driscall |
The march was atmospheric and included many
different causes. It was exciting to see
people from all parts of Britain and overseas. Jeremy Corbyn spoke as did Caroline
Lucas of the Green Party and the leaders of the anti fracking campaign in
Lancashire were particularly popular. The march ended at Westminster with
further speeches including a rousing one from comedian Francesca Martinez and a
song from Charlotte Church backed by a Welsh choir.
There were more than 50,000 people on the
march. The overall impression for me was one of solidarity around climate
justice. The will to change things was clearly expressed in the faces and
voices of the people around me.
The biggest thing that stuck in my mind was
when Jane said “they are all kind people here”. For me kindness is clearly
connected to our humanity. It was our common humanity that was driving us
forward that day. It strengthened my resolve to go to Paris.
Patrick Driscall is a head gardener and occasional journalist whose interests include growing, music, climate change, human rights and new economics.
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