When you lose hope in a room full of broken toys

Photo credit: dailybeast.com

2016 has been a tragic year in many respects. From the refugee crisis to the rise of the far right fuelled by xenophobia and hate, it seems like the world is falling apart socially while the planet falls apart ecologically. 

​I’ve watched friends working in the environmental arena fall apart emotionally this year too, pushed over the edge by Brexit and the US election of Donald Trump -convinced that if we couldn’t address climate change before these events, we’re certainly cooked now.

In social settings, my colleagues and I talk about preparing for the worst, planned retreat and re-learning basic survival skills. We talk about whether we were irresponsible by bringing children into this world and whether, as adults, our children would be wise not to have children themselves. 

If you think we’re over reacting, just look at the stunning pace of climate change in recent decades. Play out the impacts of climate change on our food, land, infrastructure and health and you’ll start imagining apocalyptic scenarios too. 

After that introduction, you’ll be surprised to hear that I’m an incredible optimist. No matter what the science tells me, I refuse to wallow in this bleak outlook. So while acknowledging the scary science, I find ways to keep myself from drawing the curtains and living the rest of my days in darkness. 

Cue Friends of the Earth. -I’ve been involved with Friends of the Earth Ireland for nearly a decade because it’s so effective at enacting change in my home country (and manages to have fun in the process), but simply working on change in Ireland is not enough to get this "Verdant Yank" out of bed. As a tiny rock on the edge of Europe, what we do in Ireland won’t be enough to solve the climate crisis. 

Friends of the Earth Ireland brings 'Environment" back into Ireland's government departments with a creative photo stunt and petition, 2016

The best we can hope for is that Ireland might inspire the rest of the world to act in a similar fashion, but that seems unlikely based on our appalling lack of leadership to date. That’s why I’m so grateful over the last few years to be exposed to the Friends of the Earth International federation -a network of 77 national Friends of the Earth member groups comprising the largest grassroots environmental organization in the world. 

Friends of the Earth International Biennial General Meeting 2016, Indonesia. Photo Credit: Amelia Collins

I’m writing this post from the Friends of the Earth International Biennial General Meeting (#BGM2016). This year, it’s hosted by our Indonesian member group, Walhi. It’s the second BGM I’ve attended and each time I’m refuelled to keep fighting the good fight, even as we talk of recent news of the ‘extraordinarily hot’ Arctic temperatures in between our daily business.  

I step back from the meeting and wonder, 

How can I stay hopeful and engaged with Friends of the Earth while the pace of the climate crisis quickens at a rate our solutions aren't keeping up with?

My answer comes by listening to the work going on in the 76 other countries represented here. I wish all my friends who are losing hope could be flies on the wall of this room. I imagine if my despondent friends met the hundreds of intelligent, creative, kind people here from all over the world and learned about their work, even the most sceptical of them would find hope again. 

What’s amazing about the work throughout the Friends of the Earth network is how interconnected it is, recognising that all our systems fail to provide a sustainable quality of life for most of the world’s people: Climate, food, biodiversity, natural resources, economy, energy access, politics, human rights, patriarchy etc. -Nearly everything is broken.

Trying to fix every broken toy in the room individually doesn’t address the source of the problem. We have to mend every toy, but we also have to question why the room is so trashed and all the toys are broken in the first place to prevent the room's continued destruction? 

What are we doing fundamentally wrong to create such a mess? 

If we want to fix everything, we defy convention and reinvent from the bottom up. Hence, a “grassroots”, people focused movement is essential. In Friends of the Earth’s words, they’re working for “system change not climate change” and by that they mean every​ broken system!

​If only you could sit in this room in the middle of the Sumatran jungle with me and watch how these people leave no stone unturned in achieving that goal, and they do it with love, generosity and creativity to boot. 

Friends of the Earth International members, BGM 2016. Photo credit: Amelia Collins

Several of the delegates here recount moments when colleagues were murdered, family members kidnapped and they themselves were tortured, but they’re still here working on system change because nothing will deter them from advancing this work. 

At this BGM, my Friends of the Earth U.S. colleagues remind me of Senator Bernie Sander's words,

...Political and social revolutions that attempt to transform out society never end. They continue every day, every week and every month in the fight to create a nation of social and economic justice. 

We are not alone though sometimes it may seem that way as we navigate through our daily lives. While our voices may get drowned out by more powerful voices who just want us to keep playing in the room full of broken toys rather than fix them, there are hundreds of thousands of people working every day to make this room a clean, bright and healthy place to live and play. 

Cara (right) with Friends of the Earth International colleagues at 2016 Biennial General Meeting, Indonesia

When you lose hope, please think of the people in this room and the thousands of communities they work with and stay inspired to keep fighting the good fight!

​With hope from Sumatra,
-Cara

Check out Friends of the Earth International's photo blogspot of BGM 2016 Indonesia here.