Day Five at COP25
Below is a report on what the Sustaining All Life team did on their fifth day at COP25 [the United Nations climate conference held in December 2019 in Madrid, Spain]. You can read other reports on pages 61 to 64 of the January 2020 Present Time or at <www.rc.org/publication/environment/salcop25>.
Parents’ Workshop
Led by Judith Bautista Perez and Fernando Aguilera
Parents attended with their children. While the parents’ group learned about parents’ oppression, the children got special time from young adults on our team.
Parents had a chance to share their feelings about being a mother or father. One father said the best thing in his life was having a son, and he immediately cried. Another father said his greatest challenge is being a parent. A mother said she was very strict, and after a mini-session she recognized that her mother had been strict with her. Another mother realized she had no attention for her children. It was sweet knowing that parents had the space to honestly express what they felt.
The parents played a fun game during which they connected, stayed present, and got physically close. They couldn’t stop laughing during the game and had a good time.
Catholic Workshop
Led by Silvina Spagnuolo, Dulce Cisneros Peralta, and Yara Alma-Bonilla
The leaders addressed greed in Catholic history. They discussed how it has shaped us throughout history and how it is so deeply rooted it has left us disconnected from ourselves and from all of nature.
They reviewed how part of being colonized had been inheriting Catholicism. It was particularly challenging to speak about these issues in Madrid, but it was worth the effort. A religious sister participated, and she said she was pleased to be in a group of Catholic women. We also talked about how our Catholic heritage relates to our connection with nature. The leaders did a good job explaining our listening tools.
Women’s Workshop
Led by Yara Alma-Bonilla, Amparo Vigil, and Malinali Castaneda
Participants at our other workshops returned because they had come to know us as part of Sustaining All Life.
A panel of three Co-Counselors addressed how sexism has affected their daily lives. There was much discussion about internalized sexism.
They emphasized the importance of interpretation for making everyone feel included from the outset. Having interpretation may feel uncomfortable at first. It can seem to slow things down. However, offering classes and workshops with interpretation is well worth it. It’s a way of fully integrating everyone in spite of language barriers.
Simply rearranging the chairs so everyone sat closer to each other made everyone feel more comfortable. The women in the circle talked openly about their oppression as women and how it affects their ability to think about the climate crisis. Participants were grateful for the space and to be able to express themselves as women.
Youth Group
Led by Jade Castilla and Daniel Vela
There were eight young people and young adults of various ages. A special highlight was an eleven-year-old and a twelve-year-old who stayed the entire time. We can continue learning from young people’s hope. There were several games, and the participants felt united and open.
Personally, being around young people opens my heart. When Jade asked how they felt about the impact of climate change, the twelve-year-old said, “Older people are leaving this earth in ashes. We young people have good ideas for improving things; adults should listen to what we have to say.” I couldn’t keep from crying when I heard that.
There was another round of games. Then the leaders asked what the participants thought should happen. One answer was that more young people should hold official government positions from which decisions are made, to ensure that more hope and clearer ideas are present.
Workshop on Health
Led by Lety Gonzales and Jade Castilla
We were given a new space with a microphone. The leaders shared information about how hurts accumulate, beginning at birth and earlier. These hurts may show up in chronic health conditions and can make us feel disconnected from our physical bodies. We may be unable to think of anything other than the pain we are feeling.
Eliminating White Racism Workshop
Led by Brian Lavendel, Heather Dean, and Elvin Landaeus Csizmadia
There were many participants even though everyone was busy preparing for the big march for the environment that evening.
A woman from Korea, after listening to racism theory, asked, “Why is racism not the fault of white people?“ A few points were clarified. White people are the agents of racism but are not “at fault.” They were born without racism; the oppressor role was imposed on them. The leaders’ explanation was relaxed and hopeful. The woman became pensive because the lie that someone is to blame, which she had been told all of her life, was contradicted.
Several people commented that it’s important to share this perspective in order to avoid separation and division. Six participants came to other Sustaining All Life workshops because they understood the work that we had built over the week. The Co-Counselors did a spectacular job of connecting with the people they invited to the workshop.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
A Co-Counselor held up a poster at our booth saying, “Do you feel stressed? I can listen to you. Five minutes can make the difference.” We noticed that while she held the poster up, no one approached our booth. It indicated how afraid people are because of “mental health” oppression. Once the poster was removed, people again approached our booth to ask for information.
We learned that some perspectives about being Catholic are the result of a particular history in Spain. The Spanish people have to discharge about an oppressive history and on feeling bad about themselves.
THE MARCH
The Sustaining All Life delegation participated in the march for the environment in the center of Madrid. No less than half a million people attended.
We prepared many posters defending nature. During the march our group and other groups around us shouted out rhyming chants in Spanish, translated here:
- Water is a treasure that is worth more than gold.
- Use a bicycle; no more gasoline.
- Nothing will stop us; a new world is possible.
- The forests and the rivers are defended with our lives!
- Why, why, why do you murder us if we are the hope for Latinoamérica?
- It’s an emergency. The science says so.
- The earth is to be defended, not sold.
- Let the level of our unity rise but not the sea levels.
- End the system, not the ecosystem.
- Not one degree more nor one species less.
(A special thank you to María Limón, from Colorado, USA, for helping our delegation with the translation work.)
Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Reprinted from the RC e-mail discussion list for leaders of wide world change
(Present Time 199, April 2020)