8-year-old Indian 'Greta' urges leaders at COP25 to act now to save the planet
Madrid: Eight-year-old Licypriya Kangujam, known as Indian 'Greta' for her passion towards the fight against climate change has urged global leaders to take immediate action to save the planet and the future of young children like her.
Speaking at the COP25 climate conference here, the young activist from Manipur who has already spoken in 21 countries on climate change, gave the world a glimpse of her resolve as she urged global leaders to "act now against climate change".
The little girl has quickly shot to limelight with Spanish newspapers hailing her as 'Greta' of the Global South.
Watching Kangujam speak with such wisdom, it's hard to guess her age -- all of eight years old. But she nearly missed the chance to give her message to the world.
According to her father, KK Singh, who accompanied her to Spain, several requests to the government to help her with funding fell on deaf ears.
Singh noted that when the UN sent her the invitation letter to participate, and address her concerns at COP25, they had no idea how they will manage the expenses to travel to Spain. Singh said the family sent email requests to several ministers for sponsorship but got no reply. He said after trying to crowdfund her trip, a person from Bhubaneshwar booked their tickets to Madrid.
"My mom broke her gold chain and finally booked my hotels," Kangujam said.
However, Singh added that just a day before leaving for Madrid from India on November 30, they got an email from the Spanish government that they would sponsor their accommodation for the 13-day event.
Making it to Madrid after crossing so many hurdles made Kangujam even more determined to ensure she is heard.
"I have come here to tell the world leaders that this is the time to act as it is a real climate emergency," the young activist enthralled the audiences on Tuesday during a high level event at 'The UN Climate Change Conference COP 25 being held in the Spanish capital from December 2-13.
Kangujam had to drop out of school in February as she could not attend most of her classes. Activism, including participating in a weekly protest outside the Parliament house, took up most of her time. While her fight against climate change will continue, the girl has not given up on the dream of pursuing her education altogether.
According to Singh, Kangujam is the youngest climate activist in the world.
The 28-year-old father said that in 2018, when Kangujam was just six-year-old, she got an opportunity to attend the 3rd Asia Ministerial Conference for Disaster Risks reduction 2018 (AMCDRR 2018) in Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia.
"It was my life changing event. During the conference, I met many world leaders and also thousands of delegates from various countries of the world. Many had highlighted various issues of disaster," Kangujam told PTI on the sidelines of the event.
I cry when I see children losing their parents and people becoming homeless due to danger of disasters. My heart feels sorrowful for people who can't help themselves when disaster strikes. Many root causes are the impact of climate change, she said.
Just after her return from Mongolia, Kanjugam with the help of her father started an organisation called 'The Child Movement' to call on the world leaders to take immediate climate action to save the planet and the future of young children like her.
So far, Singh said, Kangujam has travelled 21 countries and spoken at many events as a part of her movement.
"I travel place to place to raise my concerns about climate change and disaster risks reduction to the people of the world, the young climate activist explained.
The Spanish newspaper El Pais described Kangujam one of the Greta' of the global south, after her walk with the Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg last week here.
Kangujam was seen holding a poster demanding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi pass a law to deal with climate change.
At the high level meeting, Kangujam, speaking alongside several other political leaders from around the globe, made an emotional appeal to the world leaders to act before it is too late.
"I'm coming here to tell the world leaders that this is the time for action. What I want is not about today or tomorrow but what needs to be done now, she explained.
She noted in her speech that when she was born, the world leaders had already met 16 times in the COP, and they already knew about the bad effects of climate change.
Our policy makers from around the world just gather here every year at COPs and do nothing concrete for our future, she said.
Why should I come here? Why I should speak here? I have to go to my school. I have to read my books. I have to play. I have to study. But our leaders all have ruined my childhood life and my beautiful future. This is not fair! she said.
Kangujam was born in Imphal but has almost always lived outside the state, especially in Delhi and in Bhubaneswar. She noted that the young climate activists like her want a system change, not the climate change.
She said the governments must come in action on what they promised, referring to the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement of limiting global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2030.
Kanjugam is inspired by the works of Mahatma Gandhi and Former President of India APJ Abdul Kalam.
"Greta Thunberg has also greatly influenced me since February 2019, she added.
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Indian passengers stuck in Abu Dhabi heave sigh of relief on arrival at Bengaluru airport
Bengaluru (PTI): Relief was writ large on the faces of Indian passengers who arrived at the Kempegowda International Airport here from the UAE, ending a period of high tension fueled by the conflict in West Asia.
Upon arrival on Monday night, the passengers recollected the tense moments of a missile attack in the Gulf nation, before flying towards safety.
Travellers thanked Etihad Airways, the Abu Dhabi government and the Indian government for ensuring their safety and providing accommodation and transport during the disruption.
Saurabh Shetty, who hails from Mangaluru and works for an oil company in Abu Dhabi, described the situation as “worrisome and scary”.
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“When I came to catch my flight on February 28, everything seemed alright. Suddenly, near the check-in area, we got an alarm and were asked to sit down. We were cautioned not to sit near the windows because of a missile threat,” he told PTI videos.
“Someone said, ‘Missile is going to hit.’ We were shocked. We were like we are in the safest city — Abu Dhabi. How can this happen here? Later, when we looked outside, we saw a missile. We never thought such things could happen here. Everyone was calling to check if we were safe. Thankfully, we were safe inside the airport,” Shetty added.
Calling it a “life-breaking moment”, he said, “When you see a missile in front of you, you feel it may hit you any moment. From my (hotel) room, I could see interceptions happening in the sky. At that time, I thought about how the Indian Army faces such situations. We have great respect for them.”
He also expressed condolences for those who lost their lives. “We survived and returned home. If one missile had hit, we would not be here. All we wanted was to see our families,” he said, while appreciating the authorities in Abu Dhabi for taking care of stranded passengers.
Mahesh, who was travelling from Boston, lauded the airline’s arrangements.
“One flight has landed from Abu Dhabi. The service was great. They provided us a good hotel and arranged food. We stayed comfortably. Around 15 to 16 flights operated today, and they are expecting more to resume. Only partial airspace is available right now,” he said.
Ramya, a Bengaluru resident who had travelled to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, said, “Our return flight was cancelled initially. Today (March 2), Etihad arranged another flight for us. As of now, the situation seems peaceful, but as a precautionary measure, they had closed the airspace. Only about 15 flights have been allowed.”
Bharat said the situation has improved. “The last two days were a little scary. But, today it is better. They arranged flights for us to return. Special thanks to the Indian and UAE governments for extending our stay and accommodating us,” he said.
Niruban from Coimbatore said there was some delay due to drone activity, but the journey back was smooth. “Thanks to Etihad Airways, we reached safely....The Abu Dhabi government took very good care of us. Within four to five hours, they arranged transport to good hotels and ensured everyone’s safety. Even while returning to the airport, proper transportation was arranged.”
Prasad, a software developer working in Bengaluru, said while Abu Dhabi was relatively stable, the atmosphere remained tense.
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“We heard sounds and felt vibrations. There were interceptions happening, and some debris reportedly fell near the airport. Dubai was said to be worse. But the authorities provided accommodation free of cost and coordinated well with the Indian authorities. My advice to those there is to follow government guidelines,” he said.
Girimalappa Kerur, originally from Bilgi in Bagalkot district and currently based in Bengaluru, said he was travelling to Paris on a business trip but got stranded.
“We could hear explosions, and we were told around 15 missiles were intercepted in Abu Dhabi. One person reportedly died due to debris. Etihad arranged a safe hotel away from the airport. They are operating about 15 flights a day between 5 am and 5 pm to clear the backlog from February 28. I cancelled my onward trip to Paris and returned to Bengaluru. I’m relieved to be back,” he said.
