SHILLONG: Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg has inspired a group of school students in the city to speak out against environmental degradation and global warming and rally for saving Mother Earth.
The group, comprising six core members and several volunteers, will take out a rally on May 24 from Don Bosco Square to State Central Library under the banner Fridays for Future, a global phenomenon led by teenager activists.
Joel Blah Kyndiah, who completed secondary section from St Edmund’s School this year and is waiting to start higher secondary, is heading the Shillong chapter. He said though Shillong is not facing the drastic impact of climate change but in a few years, things will get worse.
Joel fears “climate migration” due to which there may be an unprecedented movement of people from the plains towards the hills.
“In terms of local environmental degradation, the biggest problem that we are facing right now is non-segregation of waste and huge amount of plastic waste,” he said while talking about the crisis in Shillong.
There will be 34 such rallies across the country and around 1,500 worldwide, Joel informed.
Around 80 students in the city have signed up online and schools are also participating. Joel and team are expecting more volunteers in the run-up to the rally.
Anthea Jana, who is waiting for admission after ICSE results, said through the campaign, “we want to make people aware that climate change is a crisis, it is happening and it will affect us if you don’t act”.
Greta, a 15-year-old Swedish student, is taking her message across the globe and has recently addressed a peaceful protest by Extinction Rebellion, a climate group, in London.
Anthea came to know about the movement last year when she met Joel. She signed up for the campaign and became part of the core group.
Joel said the members are currently drafting a six-point resolution for six months where they will mention the immediate measures to be taken to mitigate the impact of climate change. After the rally, the young activists will meet the chief minister to submit the resolution.
“We want the government to understand that climatic issues should be prioritised,” he said.