Angelina Jolie interviews Vanessa Nakate activism and power of African voices

protested just outside the gates of Parliament in Kampala worried about their country’s rising temperatures, climate activist Vanessa Ugandan Nakate, 23 months elapsed. Your Rise Up seeks to strengthen the voices from Africa movement. The work you do is really all of us teach, because, as you know more than anyone else, some voices spoke of the climate crisis is very limited. How did you do? Before my studies, I started searching on the challenges for implementation to understand that people were confronted [in my community], and I was really surprised that climate change may have actually found the greatest threat to humanity over. I realize that every part of my country, Uganda is affected by the climate crisis: If you go north, the people suffer with long periods of drought; if you go in the country, in the east, who are suffering with landslides and floods. I decided that I will be a voice in the environmental movement had and try to get justice. Often we hear people due to conflict or bad governments hungry. But it is often linked, as you point out, for the environment. Some of the conflicts arising from lack of resources. For example, Lake Chad in Africa has shrunk to 50 years to one-tenth their size. The population is growing. So it’s definitely a struggle for resources. And this will disturb the peace in the region. If you look at the root of it all, sometimes you start [with] climate change. Air activism is in many places is not easy, but you are in a place where you can be arrested. They are very brave to do what you do. It is not easy to go there, especially at the beginning when I make these strikes themselves. My family did not really understand what I was doing. Most of my friends think it’s very, very strange. But later, many of them have begun to understand why I did this. And some of them decided to get involved. They are not only talking about and awareness, but also practical solutions, [working] with young people [and] schools. I decided to start a project that involves the installation of solar energy and institutional stoves in schools. We need a transition to renewable sources of energy, and many of these schools are in rural communities, and who can not afford solar panels, boilers, all costs involved in the installation. They have helped reduce the amount of wood that use these schools in a term. For example, a school when five trucks of firewood to use, using two trucks of firewood oven so that the amount used to cut firewood. And it is also a learning experience for students, teachers and parents. I know that you are passionate about the effects of [climate change] on girls. And with so many girls out of school [due to pandemic], things are unfortunately very dangerous. I saw it, especially at this time that more girls become pregnant during this block. It really breaks your heart to see how vulnerable the child. It ‘s very, very, very disturbing. Women are the ones that put food on the table. They offer all these things for their families. And even in a disaster, they are suffering the most. In my country, they never allowed girls to climb trees, mainly because they would take their dignity and values, as we were told. But then during a flood, to survive the least time if you can not swim, or if you can not escape, is climbing through a tree until help arrives. And it makes me realize that women really influenced the climate crisis. We could not get climate justice without the challenges that women face in their daily lives. I live in the United States, and there is a lot happening with regard black lives. Would [you] talk about the inequalities that you see if there are ways in which these global issues is treated? This disparity, of course, is based on the type of system in which we live. And ‘the system must be completely destroyed. Because if we continue in this type of system, there will always see inequities, and we are the most affected people are continually traumatized to see to be continually destroyed and with nothing. As for Black Lives Matter, when I found out about it, it was very, very harrowing and very scary to think that in fact there are people who suffer from horrible, horrible acts of racism. It ‘s something that I have experienced some degree, but it was not as deep as what is happening in the United States. I remember in January I cut with other environmental activists to happen from a photo, and to me that was a form of racism, and it felt like I was robbed of my seat. I was not the first. This continually happen if you put an end to a system that promotes white Saviorism. If we do not address the issue of racial justice, we will not be able to achieve climate justice. So any climate activist for racial justice should be supporting, because if your climate justice does not involve the affected communities more, then justice is not. There are ways that we need to change our education systems or habits to educate more people about Africa? I think what people really need to understand first it is that Africa is not just a country. It is actually a continent with 54 countries. I remember the story we learned about [at school], and we talked so much from slavery and everything else. I think this is a story that needs to change. We do not need more than any cruelty that our people went through to learn, because I totally lowers your value as a person. I think that African children or other children should be located in Africa to be informed of power. The African continent is not only the history of slavery. These are young people who have grown up and have become doctors who are professionals in their career was. The other thing you need to know: that when an African voice speaks, then it really is an important thing, because for a very long time, we [must] come out a couple of votes of the African continent that are amplified. But [many] never have a chance for their stories to be heard. I personally believe every person, justice and advocates for change in their community that requires you to have a story to tell. And I think that his story, a solution has to give. People need to understand that people in Africa have solutions that will change the world. This interview was for clarity This 2020 edition appears once in July 20 condensed and edited.
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