There’s an incredible movie opening this month about the former President Nasheed of the Maldives, and his struggle to save the 2,000 small islands that make up his country from the rising seas that climate change is brining.
I was fortunate enough to see the film last week- and was floored by just how great it was. We fight every day to stop climate change, knowing that this is an immediate reality in other parts of the world. On May 5th, we’ll have a global day of action to bring attention to the impacts felt around the world- from the floods in Pakistan, the drought in Texas, and the crisis faced by the Maldives.
Many of us are extremely fortunate, so far, to be only slightly impacted by the harsh new world we have made. I’m cushioned from the full reality of climate change thanks to my geographical location. Watching President Nasheed walk around the islands, and talk with citizens about the erosion that will require sea walls, or the increasingly contaminated drinking water that will require water treatment systems, brings an incredible insight into the urgency and importance of the work we’re doing.
In February, as you know, a coup reinstated the previous president, and Nasheed was forced to resign. Now, with such a critical voice of the climate movement out of power, we are called on to speak with the same bravery and candor that he did. As a planet, we are in trouble, and as realists, the odds aren’t good. But as humans, it’s our opportunity and privilage to speak for truth and unlikely outcomes, and I’m grateful to be on board with all of you as we embrace that side of ourselves.
The movie is being released over the next month in cities nationwide- you can find out more at the film’s website, here.