The significance of climate forces migration for pacific culture and spirituality Contribution to a webinar organised by FoE Japan, in preparation for COP26 Stella Miria-Robinson
On behalf of Climate Frontlines of Friends of the Earth Australia AND the Pacific Islands Council of Qld’s (PICQ) Climate Change Network, may I first thank our Friends in Friends of the Earth Japan for the opportunity to be here today to talk on something so importantly close to my heart and the heart of the Pacific. Arigato Ayumi!! As you can imagine with COP26 on the horizon, many of our Pacific Communities and agencies have been gathering/meeting to prepare for this event in Glasgow. Those of us in FoE Climate Frontlines and the PICQ acknowledge the many, many organisations and agencies in Australia and the Pacific promoting awareness around the Pacific’s agenda on climate change and the vulnerabilities of our peoples. In the midst of the dialogue, we decided to highlight or place a spotlight on the Impact of Climate Change Challenges on the Cultural Identity and Sovereignty of our Pacific Atoll Nations. In our series of webinars on this topic, the main focus nations were Kiribati, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands, that is, nations sitting on the edge of the climate frontline. In the webinars we were fortunate to hear the voices of political representatives, community leaders, regional climate activists and academics, all contributing to a picture of the impacts of climate change and how people are responding. It is mainly from these forums that I want to share information related to impacts on Culture and Spirituality of our Pasifika Peoples brought on by climate change and possible forced migration. For all Indigenous Peoples of the world, land, and the entire ecosystem – sea, sky, plants, animals, ocean, sea creatures, fresh water – is part of our identity. Pacific Islanders are no different. We are our lands and seas as they are us and who we are. Our cultures, traditions, languages, physical and mental health, place, related wisdom, relationships in our families and communities and spiritual wellbeing, are all integrated in that environment, and central to our identity and existence. So, take away our land and the parts of the ocean from which we come, and the loss becomes enormous, especially when our values and beliefs are tied to the land from which we, our ancestors and pioneers came from, found, fought and cared
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Chain Reaction #141
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for, for generations. Time and again in our Pacific stories on climate change you will hear that our connection to the places of our birth are strong and that having a place to identify with demands that we commit to its protection. Loss of our Pacific lands and island homes to climate change is of no significance to the powerful and dominant nations of the world who influence the climate change conversation. We believe that this is because they themselves have become so disconnected and far removed from the environment and natural world that their understanding of our situation is restricted to their own worldviews, based only on the market economy and wealth creation, regardless of the impact on others of our world. They have no understanding of how our cultures, languages, traditional ways of life and livelihoods identify us with our lands, oceans and all of nature. We need to be heard and understood as Pacific Peoples through all the platforms and opportunities available to us so that the rest of the world can develop a deep understanding of what our story on climate change is. We are no longer colonies of some distant nation that speaks patronisingly or benignly on our behalf! We have a Voice as Pacific Peoples who know our island homes and are experts in our own lives!! Our perspective as Pacific Peoples needs to be integral to every conversation that affects us. We and our leaders recognise that for us in the Blue Pacific, climate change is the single greatest threat facing our region. It is no longer an issue of politics but one of survival! Our myths, legends and stories of Creation also hold prominent places in our cultures as some are related to our histories of navigation and journeying, as well as our roles as guardians of nature and our environment. These are our Peoples’ stories that give us identity and explain the origins of specific cultural practices and why they must be observed – there is always sound reasoning on which the wisdom is based. Landmarks carry stories and, in some cases, house our spirits. How can we leave? Of course, Pacific cultures are not static, and individuals have been impacted by outside forces. According to Maina Talia from Tuvalu, one outcome has been a challenge to the concept of community, which traditionally involved voluntary work by community members for the common good. (This include)… sharing instead of buying and selling in a market economy, i.e. sharing fish catches and garden
