by Shobha Shukla, CNS Columnist
(Excerpted from Citizen News Service)
Climate change seems to be the new food for thought for world leaders to chew upon. Recently 122 heads of state gathered in New York City for the UN Climate Summit, organised by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, aimed to mobilize action to prevent looming climate disasters and garner political will for a new climate change treaty by the end of 2015.
But what astounded Alina Saba, a young indigenous woman participant from Limbu tribe of Nepal, was: “When I arrived in NYC, I was struck by the level of inequality that exists in this world. Just a few weeks ago I was in this remote community of Nepal who live on less than $1 a day. They do not have access to facilities like education, communication, healthcare and transportation. They do not contribute to global warming but are losing their lands to climate change events, whereas a city like NYC consumes so much and pollutes the environment.”
Alina was one of four civil society speakers at the UN Climate Summit and the only person from Asia selected from more than 500 candidates in an open, global nomination call by the United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service.
For once, this representation from a young indigenous woman, brought to the fore the plight of thousands of women who have never benefited from the so called economic development. They are the ones who wait expectantly for the fruits of globalisation to trickle down to them, but what they get is the ‘toxic waste of globalization – climate disasters’.
Read full text here http://www.citizen-news.org/2014/10/those-who-own-little-live-on-little.html
