#5 Everything Will Be Ok
Hope, like matter, cannot be destroyed, it can only be transformed.
Kyal Sin wore a black shirt that said “everything will be ok” on the day the Myanmar military shot her in the head. In her final moments she cared for others dealing with tear gas and shouted “We won’t run” and “blood must not be shed.” She seemed to be aware of the risk going out into the streets and putting her body on the line against the resurrecting dictatorship. Her final Facebook post was her Dad tying a ribbon around her wrist with her medical details and blood type. An estimated 521 people have been killed by the military since the coup in early February. Kyal Sin’s death has been one of many that have reverberated around the country and even around the world.
I’ve thought about Kyal Sin quite a bit this past month, and so many others whose lives have been cut too short - whether by COVID, floods, patriarchal violence or horrifying authoritarianism.
The Egyptian feminist Nawal El Saadawi passed away on March 21. In a 2015 interview she said, “I never lose hope. Women are losing, yet are moving forward at the same time.” The movement of building a better future is an ongoing dance between the good days and the bad days. There are going to be days where the weight of sorrow is too heavy, and we sit on the edge of the bed and perhaps scream into the wind that we are not okay. And yet, there will be the times when we rally all the hope we can muster and keep on stepping forward with care and solidarity. Kyal Sin’s life was ended, but from it sprung thousands of young youth who were ready to make “everything will be ok” their rallying cry. Hope, like matter, cannot be destroyed, it can only be transformed.
Thelma
HIGHLIGHT
During a recent global day for climate action, youth painted street murals in Berlin and Hamburg with visions of the world they can create. They demand no more empty promises from politicians. Luisa Neubauer, one of the youth strikers, said “When others want us to give in, we create images of a better world. We dare to find light in the darkness. We dare to fight for justice. We dare to not give up. Another world is possible. Our 7th globale climate strike made possible by an incredible movement & thousands of activists giving everyone they got, again and again.”
OUR BASKET
Women’s Bravery
International Women’s Day has always been one of my favorite times of the year. It feels like the one day of the year when women’s stories are not side-lined, but can take up the space they deserve. This year there were incredibly brave demonstrations in Mexico and Turkey with people taking a stand against femicide. In the Guatemalan highlands, a group of young women are using art to energise their community and protect their rivers. We were also super excited to hear of the birth of the Berta Cáceres International Feminist Organizing School. “The school is a space for organizers and social movements to build global feminist solidarity and strengthen convergences led by women and gender non-conforming people.” It’s named after the beloved land defender who protected her native land in Honduras until her horrific murder. In an opening virtual space women declared "Berta didn’t die, she multiplied!"
U.S. Climate Progress
Many are finding hope in some of the executive actions from the Biden administration working to get the U.S. back on track. Eric Holthaus noted “Let’s get one thing clear: the executive orders and promises of the first 10 days of the Biden-Harris administration are not a Green New Deal. But they’re definitely a first step towards one — the first step we have ever taken.” Now Biden needs to stop all major fossil fuel infrastructure projects like the Line 3 pipeline. It also cannot be understated how much joy was felt seeing Deb Haaland confirmed as the first Native American Interior Secretary.
Cities and Communities
There are numerous examples of people who are actively reimagining their cities and communities. This was one of my favorite articles about the activists who are reworking food systems in the U.S. at every single part of the food chain and upending many of the exploitative practices. In one of Colombia’s areas with a deadly history, a group of villages have come together to create a “Peace Community” that also allows them to have a collective for growing their cacao crop.
Another ongoing issue in cities is affordable, cheap, and safe housing for all. This article walks through public housing systems from Chile to Vienna to create not just accessible housing - but beautiful as well. I truly believe that libraries can be powerfully radical spaces, and during the pandemic - many libraries are offering an abundance of free services to people (beyond books).
While many countries are dragging their feet on climate action, a new report shows that 1 billion people live in a city that has a renewable energy plan. Many cities are actively working to move away from fossil fuels (and this is thanks to lots of local activism, such as this Uganda city built on solar power, shea butter and people power).
Justice
There have been some victories pointing towards the long arc of justice. Two Nigerian communities can finally bring their legal claims against Shell to a UK court and fight for compensation after the destruction from oil exploration. Some lawyers are calling this a “watershed moment” for holding international companies accountable.
Because of the pandemic, many clothing retailers in the Global North tried to protect themselves, and so planned to steal billions of dollars from the factory workers sewing the clothes. The PayUp movement was organised and has now secured $22 billion from companies who refused to pay their workers. “We knew if we were going to wait for fashion brands to gain a conscience, nothing was going to change,” said Elizabeth L. Cline, one of the founders.
Reflections
Some thought pieces diving into issues of hope and reflection in these times.
Alexis Wright The Inward Migration in Apocalyptic Times “In the Aboriginal world, we know the apocalyptic realities of two and a half centuries of continual invasion”
Lina Srivastava The Act of Creating Hope ““Hope is not a strategy.” Except when it is. Or when it ought to be. As it is now.”
Naomi Klein Against Dystopian Visions of the Future “We need better visions of the future, or at least more of them and different ones.”
Interview with Chamorro author and activist Julian Aguon about his recent book The Properties of Perpetual Light - “I’ve never felt more robustly alive than when I’m in community with other people who believe that they can change the world. “
Chanda Prescod-Weinstein A Black Femme Dreams in Equations“Freedom looks like knowing that Black girls—especially including dark-skinned ones, trans ones and disabled ones—will grow up to find freedom in a Lagrangian and the symmetries that govern particle physics, because their conditions make it possible.”
Check out: The Center for Story-based Strategy’s “The Future is Us” project
Opportunities
April 9-11 is the Global Just Recovery Gathering. It is a three-day online event featuring interactive workshops, cultural sessions, and hands-on training focused on climate activists coming together to reimagine the world we can/must build. It’s free. Register today
There is an artist in residency opportunity through Artsadmin “Curated by Ama Josephine Budge, the Apocalypse Reading Room will transform Toynbee Studios into a post-apocalyptic library installation to rethink, rewrite and reimagine our futures & centre LGBTQIA+, disabled, Black and People of Colour. “
Thelma Young-Lutunatabua is the Editor of Radical Reimagining
Global editorial support provided by: Rebecca Solnit, Brianna Fruean, Louise Hazan, Nathalia Clark, Zeph Repollo, Lerato Ngakane, Rukiya Khamis
If you have stories that you would like to share, please reach out to us on Instagram at @Radicalreimagining or email us rreimagining@gmail.com
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