Lessons from activists in Peru and Senegal

This page was created using content shared in an online roundtable event co-organized by the HUB and OXFAM-Québec.

People Present

Noemie Reyes  is a climate justice activist and member of Veirnes por el Futuro Perú (VFP) and Actua.pe. VFP is an environmental conservation organization working to build a national and Latin American movement against the climate crisis.

Lamine Mamadou Diagne is Executive Director of AJE - Action Pour La Justice Environmentale (Action for Environmental Justice), a national association for the defense of the ecological interests of communities in the face of environmental damage active in Senegal.

Jorge Castillo is an environmental engineer and a member of Red InterQuorum Uyacali, an organization working to strengthen democracy, human rights and environmental sustainability, with an emphasis on youth participation and empowerment. They are active in the Peruvian Amazon.

What are some lessons learned from your involvement in working towards climate justice?

Empathy	The importance of having empathy and openness to others (especially activists with perspectives different from ours).	-Noemi Reyes and Jorge Castillo
Intersectionality	The struggle is/must be intersectional. Otherwise, we will not be able to speak with one voice. Climate justice affects us all. All struggles are connected to it.	-Noemie Reyes and Jorge Castillo
Broad mobilization	The need for a strong mobilization that includes everyone and the importance of including others in the fight for climate justice.	-Lamine Mamadou Diagne
Supporting those most impacted	The importance of building the capacities and supporting communities affected by climate injustices (including through legal victories).	-Lamine Mamadou Diagne
Local context	Community concerns must be taken into account so that people take ownership of the fight.	-Lamine Mamadou Diagne

What are the biggest challenges you face?

Government	The government makes our struggles invisible; they don't include our struggles in their political agendas	-Noemie Reyes
Economic and social system	Economic and social systems are unjust.	-Noemie Reyes
Censorship, disinformation and ridicule	Activists are censored and prevented from being active. People allied with the government will infiltrate and discredit activists. Disinformation campaigns are carried out on activists.	-Lamine Mamadou Diagne and Jorge Castillo
Access to information	Access to local environmental data is restricted and reports are written in an inaccessible manner.	-Lamine Mamadou Diagne
Environmental injustice	Defending against environmental injustices.	-Lamine Mamadou Diagne
Indigenous knowledge	Maintaining ancestral/indigenous knowledge related to the environment	-Jorge Castillo
Media	The media coverage is not adequate and gives more visibility to certain visions.	-Jorge Castillo
Mobilization	Involving enough people in the fight.	-Jorge Castillo

How can climate justice movements in Quebec and your region support each other?

Co-construction	By co-constructing projects and narrative stories to speak with the same vocabulary. Use our collective intelligence to help each other, learn from each other and give each other resources.	-Noemie Reyes, Lamine Mamadou Diagne and Jorge Castillo
Pooling	Through spaces for discussions, projects, advocacy and international actions.	-Noemi Reyes and Lamine Mamadou Diagne
Research and Information	Support research work abroad and contribute to access to the information necessary for activist work	-Jorge Castillo

What message would you like to convey to people who are campaigning for climate justice here in Quebec?

Inclusion in co-construction	Include the voices of people from other countries/the Global South in building messages for climate justice	-Noemi Reyes
Globality	Remember that climate justice knows no borders, races, colours. We must act together.	-Lamine Mamadou Diagne
Northern Exploitation	In Africa we have natural resources but we do not exploit them. Who exploits them? Northern companies. It is important to make your companies aware of having an eco-responsible behaviour that respects human rights!	-Lamine Mamadou Diagne
Accountability	Ask yourself: who is financing the destruction of the world? We must look around us and act like drops which, by dint of falling, break stones.	-Jorge Castillo

Before closing the discussion, we asked Noemie, Lamine and Jorge what their favourite slogan was. Noemie and Jorge's was “Si Globalizamos la lucha. Globalizamos la esperanza" meaning "when we globalize the fight, we globalize the hope." Lamine's was “Only climate justice can save humanity."

If you have any suggested revisions or additional resources to share related to the above content, please email them to kenzie@lehub.ca.

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