After Paris: How to Fight for Climate Change's First Victims
By Joe Solomon
Another major problem with the term "climate refugee" is it removes agency. According to Bower, "climate refugee" paints someone as a victim whereas people in Kiribati want to be described as "climate warriors" as people who have tremendous resilience and who will fight to stay in their country as long as they possibly can.
Without a name, its been nearly impossible to rally for the worlds first climate lost the people who are fleeing a planet thats gotten a lot tougher to live on. Kathy, Esau, and Zara still have homes, but since 2008, at least 22.5 million people were displaced each year because of sudden extreme weather events floods, typhoons, cyclones, and the like. That number is over double what it was in the 70s, and is a tenth of the 200 million climate-pushed migrants expected by 2050.
So, as we find footing after Paris, the question is: How do we find footing for the people who cant go home anymore?
The answer, I believe, lies somewhere at the juncture of an honest reckoning of loss, and a more nuanced struggle for justice.
http://commondreams.org/views/2015/12/24/after-paris-how-fight-climate-changes-first-victims