'Raise a Paddle' – A journey of Pacific Climate Warriors

‘Raise a Paddle’ is a short documentary that follows a small group of Pacific Climate Warriors as they embark on a journey to the Canadian tar sands. It tells the story of how an oil pipeline expansion all the way in Canada, can affect our small Island home here in beautiful Samoa. President Justin Trudeau’s recently approved pipelines will not only destroy sacred land for Indigenous Peoples in Canada, they will also contribute to the worsening effects of climate change in the Pacific.

Last week, Samoa was privileged to have a group of the Pacific Climate Warriors in town to present a community screening of ‘Raise a Paddle’ and shed light on this important issue. The event was open to the public and it encouraged ALL to attend and engage in discussion around climate change.

Amongst the visiting Warriors was Fenton Lutunatabua (350.org Pacific Campaigner) who gave us a little insight into ‘who they are’ and ‘what they do’. “The Pacific Climate Warriors are a network of climate activists that are active in 15 of the Pacific Island Nations. They chose to stand up to those blocking action on climate action and empower young people to take action to protect their communities, cultures and Island homes. They are dedicated to respond to world leaders’ inaction on climate change with their simple and immensely powerful message which has commanded global attention: We are not drowning; We are fighting."

Also part of the Pacific Climate Warriors team were Koreti Mavaega Tiumalu and Radena Solomona-Savea who were documented in the short film. Koreti spoke of the importance of hosting a screening in Samoa and encouraging our people to engage in this important initiative.

"Given that both Raedena and I are Samoan, having the "Raise a Paddle" screening in Samoa was important because it was personal. We had a rare opportunity to go to Canada and share some of the stories of our climate change-impacted communities in the Pacific, with indigenous communities who are fighting against fossil fuel extraction on their lands. In doing so, we also got to share some of our culture of which we are both very proud. There are many similarities between Pacific and Canadian First Nations cultures. The most important ones we share are our love for people, our communities, our culture, our land and our ocean.

This short film captures a small glimpse of what a powerful journey it was. It enabled us to reach out to communities in Canada and offer a new perspective on how their struggle impacts us. We were able to not only share our climate realities, but also express our gratitude to them as they fight to stop the extraction which is connected to the impacts we face."

The event was a huge success, with people from all over Samoa gathering to witness this important story be told.

Climate change is an issue that affects us all. The more we educate ourselves on what it is, how it happens, and how we can work to combat it; the better chance we have of giving our next generation a home. We can’t save the world if there’s no world to save. Supporting movements like the Pacific Climate Warriors is a powerful step toward defeating climate change.

Together as a people we need to unite in spreading this powerful message “We are not drowning, we are fighting!”

If you want to learn more about the ‘Raise a Paddle’ initiative or about the work of the Pacific Climate Warriors, please click on the links below.

To learn more about the Pacific Climate Warriors:  http://world.350.org/pacificwarriors/

 

For more information on the ‘Raise a Paddle’ initiative:

https://medium.com/@350/raising-our-paddles-stories-of-pacific-resistance-and-resilience-6da797615b7

All photography by Fenton Lutunatabua 

To watch the ‘Raise a Paddle’ Documentary: