This is exchange between Laura CZamora from Nicaragua and Amey Prakash from India. For security reasons, the name of the student from Nicaragua was anonymised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Letter 1<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Managua, Nicaragua<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Marzo 02, Jueves, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n
01:22 pm<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00a1Hola!, \u00bfqu\u00e9 tal te encuentras? Espero que te encuentres bien, y si no es as\u00ed, no te preocupes. Todo mejorar\u00e1 pronto. A m\u00ed me ha estado yendo bien, hace poco inici\u00e9 mi semestre de clase y vamos viento en popa. Antes de continuar, me presentar\u00e9. Mi nombre es Laura, tengo 21 a\u00f1os y estudio dise\u00f1o gr\u00e1fico. Soy de Managua, la capital de mi pa\u00eds, Nicaragua. Quiz\u00e1s no hayas o\u00eddo mencionar este lugar antes, no te preocupes. Nicaragua es un pa\u00eds situado en Centroam\u00e9rica, somos el centro del centro. Nuestra posici\u00f3n geogr\u00e1fica nos permite ser un pa\u00eds con mucha diversidad de flora y fauna lo cual resulta ser un privilegio. Lo que m\u00e1s amo de esto es que durante todo el a\u00f1o puedo degustar diferentes tipos de frutas, aunque por ello tenga que pagar con meses calurosos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Es un lugar fascinante para vivir mi peque\u00f1o pa\u00eds, el problema ahonda en que no lo queremos lo suficiente pues lo cuidamos bastante poco. Estoy consciente de que un pa\u00eds en desarrollo tiene como prioridad otras situaciones como erradicar la pobreza y aumentar los \u00edndices de trabajo; pero el cuidado del lugar que nos acoge es, al menos para m\u00ed, otra prioridad que debe ser o\u00edda y atendida.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Desgraciadamente este tema es el \u00faltimo en discusi\u00f3n por nuestras autoridades. Durante los \u00faltimos 5 a\u00f1os he tomado consciencia pol\u00edtica, y he llegado a la conclusi\u00f3n de que las figuras gubernamentales no son confiables, ni ellas, ni sus discursos, ni sus promesas. No solo en Latinoam\u00e9rica, sino en gran parte del mundo. Leo noticias de gobiernos firmando tratados en los que se comprometen a cuidar del medio ambiente, pero al mismo tiempo estos permiten que las grandes corporaciones exploten sus recursos sin regulaciones (tal es el caso de M\u00e9xico con Coca Cola, donde el pa\u00eds sufre de sequ\u00eda pero la refresquera tiene permitido extraer m\u00e1s de 3 mil millones de litros de agua anuales solamente en un estado). Luchar contra esto es complicado pues existen intereses de muchos lados, adem\u00e1s, cualquiera disfruta de una coca cola.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
En Nicaragua existen problemas similares al de M\u00e9xico; se deforestan reservas naturales protegidas, se explotan suelos en busca de minerales y en el \u00e1rea donde vivo se construyen residenciales (terrenos donde se construyen casas habitables) a sabiendas que debajo de estos se encuentran mantos acu\u00edferos importantes para la distribuci\u00f3n de agua potable en la capital, los que pueden llegar a contaminarse o ser destruidos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aun as\u00ed, nuestro mayor problema es la cultura del descuido que arrastramos hace varias generaciones. Imagina que es normal que las personas tiren basura por la calle, lo que ocasiona tremendos problemas en la \u00e9poca de lluvia, o que los juegos de los ni\u00f1os sean matar aves con resorte. La soluci\u00f3n de esto claramente es la educaci\u00f3n, pero es un reto muy grande. Educar una sociedad implica hacer cambios en el estilo de vida que llevamos, se\u00f1alar los errores que no queremos aceptar y crear acciones para mejorar. Es una tarea constante y costosa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Es que, \u00bfc\u00f3mo haces consciencia real de un problema? Dicen que no hay peor ciego que el que no quiere ver, y con todas las cat\u00e1strofes que d\u00eda a d\u00eda pasan en el mundo uno piensa, bueno la gente va a reaccionar, pero no lo hacen \u00bfc\u00f3mo cambias eso vos? \u00bfQu\u00e9 haces para que alguien salga de una casa que se est\u00e1 incendiando si no reacciona? Estas preguntas me pasan por la mente de vez en cuando.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00bfQu\u00e9 estoy haciendo yo para que esto mejore? No mucho, no s\u00e9 por d\u00f3nde empezar, quiz\u00e1s en redes, apoyar a las fundaciones, estoy limitada y a la vez no. Tenemos a Greta, pero, \u00bfy el cambio? Todo se queda en palabras, en discursos bonitos, y me desanimo, porque si personas que pueden hacer algo son ignoradas \u00bfqu\u00e9 pasa conmigo? Ya es dif\u00edcil que en tu casa separen la basura, ahora imag\u00ednate tus vecinos, tu comunidad que es donde se empieza. Las leyes de reciclaje en Corea son un buen ejemplo de cambio, pero hay que ver que si lo que reciclan compensa todo lo que contaminan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Intento no rendirme, desde hace un tiempo me he comprometido con el ambiente a realizar los cambios que est\u00e1n en mis manos: 5 minutos en el ba\u00f1o, rehuso todo lo que puedo, hago composta y estoy intentando cultivar plantas arom\u00e1ticas. Tambi\u00e9n tengo como meta a largo plazo comer menos carne, pero es tan dif\u00edcil ya que los productos animales son deliciosos, es una contradicci\u00f3n con la que vivo d\u00eda a d\u00eda. Una contradicci\u00f3n que me quema pues los animales que consumimos son seres tan inteligentes, con sentimientos, que si los conoces lo suficiente llegan a ser tus amigos. T\u00fa no te comes a tu amigo. Lo cuidas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ver\u00e1s, en mi realidad, la consciencia ambiental incluye no solo el cuido por el medio ambiente, sino tambi\u00e9n por los animales que conviven con nosotros. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yo quiero que la naturaleza est\u00e9 en paz, que los animales no sufran en nuestras manos, que gocen de su derecho a estar vivos y en su paz. Que los arboles crezcan y vivan 100, 1000 a\u00f1os sin que los consideren un estorbo, que se respete el mundo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Por suerte, existen personas cuyo amor al planeta es m\u00e1s grande que su miedo a lo que pasar\u00e1. Estas personas crean fundaciones sin fines de lucro para ayudar sobre todo a los animales que tanto hacemos sufrir. Las que m\u00e1s me inspiran son El mirador de gal\u00e1n, un refugio para caballos que son rescatados de la explotaci\u00f3n laboral y la ONG Latinoamericana Paso Pac\u00edfico, con su trabajo especial en la conservaci\u00f3n de las tortugas marinas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Protegemos lo que amamos, creo que por eso se me hace f\u00e1cil cuidar de lo que tengo. Cuido mi jard\u00edn, \u00bfeso cuenta? \u00bfEs suficiente? Creo que estar\u00e9 feliz si al menos consigo que alguien recicle una botella.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No tenemos un buen panorama a futuro. Me preocupa tambi\u00e9n el rumbo del mundo, nos estamos condenando a la extinci\u00f3n. Hace unos d\u00edas le\u00ed un art\u00edculo algo inquietante sobre c\u00f3mo los humanos y animales estamos empezando a competir por recursos debido al cambio clim\u00e1tico. Me dej\u00f3 con un nudo en el est\u00f3mago. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Creo que por esta vez es todo. Escribir esta carta me pareci\u00f3 jugar a abrir y cerrar puertas, pues empezaba hablando de un problema, que luego conduce a otro y solo parece que va aumentando. As\u00ed que disculpa si de pronto parece que no hay coherencia con lo que escribo, es un tema extenso y complicado de abordar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tambi\u00e9n tengo unas preguntas para ti: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00bfQu\u00e9 te parece mi situaci\u00f3n?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00bfC\u00f3mo es la situaci\u00f3n en tu pa\u00eds? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00bfC\u00f3mo la vives t\u00fa? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00bfEres m\u00e1s valiente que yo y trabajas de una forma m\u00e1s activa para mejorar esto?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00bfPor qu\u00e9 elegiste este tema?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Me muero por leer tu respuesta, esperar\u00e9 tu carta con el entusiasmo de un ni\u00f1o.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Me despido cordialmente dese\u00e1ndote salud y buenas energ\u00edas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Atte.: tu amiga del otro lado del planeta, Laura.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Por ac\u00e1 te dejo los links de algunas cosas que mencion\u00e9<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Letter 2<\/p>\n\n\n\n
New Delhi, India<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wednesday, 22nd<\/sup> March, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n 21:00<\/p>\n\n\n\n I hope this letter finds you in good health. It gives me great pleasure to reply to your letter which indeed touched my heart with its deep exploration of some critical issues that face our generation. I really appreciate the depth of your awareness and genuine concerns about our environment that were communicated very effectively. Having friends like you to represent my generation makes me proud and assured of the possibilities of change that we can collectively bring about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Allow me to introduce myself first. My name is Amey Prakash. I belong to Mumbai, the city that\u2019s considered the financial capital of India. Currently, I am pursuing a degree in Law at the National Law University in New Delhi, the Capital of India. To start off, of course, I am aware of Nicaragua. Apart from my geography class in school, it was its beautiful depiction in the Tom Cruise starrer American<\/strong> Made<\/strong>, that gave me an introduction to Nicaragua. The movie was based on the \u201cWar on drugs\u201d in the 1980s. While it showed the lush greenery of Nicaragua, it was only from you that I came to know about the social aspects of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am not aware if the country, especially the urban parts of it are still as lush green and beautiful, but that makes me admit that I am living in a country with the highest number of polluted cities in the world. While Delhi tops the list of polluted cities in India, Mumbai is not far behind. And yet, the public awareness on climate change and environmental conservation remains abysmally low. It is certainly a matter of grave concern to our generation who hope to inherit this country sooner than later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n India achieved independence from colonial rule in 1947, and a general trend surrounding the development of countries that liberated from colonial rule was a scarcity of resources emphasized by lack of development of human resource during the colonial rule and problems in making judicious use of those meagre resources with the pressures of meeting the economic goals. It is argued that the colonizers had their opportunities of achieving a certain level of development in the last century without due regard to efficient use of resources, while the modern developing nations are being pressured to achieve their development goals in an environmentally sustainable manner. Don\u2019t you think that amounts to denial of a level playing field to these developing nations? In addition to this, educated people from developing countries migrate to developed countries in pursuit of prosperity and opportunities, causing brain drain and hampering the progress of development in developing countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There indeed are no two ways about sustainable development as our collective future depends on it. Isn\u2019t that reason enough for the more resourceful countries to come to the help of the developing countries and do a bit of handholding, so that together we make a breakthrough a bit faster. I believe that instead of imposing sanctions for not achieving certain targets, a helping hand could be extended by developed nations and international bodies to the developing nations, particularly in terms of technology. We are one world; one beautiful planet and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) should be a collective responsibility. Unfortunately, it does not work in a world where, to our utter shock, a war is raging for over a year. It is just a matter of misplaced priorities and failure of international diplomacy which is making things harder to mend than it is. This might provide a part explanation to your argument against politicians not being able to do enough to tackle climate change. In a country like mine, illiteracy and lack of resources drive people to do things that could harm the environment; for example, in most Indian villages, women cook by burning firewood. The source of air pollution every winter in Delhi is burning of farm stents when farmers prepare their fields for the next crop season. In this highly populated country, land holdings are highly fragmented and mechanisation or adoption of cleaner processes cannot be implemented due to the cost involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let me refer to an interesting quote from the fictional movie Black<\/strong> Panther<\/strong>, \u201cWe all know the truth: More connects us than separates us. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.\u201d \u2013 King T\u2019Challa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An example of how politicians in most Asian countries where freedom is limited exploit and suppress the masses can be seen from the \u201cAarey Forest Protests\u201d which took place in Mumbai, my hometown. The existence of Aarey Forest, once considered the largest urban forest in Asia and the lungs of the city of Mumbai, came into trouble when the Government decided to fell thousands of its trees to construct a loco shed for the ongoing metro rail project. A huge ecosystem and with it the huge population were to suffer if this happened. There were demonstrations and public protests in and outside the Forest to prevent the cutting down of trees, but eventually the trees were cut down and the masses were silenced, and arrested by the State police force for the crime of protesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just as I saw your country in a movie, you could see my country in a movie, an Academy Award winner Slumdog Millionaire<\/strong>. While it may not exactly be a matter of pride, Mumbai hosts one of Asia\u2019s largest slums, Dharavi. Dharavi is a city inside a city. It is a self-sufficient space with its own industry that greatly contributes to the economy of the city which is the financial capital of India. The spirit and solidarity of residents of Dharavi is indeed commendable in the face of abject poverty, and poor human development indices. Obviously, the activities in Dharavi would not align with the SDGs, but it suits the politics of vote bank and cheap labour. Given the lack of growth and poverty in other parts of the country, people from the remote villages are still drawn to spaces like Dharavi. Uneven urbanization has contributed to putting pressure on the environment within the cities. People are forced to live in slums as there is no planned development. Many things such as waste management are outside the control of the Government. Population density is putting huge pressure on town planning. Decentralisation could be a solution. India is trying to build infrastructure countrywide. I just hope that the economic goals are pursued in environmentally sustainable manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let me now come to what we can do as global citizens for environmental conservation. The technology is there to connect us all and networking is not difficult at all. However, let us accept that the role of corporate media and social media is dubious in today\u2019s world full of misinformation and post truth. It is important to trust each other and come together to fight common battles locally. Spreading awareness is important so that pressure could be built on authorities to act. <\/p>\n\n\n\n More people than ever before have been turning to \u201cVeganism\u201d. I am somewhat supportive of this concept even though I am not a vegan myself. Did you know that the global meat industry is a major contributor to causing harm to the planet as the industry uses a large amount of water? It would be a blessing to our planet if at least half the population of meat eaters stopped eating meat as a matter of conscious choice. At the same time, however, I do not advise converting or switching entirely to veganism, because that would also affect the planet in a harmful manner. I believe \u201ctoo much of anything is a bad thing\u201d and therefore, we must have a balance in whatever we do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I cannot really comment on the situation in Nicaragua, but may I try to answer your queries in terms of my own experiences and practices. I would suggest to you only one thing, and that is, as I have done, change yourself<\/em>. Regardless of what other people do, say or think, one must have the conviction to do what is right. I acknowledge that it would be difficult to change the behaviour of people altogether. It is difficult to make people stop throwing garbage out in the open, but if history has taught us anything, it is that people lead by example. So, show them what is to be done. Eventually, people close to you will start to follow, and subsequently, those close to your friends and relatives will fall in line. Even if they don\u2019t, what could go wrong? The urgency with the battle on climate change is such that it would eventually affect everybody, and those who are reluctant to act now will be compelled to act in the future. We will be proud on that day to have done our bit in the right direction. I hope the awareness rises faster and new laws as well as regional agreements are introduced. I also hope that if nothing else, we could pressure the authorities to make the existing laws stricter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You may be aware that Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is considered the father of India. He taught us to live a simple minimalistic lifestyle and stand up without fear for what we believe in. His principles of non-violence and satyagraha (passive political resistance) effectively brought the mighty British empire to its knees during our freedom struggle. Unity is the key; fearless and persistent pursuit of our collective goals should be our response to the present situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, if I were to comment on your situation, I would say to you the same thing you said to me; \u201cDon’t worry. Everything will get better soon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I hope I have satisfactorily answered your questions. I too, bring some questions of my own for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is your opinion about the SDGs and Climate Action? Do you think International Organizations have been\/would be successful enough to achieve their goals or to bring about real change? Can they impact sovereign nations? If yes, in what way?<\/p>\n\n\n\n To end the letter, I would like to tell you that I am truly obliged to have had the opportunity of communicating my views to someone so close to me as a human being on this planet yet so far, owing to territorial boundaries created by unnecessary wars and disputes. The fact that the only freshwater sharks known in the world can be found in Lake Nicaragua still makes me think, \u201cHow can a country with such abundance of exquisite flora and fauna still face problems that most would describe to be \u2018ironical\u2019 for their situation?\u201d It does seem as if people do not appreciate what they have until they lose it. I do empathize with you, and your situation in Nicaragua, while I sure hope we could connect outside the walls of the Global Pen Pals program to discuss the larger climate and related issues facing our planet, and become friends across borders as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your friend from miles away,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amey<\/p>\n\n\n\n I have included links to some of the references used by me throughout the letter:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. IQAir Global Air quality and pollution city ranking<\/p>\n\n\n\nDear Laura<\/h2>\n\n\n\n