Day 44, Day 1
It is good to eat again. But it is even better to feel the sense of accomplishment that comes with the end of the 2009 Climate Justice Fast.
There's the sense of personal accomplishment of going 43 days without food. In my case, it ended up being 23 days on water-only and 20 days on liquids. I am sure for those who persevered on water-only for the whole time, Paul, Anna and Sara, as well as those who went lesser but significant numbers of consecutive days on water-only, those feelings must be even stronger. They should be.
In Anna's latest post on this blog, she refers to asking people in Copenhagen at the candlelight vigil on the 17th if they were, in essence, going to give up or not because Barack Obama and the leaders of the industrialized countries, those most responsible for our worldwide plight, failed to advance the ball at COP 15. This is really the key question coming out of Copenhagen: are the individuals who, collectively, make up the international grassroots movements going to rededicate themselves, really, truly, to continuing to build our movement, or are they, in essence, going to just go through the motions while feeling defeated?
I strongly suspect it's the former, not the latter. All that I experienced from a distance as far as what went on in Copenhagen, all that has happened over the course of the last two months, beginning with the hugely successful October 24th 350.org actions and continuing through to December 12th and then the December 17th international day of fasting--all of this is solid evidence that, yes, the world has reached a political tipping point.
Exactly what tactics, exactly what forms of action, will now develop going forward remain to be decided. But I will be resting over the Christmas holiday season secure in the knowledge that a critical mass of activists all over the world will refuse to quit. Our love for our children and grandchildren, born and unborn, our love for those in the climate crosshairs right now, our love for our mother, the earth, are far more powerful, over time, than the hot air of politicians and the ruthless profit-seeking of oil and coal companies and their corporate allies.
You do not lose until you give up and we must never never never give up. Even if it seems like we are going to just go through the motions while feeling defeated then the remedy is to stop feeling defeated. We have had at a minimum a partial success. Scaffolding has now been laid into which we can fill content. It is nothing short of success that a critical mass of activists all over the world are refusing to quit and that include me. Corporate agenda no matter how inhumane must yield to human rights. The best tool at the disposal of Climate Justice Fast is to continue holding such fasts on a rotating basis for 4-7 days every month for the entire next year. All the best to all involved in the Climate Justice and even if bit subdued, congratulations that we did get a deal.
Pat Verma
By Pat Verma, Vancovuer B.C. Canada on Sat, 19/12/2009