Dear future children,
I hope you are growing up in a wonderful world that I can only imagine for my present self. I am writing to you as I am stuck in a global pandemic that seems to be a never-ending nightmare. As I write this to you from a beautiful land called Bangladesh, I hope the dystopian environment has finally turned into a fairy-tale, where you can chase your dreams without the dangers of global climate change.
In case if you have never heard of climate change (I’m extremely glad if you haven’t), let me try to explain. I warn you though; this can be a bit scary.
Long time ago, your ancestors had this dream of building a fast-paced world with cities, roads, and towns. This dream began in the industrial revolution which was still going strong during my time. To make this dream come true we used all sorts of fuels — coal, oil, and natural gas. As these were providing power to our electronics, we were also creating heavy pollution in the environment. We did not realise that the smoke clouded our air, the overuse of oil dirtied our water, and the gas made us ill. It also made the planet sick, as it gradually became warmer — giving rise to scary hurricanes and tornadoes, raging wildfires, and the extinction of animals at an abnormal rate. Because of this, you will never get to witness some magnificent creatures, such as Baiji White Dolphins, Passenger Pigeons, the Great Auks, and many more.
It is often said that – “Better late than never”, and some of us made a decision. We wanted to take a stand for our future, your future, and the planet’s future. We wanted to diminish this vicious cycle of pollution.
The solar panels that are very common to you as you read this letter were not made easily available to us. We had to go through multiple kinds of research and numerous experiments to create our faith in its capacity to help us and change. The Daylight Saving Time was another step taken by us to minimise energy consumption and to save fuel. We started campaigns for creating an eco-friendly environment by recycling and reducing littering. We also said No to fur, leather, and plastics. I know we have already lost many marvelous species, but that is what triggered us to make ‘Save the Turtles’ a much-practiced slogan.
These are the stories of everyday people doing courageous things, because they couldn’t stand by and watch communities poisoned by pollution, the Arctic melt, the Koalas and Kangaroos being burnt alive, and the Sundarban going through hell every time Mother Nature had enough of us.
These are just some baby steps. What took us so long? Sigh. It’s a long story of dangerous ambition and greed. But the light of hope came with great and brave environmentalists and social workers who stood up and demanded to take steps for creating a better present for us – and a safe future for you.
I wanted to write all these to you, because there was a time we didn’t think any of it being possible. We want you to inherit all the joys and gifts of the natural world — hiking in forests, swimming in clean water, and breathing fresh air. I hope one day our hard work pays off and our vision to make the earth a better place comes true. I hope you know that it was a difficult path and we did it thinking of you and the future you now have.
Love,
(Please, don’t call me dadi/ nani/ grandma)
Tasnia Shahrin
Tasnia is a proud Slytherin who loves binging on poetry and graphic novels in her free time.