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Yessie Mosby is one of the so-called Torres Strait Eight, a group from the Pacific Islands which lodged a complaint with the UN Human Rights Council, that Australia is not doing enough to protect their people from climate change, in the first ever case of its kind. Mr. Mosby explained to UN News why they decided to take this unprecedented step.
The Torres Strait Islands, an autonomous part of Australia, are particularly vulnerable to the effects of the climate crisis, and extreme weather, including storms, rising sea levels and erosion, are a major threat to the indigenous people, who have inhabited the islands for some 70,000 years.
With the case ongoing, Mr. Molby and his fellow activists have been recognized as human rights leaders for their efforts to draw attention to the plight of their community.
“I come from Masig island, in the central part of the Torres Strait, which is between Papua New Guinea and the tip of Queensland.
There is something powerful about this teardrop-shaped island. There is an aura, which draws people to this place, which has protected us for thousands of years.
I am connected through this land to the birds, the sky, and the plants which surrounds us. I’m a part of the insects, the mammals, and the marine life, and they are a part of me.
We’ve been taught to live as one with nature, to protect and preserve it, in the way that it has been protecting and preserving us, our culture, and our tradition
The right to protection against climate change
“We have the right to practice and carry on our traditions and culture, and the right to pass on what was passed on to us, by our parents, our grandparents, and our ancestors.
We have the right to pass that ancient knowledge to the next generation.
We’ve been through everything: the first cases of chicken pox, the first common flu – which practically wiped us out – and World War Two. But we survived.
Australia has an obligation to look after all Australians, and we have a right to remain on our Island.
Refugees in our own country
The Torres Strait Eight come from different islands but we all have the same passion to protect what belongs to us, for our future.
Otherwise, we won’t have a land to call home. We will be refugees in our own country. My children will have to be relocated, because the government will definitely remove us from homes.
So we said no. We’re not moving. What’s here is ours.
