“Where did our Moxie Go?” Climate Empathy, Written by Samira Abdullahi

Somalis have faced the brunt of climate change for far too long. With disrupted monsoon seasons or droughts due to climate change, the movement of our peoples has only been shadowed by poor environmental literacy and climate apathy. Our relocation was one out of survival, arriving at imperial core nations operating on fixed capitalistic economic models and are quick to be blinded by the fallacy of meritocracy. They told us if we work hard enough, we can be the winners.

We know these systems fail us as for the 35 years that the second wave of Somali diaspora have been located in the UK (1991-2000’s), Somalis have not generated nearly enough wealth for homeownership, seeing that 3.8% of British Somalis own homes, well below the national average. This is to say that the reality for many Somalis is evident, the majority of us make up the working class - and can not be afforded the luxury of environmental literacy only to make an earning and not fuss about it. So when problems arise out of our tenancy from social housing we turn to one another and we have a blaming finger but there is no call to action to disrupt these oppressive systems.

It begs the question why are Somalis so prone to climate apathy? Why do we feel so let down and see environmental degradation back home or our situation as tenants of poor social housing as unsavable and permanent. In light of this, I'm reminded of the surge in unionising from a Somalia adopting scientific socialism in the 70’s, catered to workers rights and the successful improvement of employment practices uniting dock workers, bank workers, factory workers and those alike. Where did our moxie go?

Did it all get to us when our seas became polluted, our fishing industry collapsed, our droughts became too severe, our country politically divided. Did we lose our moxie when rebuilding our country became strenuous and poorly funded, leaving us with ruined infrastructure and littered streets and a vulnerable ecology? How can hope grow under such circumstances?

We are homed by the council in grey spaces with poor air quality, proximity to congested roads, with little hope that our collective situation can change outside of an individualist perspective. Somalis should be the first diaspora group to organise themselves for climate action and yet we lag behind, facing the brunt of environmental racism, numb and docile to the infliction we face. Perhaps we feel powerless, but there's power in collective action and political education - not under false pretences that we build individual wealth based on merit alone whilst being council homed from a growing number of bragging middle class aspirants. What a waste of time.

This is a call to action to restart unionising, to get the abtis a taxi union, or the habiyars a carer union. To bring community back into the equation and regain that moxie we once had, which led to strikes… which led to pay rises. We can be the winners through collective action and power building, turning climate apathy to climate empathy. God willing.

This blog post was written by Samira Abdullahi, a young passionate climate change advocate. Our staff and partners share their latest insights and perspectives, covering various issues, programs and sector-wide developments, as well as global events. If you would like to contribute a blog, article, or opinion piece relevant to our work, please email us at info@theatm.org