What the Words Mean
Trivandrum, India
2020, Junior, Creative Writing
She overhears the words when she’s supposed to be sleeping.
They’re talking politics, and she shouldn’t listen because “children shouldn’t be involved in politics, Farzi.” She almost gives herself away with laughter. Farzana. Her name means wise, intelligent, and knowledgeable. Yet, she knows nothing about these words. She feels blind under the wool covering her, shielding her from things she “can’t understand.’
She decides to ask Bapak.
“Bappa, what’s climate change?” She asks as her mother serves mutton biryani.
“Where did you hear that word?” He smiles.
“Something Umma said yesterday.” Her mother’s eyes narrow from across the table.
“It’s nothing important. You should be focusing on studies, not worrying.” Bappa says.
But it sounds important to her. So, she asks Google.
Ocean warming. Acidification. Coral bleaching. Deforestation. Rising sea levels. Weather changes. Endangered animals. Unnatural migrations. Natural disasters. Climate camps. Energy crises. Melting glaciers. Economic concerns. Throwaway culture. Adult inaction. Pollution. So much pollution.
Countless hours of research crack her mind.
“How?”
Her empty bedroom doesn’t respond, its walls too innocent for her dead eyes—slaughtered by all she’s now seen. Her eyes are open, but she feels blind from pain.
“How did this happen?”
She doesn’t get an answer.
The days drag, lectures replaced by voices quoting research.
“Climate change is the biggest problem we face.”
Her mind projects the words onto her math whiteboard, when she decides to give up. She’s heard it so much recently.
“Is it really?” She wants to yell. “How can it be, how little we do about it?’
The whiteboard looks cool and pristine. There are neat equations upon it that Farzana doesn’t care about anymore.
“It is the end of the world. There’s no other explanation. Is it too late? Is that why you seem so calm?” The words spill over quietly.
The whiteboard stays cool and pristine. One touch, and it will chill her.
“How are you so calm?” She wants to scream. “How—”
“Hey Farzana?”
She stops.
His name is Aswin, but he calls himself Win. His skin is brown like hers, but it wants to seem white, and thus, distances itself from the condemned black of her hijab.
“You seem kinda panicked. Is something wrong?”
She should answer.
“Climate change,” she says, honestly.
He laughs and shows her a meme.
She stills.
“It’s a serious problem.”
“Lighten up,” Win defends. “It was just a joke.”
Her mind plays clip after clip of scientists constantly updating global warming predictions, trying to keep up with masses that lobby after the newest politician brushing off the issue as “an economic hoax.”
“Well, stop joking,” she manages to say through her blinding anger.
Greenhouses gases were named for trapped air heating up greenhouses. She sees the trap now, and she wants to crush the glass walls.
Class ticks by.
The whiteboard stays white and pristine.
***
She decides, no. The whiteboard is not white and pristine. The white board is erased truth—truth she will rewrite for all.
So, she learns what she can do. She absorbs information on young political leaders, climate NGOs, activism, charities, petitions, and so much more.
And then she teaches.
People ask her how she can do what she does when they see “Save the Environment!” pins dangling from her hijab.
She knows why they do, from Win’s eyes now staring at her “unpopular” opinions, still trying to change the color of his skin.
She knows why they do, from pleading with Bappa, who now protests with her. (“It’s unsafe, Farzi. You’re so young.” “I have a responsibility, Bappa. Even the Qur’an would say so.”)
She tells them, “I have knowledge. That means I have a duty. That is why I can do what I do.”
She’s still angry and panicked. She still feels blind and trapped sometimes. The fight never does end.
But she refuses to stay inside. Even if politics aren’t for children. She will not sit and share a meme. She will act. And slowly, the blinders will fade.
***
Fauzia rummages through her Itha’s suitcase. She sees a flash of blue and picks it up.
“What is Climate Change?” the book cover says. It shows a polar bear and a couple of green words on the bottom. The green words spell out her Itha’s name.
“You found my book!” Farzana Itha grins as she walks into the room.
“You wrote this?” Fauzia asks, pulling her sister towards her.
“Yep,” Itha says. “Here, we can read it together.”
And together, they learn.
Works Cited
Black, Richard. “A Brief History of Climate Change.” BBC News. BBC, 20 Sept. 2013. Web. 16 June 2020.
Brockes, Emma.”When Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Met Greta Thunberg: ‘Hope Is Contagious’.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 29 June 2019. Web. 16 June 2020.
History.com Editors. “Climate Change History.” History.com. E Television Networks, 06 Oct. 2017. Web. 16 June 2020.
“How Can We Talk About Global Warming?” Sierra Club. N.p., 19 July 2017. Web. 16 June 2020.
Revkin, Andrew. “Climate Change First Became News 30 Years Ago. Why Haven’t We Fixed It?” National Geographic. N.p., 21 June 2018. Web. 16 June 2020.
Revkin, Andrew. “Most Americans Now Worry about Climate Change—and Want to Fix It.” Surveys Show Widening Worry on Climate Change—and Willingness to Fix It . N.p., 23 Jan. 2019. Web. 16 June 2020.
“What’s Behind the Youth Movement to Tackle Climate Change? Fear—But Also Hope.” Los Angeles Times . Los Angeles Times, 19 Sept. 2019. Web. 16 June 2020.
Reflection
Reflection
When I saw the words "Climate Hope: Transforming Crisis," I immediately thought of climate awareness—a big point of hope for me. Yet sitting down at a desk, I felt confused, feeling a disconnect when trying to write. So, I researched and brainstormed. That’s when I created Farzana. Growing up in America, feeling insecure in my race, I often was too held back by my cultural worries to even contribute to many activities. On creating Farzana, I felt doubly motivated to write a character who was able to work past that fear and insecurity and even use her culture to further spread awareness for climate change. It was, to me, a true signal of just how much children could transform and be transformed by a climate crisis. And I wanted to share that hopeful sign to all the children looking for it. Another major point I wanted to address in my writing was the climate change mindset. I felt that the change from confused, desperate panic to organized, purposeful protest summarized the growth and hope I found in learning of the actions being taken for the bright future of the climate struggle. I hope that it helps young readers choose effective paths. In the future, I want my words to help people feel confident and informed on approaching crises like the climate struggle. One day, I hope to be the Farzana to someone’s Fauzia.