AnnMary Vikatoria Raduva

I carry

Soil from my grandmother’s grave

In a coconut shell

And stories, memories, names and songs of my village boundary

A carved wooden totem of Tangaroa, the shark god

And Pele, the goddess and keeper of fire

I carry

Traditional remedies

To heal the scars of proxy wars of modernization

And Christianity

Simultaneously

I carry

Islanders

People

Living in the tundra



Carnage of droughts and king tides

Between hope and fear

Death kisses replicates

And sinking islands

Victims of a sea water rising crisis

No one leaves home

No one abandons home

No one does that

Here

Unless

Home is sinking

Unless

Home is chasing you to the shore

Unless

Home is but a coral strip

And water

Is measured from feet to knees

Knees to chest

And eventually

Chest to chin

No one leaves home

Unless

Home speaks to you

Where coconut trees

Disappear with the sinking shoreline

And frigate birds have stopped

Returning home to nest

And our ancestral remains

Are no longer safe to rest

No one leaves home

Unless

Home won’t let you stay for another night

Because there is no more hope

And the ocean is, but safer

Than land
— Credit: IUCN Web

AnnMary Vikatoria Raduva was inspired by her Rotuman Great Grandfather who knew the oceans, lagoons and reefs around Rotuma like no-one else. His knowledge and stories fuelled her passion to preserve the ocean and lands and to become active in this space.

Her ability to weave her stories has put her at centre stage as a youth climate activist internationally including the United Nations Climate Summit in New York in 2019.

She has also rallied people around her through founding The Youth Eco Champions Network in Fiji - a collective of youth under 18 who have planted more than 13,000 mangrove seedlings, significantly delivering against the governments 4 million trees in 4 years campaign.

Her work on the Say No to Balloon Releasing campaign put her in the firing line with many adults belittling her work - calling her the balloon girl or saying that someone of her age had no place in adult business. Her campaign was focused on reducing plastic waste, a huge problem in the islands. Of the way she was treated she said “I raise my head higher knowing that the message is clear and people are talking about balloons.”

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