Selina N. Leem
Selina Neirok Leem is from Majuro, Marshall Islands. Currently working in the project “Small island, Big song” on top of being a climate change advocate who attends worldwide conferences, this island girl knows how to capture audiences with her passionate storytelling.
Believing sharing stories is her greatest achievement to get her voice heard, she has wanted to scream “Marshallese, can you all hear me? There are people here, all the way in Europe, they care. They actually care about us.”
Being a young islander, her voice can sometimes get lost in an ocean of others but she has always been determined to be heard and make strong points for governments to make a change for the sake of her people.
At COP21 in Paris she stated: “It is important that there is a clear understanding and communication between the government and its people. Right now, the entire world’s biggest threat is climate change. We all must push our governments to do their part in the fight against climate change, and honour their words spoken”
“My people and my country are counting on me and others who are advocating for our country, sharing what is happening in the vast ocean of the Pacific. Too small for people to see, too far for people to reach, and a number of 52,634 people too little for people to care. Our islands are not just barely-there dots on the maps for many to turn a blind-eye to; they are our home. And our home is our ancestors and us today.”
Through her work she would like to see her island as bountiful as they once were, our culture still rich.
“No goodbyes. No tears. No resentment. Unity.”
Take a look at her Twitter to see some of her work that she has done to this day.