Mariann’s Story

In my early years, I realised that something was wrong about the future that everyone promised me.

We are in the beginning of a mass extinction. Each day we move forward a more unstable and dangerous future, we keep on burning fossil fuels and paying for a system that is failing us.

I was 14 years old when I joined the Fridays for Future movement in Portugal. It was a relief to find people in the movement who shared my concerns. They fought for and organized ways to achieve climate justice and social justice.

I understood that there were people aware of the climate collapse all around the world. And when I got the opportunity to go and meet activists from different places on the planet at the UN climate summit in December 2019 in Madrid, I joined without hesitation.

The arrival morning in Madrid was very cheerful, although most of us were up all night travelling with no sleep at all, all activists were full of energy and strength to fight.

After several briefings, meetings, workshops, actions and more, the great riot took place on the 6th of December. In that moment, on the main city avenue, I joined the more than 500 000 activists from the most diverse and amazing places on Earth to march for the climate.

We marched for around 6 km and it took several hours. At the end, we dined together while we heard speeches from speakers like Greta Thunberg, indigenous artists and people from climate justice organizations.

That night, I felt hopeful. Not because of the decisions that were taken by political leaders at the climate summit. I felt hope after seeing so many people joining the climate march that day. When we see that we stand united, we have so much strength.

Story by Marianna (@ma_rianna05), collected by the @climateillustrated team.

Illustration by me (@ada_may).