GEN Europe is committed to our values of Social and Environmental Justice, Inclusion and Participation, Community and Cooperation, Diversity, and Sustainability. Based on these ecovillage values, and as founding members of ECOLISE, we hereby wholeheartedly support and share the following solidarity statement from ECOLISE (originally published here).
ECOLISE states unequivocally that Black Lives Matter
ECOLISE stands in solidarity with all people of colour and those experiencing racism and oppression.
We at ECOLISE don’t want to go back to normal. Normal wasn’t working. The world that we imagine and want to bring forth doesn’t rely on violence and murder to maintain peace. It is regenerative, nurturing, and just. This past week our hearts and thoughts have been with the Black people in the US who are experiencing brutal state-sanctioned violence in the midst of a global pandemic. Our hearts are heavy because we understand the insidious and structural nature of racial violence, which is a European issue too. It is the same kind of violence that has led to the climate crisis we are in today as well. We know part of the answer is divesting from carceral and punitive justice systems and investing in our communities — in healthcare, housing, education, in the youth, local businesses, and services.
As a network of communities that have come together around principles of equity, fairness, and care we know that there can be no climate justice without racial, gender, economic, and disability justice. Otherwise, we are going to keep failing those we express solidarity with.
Over the last few weeks, the EU and many civil society organizations have been calling for a just recovery from COVID-19. For ECOLISE there can be no just recovery, without addressing the systemic extraction, harm, and violence towards Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities. The communities that have done the least to contribute to the climate crisis are hit hardest, precisely because they have been deliberately made vulnerable by white supremacy, colonialism, patriarchy, and capitalism.
We must listen to, learn from, and defend Black people as part of our commitment to climate justice. ECOLISE states unequivocally that Black Lives Matter.
