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Building and energising a movement in the Pacific

Pacific Pawa march, Vanuatu 350.org

The ‘generative’ power of symbolic action

Cultural power and movement-building

Reflecting on the 2014 blockade, Fenton Lutunatabua of 350 Pacific wrote: 

This action marked a turning point for us, in realizing that we cannot merely hope that the governments of our small countries will save our communities from the climate crisis. Rather, our focus must be on building large social movements that can work across cultures and differences – creating the political power necessary to challenge the world’s largest corporations.

Aaron Packard of 350.org added:

The odds of success at keeping the Islands above water remains an outside chance. But prior to the Warrior blockade of Newcastle Port, there was no genuine fight for the Islands beyond what Pacific Prime Ministers and Presidents could do through formal governmental channels. There is now a fight on for the Islands, and that story will deepen in the approaching months as the Warriors now plan for where, when and how they will strike next.

See also:
The 'cascade' of events generated by the blockade: at the Tar Sands, Canada

The Warriors’ symbolic action was not just a protest, but the launch of an ongoing political initiative. It became a ‘node’ or a focus around which a whole array of initiatives was organised. 

It led to the formation of local and regional networks and alliances, and to initiatives that combined the recovery of traditional culture with community organising work.

Generating activity ahead of the blockade

The ‘cascade’ of activity that the Warriors generated began well before the Newcastle protest itself. In December 2013, 350 Pacific launched a Pledge to Stand Up for the Pacific, which by mid January had been signed by more than 600 supporters. January also saw the launch of a logo competition for the Pacific Climate Warriors.

Pacific-wide Day of Action

Six months ahead of the blockade, 350 Pacific held a Day of Action across the region. For example:

  • Tonga: members ‘performing the Sipi Tau war dance, and began canoe building
  • Papua New Guinea: participants walked through Port Moresby to raise public awareness about Climate Change, the role of the Pacific Climate Warriors in the region and how citizens can support the movement
  • Vanuatu: canoe build project launch with traditional performances, cultural presentations and ceremonies.

‘We’re Building Canoes’

350 Pacific’s Fenton Lutunatabua wrote in May:

In what can be described as a highly significant symbol of the Pacific, canoe building has slowly disappeared in time. The two hulled sailing vessels built by the proud people of the Pacific, have slowly been phased out over the last century in the name of progress and technological advancements.

350 Pacific has embarked on a journey to be part of the small group of people in the Pacific who are trying to revive this very important aspect of the Pacific Culture. In an attempt to regain the ancient knowledge and the art of canoe building and traditional sailing, 350 Pacific, on the 12th of April this year, launched a campaign to encourage young Pacific Islanders across the region to build traditional styled canoes that will be used as a vessel to deliver our messages on climate change to Australia.

Pacific Warriors training events were held. August saw the launch of the canoe Ta Reo Vanuatu (‘the Voice of Vanuatu’) – see below.

Ta Reo Vanuatu: watch the video. 

UN Climate Leaders Summit: ‘join the Pacific Warrior movement’

Just weeks ahead of the blockade, Kathy Jetnil-Kitjiner of the Marshall Islands addressed the opening ceremony of the UN Climate Leaders Summit and issued a call to her audience:


‘I challenge the world to join the Pacific Warrior movement’.

Kiribati supports the Pacific Climate Warriors Taken in September, 2014, just weeks ahead of the Newcastle blockade. Image: 350

High-level government engagement

 
‘The voice of Vanuatu’

The Vanuatu Warriors’ send-off ceremony in August highlights the kind of high-level engagement and committed support that the Warriors initiative brought about. 

The Vanuatu Daily Post described the launch of ‘a massive traditional canoe on its way to stir up international awareness about climate change impacts in Vanuatu [and] in developing countries.’ The Warriors were addressed by Hon. Edward Nipake Natapei, who had been Prime Minister of Vanuatu twice, as well as its President, and was then M.P. for Port Vila and President of the Vanua’aku Party. He stated:

On behalf of the community and Vanuatu’s participation in the actions coming up in Australia, I have the privilege to announce that this canoe is named Ta Reo Vanuatu – the Voice of Vanuatu. 

The Vanuatu Daily Post reported that Natapei likened the warriors in the expedition to ‘small ants trying to talk to a big man. Sometimes the big men don’t want to listen, and the only way to be heard is when the ants bite the big man’s toe’. Chief Kawea Sausiara, of the Iasoa community, told the Warriors ‘This canoe travels with a message. It concerns culture. If climate change is not stopped then we will lose our cultural activities. This is the message that we must remember. If not, Vanuatu will be nothing more than a wasteland’ (Island Reach, 2014). The Acting Director of Vanuatu’s Ministry of Climate Change, Albert Williams, also addressed the ceremony:

You are going to Australia as ambassadors of Vanuatu. The main thing we need to tell the Australians is this: Australia, you need to do more to help small countries like Vanuatu. In our islands we now have more periods of drought. We are experiencing more intense cyclones. We are experiencing sea level rise and coastal erosion. We are losing our coral reefs as temperatures change.

Support in Samoa and Tokelau

Vanuatu was not alone in offering the Warriors high-level support. The Government of Tokelau announced the participation of the Tokelauan Warriors in the blockade on their official website. The Warriors’ training event for Samoa, held at the end of 2013, was officially opened by Hon. Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, Prime Minister of Samoa. He spoke of the importance of ‘addressing climate change at the youth level, as it is an issue that is affecting not only Samoa but the entire Pacific’. 

A springboard for divestment campaigning

Following the blockade, 350 Pacific launched the ‘next phase of the 350 Pacific Stand Up for the Pacific Campaign’: divestment from fossil fuels. In November 2014, Climate Warriors across the region delivered letters to ANZ bank managers, calling on them to cease investment in the industry. Campaign spokesperson, Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, stated that ‘organizations and financial institutions, such as the ANZ, must align their money with their morals’. Images of Pacific Warriors issuing their call to divest circulated across the Pacific and in Australia, firing the campaign. In December, the College of the Marshall Islands announced that it was divesting from fossil fuels. 

In February 2015, 350.org organised the first ever Global Divestment Day. Timed to coincide with Valentine’s Day, the event was an opportunity for people to ‘break up with fossil fuels’. Participants joined with ‘over 500 active divestment campaigns underway worldwide at universities, cities, churches, banks, pension funds and other institutions’. 

Significantly, iconography from the Pacific Warriors blockade was prominent in publicity for the event: see for example graphics here and here), and in these tweets:

For more on the movement that grew out of the blockade, see:

The ‘cascade’ of events generated by the Pacific Warriors’ blockade