Belinda Davis, chair of the Green Party of Philadelphia, spoke at Philadelphia City Hall during the flag-raising of the Mozambique flag on September 25, 2023. The event took place on the 59th Mozambican National Liberation Day.

By Belinda Davis (she or they)

I am truly honored to be speaking to you today, among such distinguished guests. In the name of the Green Party of Philadelphia (GPOP) I want to welcome the ambassador of Mozambique, members of the consulate, and the other dignitaries who have come to join in this flag-raising.

We know the green in the flag stands for the gifts of nature and living in harmony with it, and that is what we too are about, as Greens. We are here in the interests of friendship and building on that friendship in peace and justice. I have been asked to talk briefly about Ecological Wisdom, one of the Green Party's four pillars, and connected with the messages of the Partido os Verdes de Moçambique and the Ecological Party of Mozambique.

I believe, as an historian as well as chair of the Green Party of Philadelphia, that it is especially important for those in the U.S. and the global north generally to recognize the historical and the ongoing ecological damage rendered out of all proportion in the global south, including and even especially in Mozambique. Friends don't let friends contend alone with destructive droughts and related fires. Friends don't cause friends to confront catastrophic floods and cyclones, with their devastating immediate and also cumulative effects.

Aside from exponential increases in the spread of disease that can be linked to climate change, there are now already extremely serious deficiencies in the availability of surface water, despite the country's many rivers, and the intrusion of saltwater deep into the country. Average temperatures are quickly climbing, especially in the southern and central regions, challenging the survivability for people, animals, and plants alike, even as conditions have paradoxically caused an astronomic increase in fossil fuel consumption from the mid-'90s to present.

These conditions also deeply threaten relations with Mozambique's neighbors, such as Zimbabwe and Zambia, while at the same time foreboding a crisis of climate refugees. Even in moments as celebratory as the present one, we need to all take action to halt further climate change, as well as to deal equitably with its already drastic effects in Mozambique as in the U.S., and across the world in the spirit of friendship and peace.

We are one planet. We are here to celebrate and build on relations. Building those relations means knowing one another better. I look forward to learning more about the vibrant nation of Mozambique today - - including what we can learn from Mozambicans about ecological wisdom. Thank you!

Belinda Davis (Mount Airy) has been chair of the Green Party of Philadelphia since 2019.

The Green Party of Philadelphia (GPOP) is an independent political party which stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPOP candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party's Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity.

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For more Information:

"Ten Key Green Values," Green Party of the U.S.
https://www.gp.org/ten_key_values