TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Israel has instructed its military to prevent a relief ship, the Madleen flotilla, from reaching Gaza. The vessel carries 12 activists, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz issued a statement saying, "I have instructed the military to prevent the Madleen flotilla from reaching Gaza."
He further spoke to Thunberg and other activists, labeling them as "Hamas propaganda mouthpieces" and warning, "Turn back because you will not reach Gaza."
The group, which departed from Sicily on June 1, is carrying essential supplies for Palestinians in Gaza, who are under siege and facing severe shortages. The cargo includes baby formula, flour, rice, diapers, women's sanitary products, water desalination equipment, medical supplies, crutches, and prosthetic legs for children.
Speaking from the relief ship, Thunberg told Middle East Eye that the government has disappointed the Palestinian people and left it to ordinary individuals to take action. "We cannot sit by and allow this to happen. We are watching… a genocide happening, following decades and decades of systematic oppression, ethnic cleansing, occupation," she said.
Thunberg emphasized that the activists are "just human beings, very concerned about what's happening, and do not accept what is going on."
Who Is Greta Thunberg?
Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg, born on January 3, 2003, in Stockholm, Sweden, is a prominent environmental activist known for her efforts in combating climate change. In 2018, she launched the Fridays for Future movement, also known as School Strike for Climate, as reported by Britannica.
Greta comes from a family consisting of an opera singer mother and an actor father. Diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, now classified as autism spectrum disorder, Greta demonstrates the condition's characteristic intense focus, channeling it into her commitment to climate activism.
The pandemic brought an end to Greta's childhood. Just before COVID-19 hit, this Swedish teen and her fellow activists had successfully organized a march that drew millions of people, potentially the largest climate protest ever.
She first became aware of climate change around the age of eight, and shortly after, she made significant lifestyle changes: adopting a vegan diet and refusing to travel by plane, both choices aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Determined to push for political action, Greta started a solitary protest outside the Swedish parliament in the weeks leading up to the September 2018 general election, holding a sign that read "Skolstrejk fr Klimatet" (School Strike for Climate). Initially, Greta was alone. However, as her protest gained attention, several people began to join her.
After the election, she returned to school but continued her Friday strikes, inspiring students worldwide to join the Fridays for Future movement. The action spread to Belgium, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Finland, Denmark, France, and the Netherlands.
However, the sudden onset of lockdown halted the Fridays For Future school strike. With every country forced to self-isolate, the movement became "paralyzed," as described by Dominika Lasota, a prominent member of the group in Poland.
According to Politico, the pandemic not only dealt a severe blow to the flourishing movement with public demonstrations but also deprived many young activists of a crucial outlet for expressing collective unease, which is often referred to by today's youth as "climate anxiety."
Invitation from the World Forum
Greta's activism resulted in invitations to speak at major international forums, such as the World Economic Forum in Davos and the European Parliament, as well as before legislative bodies in Italy, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In September 2019, she made headlines with her address at the UN climate event in New York City, after traveling there on an emission-free cruise ship.
Her passionate speech included the following lines: "You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I'm one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!" That month, millions participated in climate actions in over 163 countries.
Despite Greta's activism, often called the "Greta effect," influencing public opinion and behavior regarding climate change, she has also faced criticism, notably from Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who called her a "brat" in 2019.
Beyond her environmental advocacy, Greta has helped raise awareness about Asperger's syndrome and inspired others with the condition. She has spoken about the challenges and strengths associated with Asperger's, through a tweet: "I have Aspergers and that means I’m sometimes a bit different from the norm. And - given the right circumstances- being different is a superpower."
Greta's published works include No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference (2019), a collection of her speeches, and The Climate Book: Facts and Solutions (2023). The documentary film I Am Greta was released in 2020.
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