Greta Thunberg to US protesters: 'We need to stand united'

Teenage activist Greta Thunberg on June 5 reportedly said that the US struggle for racial justice after the death of George Floyd is part of the fight against climate change and social justice that unites everyone together. In an interview with an international media outlet, Thunberg said that the world needs to stand ‘united’ and remember that the fight for social justice, environmental justice, racial justice and climate justice is the same fight.

The 17-year-old activist is known for castigating world leaders for inaction on climate change. While speaking at the launch of a crowdfunding campaign to buy medical supplies and provide telemedicine services to residents in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, she said that she had widened her message. 

Thunberg’s ‘we stand united’ statement comes after Floyd’s tragic death makes millions across the globe angry. The support for George Floyd and Black Lives Matter has been pouring from different parts of the globe even as the world battles the deadly coronavirus pandemic. Protests have rocked not just parts of US, but demonstrations have been taking place in Netherlands, London, Manchester as well. 

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Governments ‘failed to save lives’ 

Meanwhile, the climate activist also spoke about the lack of robust health services in Brazil which has made the disease devastating. Thunberg reportedly said that the Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro had failed in managing the crisis. She added that Bolsonaro’s government has definitely failed in tackling the coronavirus pandemic as many other governments have also done. Brazil is one of the worst-hit countries in the world. Despite the soaring number of COVID-19 infections, Bolsonaro has also been pushing to end lockdown measures in a bid to kick the economy back into gear. 

The Brazilian President has been criticised for downplaying the pandemic. Meanwhile, Thunberg reportedly said that the governments around the world, including Brazil, have ‘failed to save lives’ and because of that we have seen many deaths that could have been prevented. Coronavirus, which originated in China in December 2019, has now claimed over 394,000 lives worldwide as of June 6. According to the tally by Johns Hopkins University, the pandemic has now spread to 188 countries and territories and has infected more than 6.7 million people.

(Image: AP)

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