Hello.

My name is John and today I’m going to tell you about my life and how it’s tragically
changing.
I live on Carteret islands in the southern part of the Pacific ocean. It’s a paradise on the Earth with
white sand beaches, palm trees and crystal clear waters. I’m a fisherman as almost all of the
islanders in the semi – circle islands are fishermen, as well. I’ve started this job since I was a little
boy. And I still continue this job by going out with a canoe and trying to catch some fish for my
family, while my wife looks after our children and grows vegetables in our garden. We live in a
wooden hut with sand floor and we don’t use much electricity, so when the sun goes down, it’s
usually time for bed. There is a tiny population in our islands. It’s a pity, but there is only one
contact with the outside world – a ship which brings supplies from Bougainville, a large island
approximately 53 miles away.
But now I’m afraid of our future here. High tides often flood across the villages and wash away
people’s homes. Salt water from the sea overflows into our gardens and devastates the harvest. It
also contaminates the fresh water supplies. We are struggling to survive on coconut milk and fish,
and our children are suffering from malnutrition. Additionaly, the climate on the islands is
warming, and lots of mosquitoes are coming and spreading malaria and other diseases.
The government is planning to evacuate us to the other places, for example, Bougainville, because
the islands will be under water soon. We will possibly rebuild our material lives, but if we rebuild
our culture? We have our mother - tongue language and celebrations and traditions related to the
sea, but if we co-exist with other people and cultures, the most important parts of our cultural
identity that is our language, beliefs and traditions, may die.
However, people all over the world have supported the islanders. Some of them created a project
which is named ,,Tulele Peisa”. This project is helping to evacuate people from the islands and is
looking for ways to preserve our culture and to save it for future generations.
To sum up, my islands are disappearing, but it isn’t only my tragedy. It’s our Earth tragedy because
it doesn’t matter where you live, you will feel the consequences of global warming.