Topic: Religion &amp; Belief

Published date - Oct 2024

Join us for Diwali (or Deepavali) for The Festival of Lights. Come inside a vibrant Mandir, where Hindus of all ages come together to celebrate one of the most cherished festivals in Hindu culture. Feel the spirit of Diwali, following families, children, and elders as they prepare offerings, light diyas, and share moments of reflection. People share what Diwali means to them, weaving a tapestry of personal meanings and traditions that reflect resilience, unity, and the victory of light over darkness.

The ancient story of the Ramayana is depicted with colourful illustrations, bringing to life the journey of Rama, his loyal brother Lakshmana, and devoted wife Sita. Together, they embark on a journey marked by courage, loyalty, and the ultimate triumph over the demon king Ravana. The visuals depict their trials and victories, culminating in the joyous return to Ayodhya and the lighting of countless lamps to celebrate good’s triumph over evil.

Through these interwoven narratives Diwali offers a heartfelt exploration of cultural identity, tradition, and spirituality, reminding viewers of the universal themes of hope and resilience celebrated during the festival Diwali.

Transcript

Diwali

Every autumn, Hindus like me celebrate the festival of Diwali or Deepavali, which means “row of lights”. It happens on the days surrounding the night of the new moon that marks the end of the Indian month Ashwin and the beginning of Kartik, which is also our New Year. It usually falls somewhere in October or November. We prepare for Diwali by cleaning and decorating our homes and the Mandir, and we buy new clothes to wear, and presents for our friends and family.

So every year we come to the temple because it's our second home. It's nice to celebrate Diwali together with friends and family.

I celebrate Diwali, or Deepavali as it's called in southern India and Sri Lanka, by coming to the temple and celebrating the festival with all of my friends, and just enjoying the serenity of the temple.

It's a time for relaxation, eating, cleaning the house, doing some thorough cleaning because it's a very auspicious time.

So you visit your parents, you visit your in-laws, and all get together to celebrate this as a family get-together.

I celebrate Diwali by me and my family coming to the temple to gather and meet other families who are also celebrating this festival.

It's really nice seeing everyone taking part in the temple festivals, and sharing food afterwards is always a highlight!

Diwali marks the end of the harvest and the beginning of the New Year in India. We celebrate the victory of good over evil, light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance. Diwali also commemorates an important event as told in a story called the Ramayana.

Long ago and far away in the land of Kosala, King Dasharatha ruled over his subjects from the city of Ayodhya. He was a good king, but he was getting old and looking forward to handing over his responsibilities to Prince Rama, the son of his first wife. But he had three wives and the youngest, Kaikeyi, had other ideas. Kaikeyi had once saved Dasharatha’s life, and in return, he'd promised to give her whatever she wanted, thinking that she would ask for jewels or expensive clothes. But Kaikeyi had waited for the right time to claim the king's promise, and now she gave him her demands: Prince Rama to be banished from the kingdom for 14 years, and her son crowned as king in his place. Dasharatha was horrified, but Kaikeyi was his wife, and a promise was a promise. Rama always obeyed his father, so he agreed to leave the kingdom and live alone in exile. But Rama's devoted wife Sita and his half-brother Lakshmana insisted on going with him. So together, they went to live in the Panchavati forest. After the palaces and gardens of Ayodhya, it seemed a terrible place: dark, forbidding, full of wild animals and dangerous demons. But Rama was an expert archer, and with his bow and arrows he protected Sita. They built a little cottage in a clearing, and lived on the fruit and vegetables that grew in the forest. Ravana, the demon king, lusted after Sita and was determined to make her his queen. And whatever Ravana wanted, he usually got. He had ten heads and all of them were ugly. He had 20 arms and carried a sharp, jagged and deadly weapon in each one. Even other demons were frightened of Ravana, but he had no hope of kidnapping Sita while she was under Rama's protection. So Ravana enlisted the help of a shape-shifter called Maricha.

One day, Sita looked out of the cottage window to see a beautiful golden deer crossing the forest clearing. She was afraid it would be killed by a wild beast, so she begged Rama to go out and bring the deer back to the cottage. Rama suspected a trap, so he told Lakshmana to look after Sita while he was gone, and rushed off after the deer. But a few minutes later they heard Rama's voice crying out for help. Sita was distraught, so Lakshmana told her to stay in the cottage where she'd be safe, grabbed his bow and ran out into the forest to find Rama. So far, Ravana’s plan was going perfectly. Maricha had transformed into a deer and drawn Rama out of the house. Then she doubled back to the cottage and imitated his voice, calling for help. Lakshmana had taken the bait and now the coast was clear. There was a knock on the cottage door, and Sita peeped out to see someone wearing a long orange robe. It was a holy man. So she opened the door and stepped out. But then the man threw back his hood and Sita screamed. All ten of Ravana’s faces were leering down at her. Rama and Lakshmana returned to find Sita gone,but Jatayu, the vulture, told them that he'd seen Ravana carrying Sita off to his fortress on the island of Lanka, which was protected by an army of demons and surrounded by a stormy sea. Hanuman, the monkey hero, went on a daring mission to the island to spy on Ravana. He found where Sita was being held prisoner, gave her Rama's ring and told her not to lose hope - a rescue would be coming soon. But Ravana’s demons caught Hanuman before he could get away and set light to his tail. Hanuman wriggled free and jumped from rooftop to rooftop, his tail setting fire to the fortress. The demons panicked, and while they rushed around with buckets of water, Hanuman put out his tail and made his escape from the island. Rama, Lakshmana and Hanuman's army of monkeys made their way to the shore and looked out across the sea. They were ready. The monkeys built a magic bridge of floating stones, and the army charged across it towards Ravana's fortress. The battle was fierce, but the demons soon fell back under Rama's attack. Ravana fought viciously, all 20 arms, whirling all 20 weapons and dealing death in every direction. Rama aimed his bow and loosed an arrow. It pierced Ravana's heart and killed him instantly. Rama rushed to be with Sita, and together with Lakshmana and the triumphant army, they travelled back to the kingdom of Kosala. The 14 year exile was over and people lit the streets with lamps to welcome Rama back to Ayodhya. Their rightful king was home.

So Diwali is when Rama and Sita returned to their hometown Ayodhya from their 14 years of exile. So it's kind of like a celebration of joy and togetherness, and it's kind of celebrating them coming back to us.

It's because the village or kingdom where Rama and Sita lived - they really missed Rama and Sita when they were sent to the forest for 14 years, so they lit lamps to guide their way because they really wanted their dear Rama and Sita back.

So lighting diyas is a symbolic event. It's about lighting the way for Rama and Sita and remembering what they told us in their moral acts, but also to light the way forward in our lives as well, and ward off all evil.

We also put diyas in our windows and doorways to welcome the Goddess Lakshmi into our homes.

We worship Goddess Lakshmi during Diwali because she's the goddess of wealth and prosperity, so we worship her.

And particularly in this time of year, we like to look towards her, and pray for her as well, as she brings love, light and prosperity to families.

Lakshmi is usually shown wearing a red sari which is a lucky colour in India. She'll be standing in a lotus flower which symbolises purity, and there are often showers of gold coins falling from her hands to represent good fortune, which we ask her to bless us with for the coming year. At home and in the mandir, we do Lakshmi Puja - when we make offerings and say prayers to Lakshmi. And she's also linked to the story of the Ramayana because we believe that Sita was Lakshmi in human form.

A rangoli pattern is a design that's created with coloured rice powder, and it's really nice to have those in front of your houses or temples as they welcome God into your home, and it shows how much love you have for God.

It's done typically in the mornings. The house-members will clean the front of the house to kind of ward away all evil and dirt, and create a nice rangoli pattern to welcome guests, and also welcome love, light and prosperity to their house.

Celebrations continue long into the night with lots of good food, and fireworks!

Fireworks are often used for celebration, which once again ties into the fact that Diwali is like a big celebration of the light in our lives.

Diwali means having new beginnings for me. As I get to come to temple and I get to spend time with people, and that means that I get to have, like, that light that illuminates the darkness. I think for us, it changes every year, but the one thing that stays the same is kind of togetherness. So we always meet up with friends and family wear our traditional Indian clothes, eat some nice Indian food, and just have a good time.

Diwali for me means good overcoming evil, light coming into darkness. We have a beautiful prayer called asato ma sadgamaya tamaso ma jyotirgamaya - lead me from darkness into light.

Deepavali for me means giving myself and my family a fresh start. And this is shown through lighting the lamps and getting rid of the darkness, and also coming together at the temple with my friends and family.

It's just very fun - lighting of the sparklers, and lighting the diyas and everything together.

I think it's just such a celebration of love and light and joy. I think it's really enjoyable.

Diwali

Video length - 10.46

Published date - Sep 2024

In this film we explore Jewish perspectives on climate change through the lens of religious teachings and ethics. Judaism emphasises the concept of Tikkun Olam—the responsibility to repair and care for the world. The Jewish faith teaches that humans are stewards of God’s creation, tasked with preserving the environment for future generations. Jewish commitment to sustainability is an important value and the avoidance of waste (Bal Tashchit), and the moral obligation to act in ways that reduce harm to the planet is integral to the religion. Through these core values, the Jewish tradition calls for proactive efforts to combat climate change, emphasising both individual responsibility and collective action to protect the Earth for all living beings.

By linking spiritual values with environmental activism Climate Change: Judaism shows how faith can inspire a greener, more sustainable future.

Transcript

Climate Change: Judaism

Rabbi Mark Goldsmith: Jewish teachings start with the idea that humanity has a responsibility to nature and to the environment around us. Our foundation story has the idea of a human being being created and then being given responsibility for the animals, for the birds, for the trees, for all the nature around them. The idea being that they're not simply a user of nature, they're a steward of nature. What we mean is that I am responsible for something. It's a little bit like you're looking after somebody at school who's new doesn't know what to do. You steward them through the day, help them to know what to do. And it's a little bit like that with nature. We steward it, we look after it, we consider it to be our responsibility.

So our Jewish teachings then continue from there. One of them that I feel is incredibly strong is the idea of bal taschit. This is the concept that as a person, you shouldn't destroy things. And that could be destroying fruit trees. And in fact, when it comes up in the Torah, that's exactly what the idea of bal taschit is about. It's set at the time of war, when you would have thought that destroying the enemy's fruit trees would be a really good idea, because then what are they going to eat? But you're not meant to do that because those fruit trees are a legacy for all humanity. Another big Jewish concept is tikkun olam, which asks the question, what are we here for? Literally, what are we here for as human beings? And we have a concept in Judaism that we are partners with God in the repair of the world, that the world was not left absolutely perfect. Instead, there were parts of the world that don't function too well, and we know that we experience it in our lives, whether it be through illness, whether it be through degradation of the environment around us. So what's our job? Le tikkun from which comes the word tikkun, which means to repair olam, the world, the universe. So what can we do to do that? And we all know that some of the choices that we make, the choice perhaps to walk to school or walk to work or take the bus rather than put another car on the road with all its emissions, will help to repair the world. The choice to be an environmental scientist and come up with great discoveries as to how we can make a difference to the future, that is, tikkun olam. But honestly, it can be as little as this package. Now, I'm not going to throw it away into a regular bin. I'll take it home and put it in the recycling. That's a little bit of tikkun olum.

In the Torah. In the book of Leviticus, there is a wonderful idea. The idea is, number one, that every seven days you need to have a day of rest. But it's not just for you as a person. That's the Shabbat we call it, or the Sabbath. You also don't do new creative work. You don't use much of the Earth's resources. You reduce the impact you have on the world, and you do that by choice. But then came the idea that every seven years we should let the lands do the same. In the ancient land of Israel. Every seven years the land wouldn't be farmed for a year. Just whatever grew naturally would be picked. But we wouldn't exploit the land. And what that enabled the land to do was for the earth to begin to recover, for the soil to recover, to be more productive for the future, because it had had the chance to rest in the current state of Israel. There were quite a few farms which still do this practice called the Shmita year. You don't plow, you don't use all the intensive techniques you would normally use to get the most out of the land, and you just pick what naturally grows there, and that's that. And then the following year you go back to your regular techniques of agriculture or whatever you need. In Judaism, there is a key prayer that every Jew is meant to say twice a day. It's called the Shema, and for us it's a declaration of one God, but especially that that one God therefore means there's a unity in all of creation, that everything is one. Everything impacts on each other. And in the Shema, in its second paragraph, it says that if you don't behave well, then the rains may not come. And we used to think, well, it doesn't really work like that, does it? But now we know there's really some truth in that, the way that humanity. And I'm not just talking about Jews. I'm talking about all of us. Behave and treat. Our planet does make a difference to the weather that we experience, and we can make a change for the positive. So eco synagogue is part of eco Judaism, and that's the idea that Judaism in our day, has got to be really responsive to the crisis of climate change, to making a difference. We do it because we want to encourage all Jews to be better environmental citizens looking after our planet better.

We're about to reach the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, and on Rosh Hashanah there is a tradition called tashlich, which is where you go to a local water source and you throw bread on the water, and the bread is meant to represent your sins, the things you've done during the year that you really regret, that you want to change for the next year and behave better. So a brilliant organization called Repair the Sea came up with an idea to unite Jewish communities all around the world, and they call it Reverse Tashlich. Why not, instead of putting something into the water, we clean up the water. They call it repair the sea, because it doesn't matter if it's a tiny brook or it's a big river, or if it's the seaside itself. Everything flows into the sea and we know our seas are becoming more and more polluted. So what we're going to do as a synagogue is we're going to a local water source in a park, which we know eventually flows into a river, and that river flows into the sea. And we're going to clean it up. And through cleaning it up as we come to celebrate the Jewish New Year. We are trying to make the world that little bit better. Our Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah tradition, has the idea that it is ha-yom harat olam the day on which the earth was conceived as if it's the earth birthday. So what better birthday present to give to the world than to clean up a local river.

Volunteer 1: We're here today in Watling Park, cleaning up the Silk Stream, which feeds into the River Thames ultimately and part of Thames 21 initiative to, you know, just to clean up the waterways. But here today, representing eco Judaism as part of our core ethos, really, of being responsible communities and caring for our environment. We want to repair the world not just through good deeds, but through environmental action, to really get our community to think more about it.

Volunteer 2: So I feel this is a lot more meaningful than throwing breadcrumbs into the stream. It's so satisfying being able to clean up a park where I live is so important because it makes me feel home, and it also makes me appreciate the nature around me.

Volunteer 3: It feels so special to be involved in something like Reverse Tashlich today with the members of the community on such a beautiful day. It makes me feel that I'm doing something good not just for myself, not just for the members of my community, but for the wider community as well. Also, it focuses me on how much rubbish we as humans throw away, how much we pollute this beautiful, wonderful planet, and particularly this beautiful park.

Volunteer 1: It's really wonderful to be here today. It's just a lovely community activity, something to do with like minded people really feel like you're making a positive impact on the local environment and just it's very healing as an individual as well as actually for the place that we're cleaning up. So it was so great to be here today, and there were some young people in the park and they saw what we were doing, and they immediately wanted to help and took some of the litter tools and helped us clean the park.

Volunteer 3: It is really important for the Jewish tradition, for Jewish faith to care about the environment. There are lots of laws and commandments starting from the Torah by taking care of the world around us. My favourite one is the Midrash from the book of Ecclesiastes Rabbah, and that Midrash talks about God taking Adam by hand and taking him through the Garden of Eden. Beautiful place. And he shows him different beautiful trees, beautiful plants, and says, look how beautiful this place is. Look after it. Do not destroy it, because if you do, there will be no one else to repay it.

Climate Change: Judaism

Video length - 10.02

Published date - Sep 2024

Meet Brother Matthew, he is a Carmelite Friar. Check out the daily routine of his life as friar. We’ll see his commitment to a life of prayer, contemplation, and service. Carmelite friar’s spend their time doing early morning prayers, time spent in quiet reflection, communal meals, and work dedicated to both spiritual and practical tasks. The friars balance their contemplative practices with efforts to help the community, embodying their deep devotion to their faith and spiritual discipline.

Transcript

Brother Matthew: Hello, I'm brother Matthew, I'm a Carmelite friar here in the UK, and that means I live in a community with other friars. So a friar is a man who is drawn to serve God and to live according to a certain set of rules in the Roman Catholic Church. A priory is just a word we use to describe the place where friars live. So the word friar comes from the Latin word frater, which means brother. And I think overall that describes perfectly how we relate to one another in the community. Monks and friars are quite different. Monks live in monasteries and generally you'll find monasteries out in the countryside a long way away from towns and cities, whereas friars, you'll find our prior is in the middle of towns, in the middle of cities. And for us that's really important, not only because we rely on the generosity of others, but because of our ministry we really see ourselves as ministering in the midst of the people, sharing our experiences of God, but also being there so people can share their experiences with us.

So different priors do have different timetables, but here in Aylesford I get up at 6:30 usually. So normally when I wake up I just go and have a shower straightaway, and once I'm dressed, I'll go down to our community kitchen and make a cup of tea. I'll usually then come back up to my room with my cup of tea and do my first prayers of the day, which we call the Office of Readings. And really, we can do it at any time. But I like to do it first thing because it really sets me up for the day.

As a Carmelite, we wear this habit and it helps us to be identified as Carmelite. So the Carmelite habit is made up of a brown tunic, a brown scapular which is like the apron at the front and the back, the hood, which we call the capuche. And then it's tied together at the waist with a leather belt. On special occasions or big events, will also wear a white cloak over the top. And here in the UK, the Carmelites have also got another name which is the White Friars, and that comes from that white cloak. I think for me, as I put the habit on, it reminds me that I am doing something different and that I am called to do something different. On those occasions where I do walk down the street to get some funny looks, but then you realise sometimes you forget why, and then you look down and realise that you're not wearing the latest trend. So we wouldn't wear our habit all the time, but we would usually wear it when we are together and praying. So morning prayer, evening prayer, mass. And I think it's one of those great symbols of something that unites us as brothers together, but also in our ministry and serving in the church together. Morning prayer here at Aylesford is at at 8 a.m., and it's the first opportunity we have together as a community to gather in the chapel and the chapel is just another word, another place of worship. Is it usually a little bit smaller than the church. And morning prayer here at Aylesford is open to everybody, not just the friars.

Friars: Oh God come to our aid. Oh Lord make haste to help us.

Brother Matthew: And it consists of a hymn, some psalms, a short reading from Scripture, and then some intercessions, some prayers. Now, as brothers, we all have different ministries, and some are called to serve as priests, and some are called to serve in different ways. But really what's most important for us is that we are brothers. We are all that family together. So all friars are men and we live in communities of men. That integral part of being a friar. I suppose the female equivalent of a friar is a sister or a nun.

Brother Matthew: And the Carmelite Order takes its name from Mount Carmel in the northwest of the Holy Land. It's a mountain and around the 13th century. So in the 1200s, a group of men, we think maybe pilgrims or crusaders returning home, settled on Mount Carmel to live a life of prayer. And they settled near a place called the Well of Elijah. And they really took the spirit of Elijah as their role model. So Elijah was a prophet in the Old Testament, and he spent a lot of time in silence alone with God, discovering that relationship with God, but also going out and ministering and being a prophet to the people as well, taking what he learned from that silence to the people.

So morning prayer is usually half an hour. So around 8:30 we'll leave the chapel and go to our ministries, go to our work. It could be meeting those that have come to visit us, celebrating mass, giving retreats or just meeting people. But overall, they're just ways in which we serve the community and we serve the church and we serve God. I'm studying at the moment, so my work would generally be reading for essays, writing essays, or I might have a class that day.

All friars take vows, and vows are promises that we make to God. I haven't made the vow of silence, but as a Carmelite friar, I've made a vow of poverty, chastity, and obedience. The vow of poverty means that I don't own anything. Before I joined, I had a car. I had a job. I was earning money. I had a laptop and things. When I joined and made my vow of poverty, I gave up those things. It doesn't mean I threw them away. It just means that what I now have, I share with my brothers. Overall, I think it's just been really conscious of not using the word mine. I've made the vow of chastity, which means I will always be single. I'll never have a partner. I'll never get married. Now, the vow of chastity doesn't mean that I can't love. But it means that I'm called to love everybody equally. The vow of obedience is a promise to do as I'm told to do as I'm asked by the brother who's been chosen in my community to be in charge, obedient to the brother who is in charge of all the friars in the country, and obedient to the friar, the brother who has been chosen to represent us in the world. I also vow to be obedient to the church and most importantly, to be obedient to the will of God. It's living a life that allows me to be really fulfilled, trusting that those who have responsibility over me have my best interests at heart. The vows don't just come from anywhere. We find them in the Bible, and we find them specifically in the life of Jesus. And so we try to imitate that life in really concrete ways.

So at midday, we gather together for mass, and mass is a celebration of who we are as Catholics, gathering together to celebrate this great gift that we have, where God becomes present to us in the bread and wine. Jesus says in the Bible, this is my body, this is my blood. And the mass we really celebrate those words as God becomes truly present to us. Another word for Mass is Eucharist, and Eucharist is a word that just means thanksgiving. And it's a time for us to give thanks to God in the way that Jesus showed us during his life. And here at Aylesford, when we have school groups or visitors, mass is open to everybody. Everybody is welcome to that community to remember that God is at the centre. And after mass is always a great opportunity then to chat to those people that have joined us as we go back out into our world.

At 1:00, we join together in our big dining room and we have a meal together. We have lunch together. Most of our meals are quite simple. That vow of poverty again, of not having always what we want, but just what we need. Living by our means. Living simply. After lunch we go into midday prayer. But it's not really a midday it's at 2:00 after midday prayers, which are about 15 minutes. We would return to our work and our ministries, so around 2:30 there's usually one brother on duty, so they would hear confessions of people visiting or give tours around the grounds of groups, give talks, reflections.

The process to become a friar is a long one. It takes around 5 to 7 years and we call that period initial formation. There are set stages of formation, but overall it's a constant process of speaking to others, listening to others, praying and trying to work out what God is asking of us and we call this discernment. It begins with what we would call a pre-novitiate. So that someone who is going to be a novice and it's a time of openness, discernment, where someone will come and live alongside the community and live in the style of a friar. After that period of time, they may ask to become a novice, to move into what we call the novitiate. And it's not just that person asking the community, but also the community deciding amongst themselves is this person a good fit? The novitiate then is a really intense year of prayer, where we live the life of a Carmelite friar, learning more about the tradition and the history, but also our role within the church and building that relationship with God. At the end of the novitiate, the year of being a novice. And if you still feel called to live this way of life, you would ask the community if you could take these vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. We call this Simple Profession, and that's the stage of formation that I'm in right now. Most friars like myself will go through a course of philosophy and theology, and it's so we're really equipped to answer those questions that people will ask us. At 6:30, the community will gather again for evening prayer.

Evening prayer will be around 15 minutes, but we go up to 7:00 and spend an extra 15 minutes in silence together. It's not the same as sitting in silence on your own. There's something really different about sitting in silence with other people. We work together. We laugh together. We talk together. But also we listen together and we pray together. After that silent time, we go up to the community kitchen and we will have supper together. Some will make sandwiches or eat the leftovers from lunch. After that, we're sort of free. Then we might watch TV in the TV room or sometimes we'll just sit around the kitchen table and chat. Living in a religious community is just like living in a family. You have those moments together, but moments on your own. But you know that in whatever you're doing, you are supported. It's not always easy, though, and they say that you can choose your friends, but you can't choose your family. And sometimes community life is a bit like that. I think it's the way of life that allows me to be exactly who I am. This is a way of life that isn't very fast, and it doesn't ask us to go after the next big thing, but it's just been able to stop and think just one thing. Yes, this is good and I'm happy. I wonder how many people can say that about their lives and about their work, but also it's just the freedom to be completely comfortable with who I am.

A Day in the Life of a Carmelite Friar

Video length - 12.06

https://understandinghumanism.org.uk/

One Life, Live it Well, featuring Alice Roberts, explores the humanist approach to living a fulfilling life. Comparing our lives to a piece of string, with a beginning and an end, this short animation emphasises the ways non-religious people might shape what lies in between and find happiness and meaning in their lives. Highlighting the arts, science, health, relationships, and human rights as the ingredients of a good life, it explores the importance humanists place on freedom, responsibility, and connections, and how they believe we might live life to the fullest and leave something behind after we are gone.

One Life, Live it Well

Video length - 02.36

Published date - Jul 2024

21-year old Obaida recounts his journey from war-torn Syria to finding safety and a new life in the UK. Forced to flee at a young age, he navigates the challenges of being a refugee in Jordan before finally resettling in the UK.There, he discovers a peaceful and welcoming society. Now a youth ambassador, Obaida advocates for fellow refugees, challenging stereotypes. and fostering hope.This film captures the resilience of the human spirit and the power of compassion.

This film was produced with the help of Kent Refugee Action Network (KRAN).

Transcript

Refugee Stories: Obaida

Obaida Hi.

Shazia Hi. Are you okay?

Obaida Yeah.

Shazia How are you feeling about this interview?

Obaida Um. Confident.

Obaida My name is Obaida. I'm 21 years old. I'm originally from Syria.

KRAN And we ask questions. Have you. Do you know a friend as a refugee? Have you met a refugee? Most of them. They haven't. No.

Obaida I think the media has a huge impact on the people here in the UK. It doesn't actually show. Like, why are these people leaving their country in the first place? Why they are risking their life, like on the boat and like crossing the Sahara desert, like, you know, the Mediterranean Sea. Why? Like they're doing this at the first place. All they show like this many of refugees have arrived. I now work with KRAM as a youth ambassador to raise young people's voice, especially young refugees and asylum seekers. When I arrived in the UK, I was 15 years old. I had like two different childhoods, one in Syria and one in the country I fled to, which is Jordan. I was six and a half, seven years old when the war started in Syria. I saw, like, you know, my neighbor holding a gun and start shooting, and people. First I thought like, that was just like a joke because I had a gun before, but it was like a plastic toy. So I thought that was like a similar thing. I remember like, I was upstairs with my brother and my brother is quite tall, so he was standing in front of the wall looking outside and like, no, there was a bullet. Like it was that that near piercing his head. It was just above his head. And I was like really shocked. And he was really shocked, but he didn't want to show it to me. And after that, and we never went off like on the roof again. My parents didn't allow us to go near the windows as well. Just like to stay safe. And yeah, that that's the most horrific thing I would say happened. My family is Muslim and we lived in a neighborhood where most of them are atheist. They were against us. My dad, he lived in the neighborhood for 20 years.

He knew everyone of them like they were friends. But once the war started, they just, like now changed completely. And they said like, no, because we know you for like 20 years. We give you a chance to leave first thing in the morning. My dad said we need to leave. So we called the bus. A small van. Yeah, we just left everything behind and moved on. And we went straight to Jordan. And we started our life from zero again. In many countries, Syrians boys like no one girls do work. And at early ages, when I was in Jordan, I used to work when I was 12, 13 years old to support my family. Studying it was pointless for me because I knew there was no future for me. And in Jordan, I used to work in a supermarket where I just tidied up things and like, you know, sell goods and things. And the funny part was, whenever someone like police comes looking for Syrians, I'll just like, pretend I'm a customer or take something and buy it and go out. It was fun lifestyle, but dangerous because anytime I was age of getting arrested and like, you know, I have to pay a bill, I'm pretty sure my family couldn't have afford that. I stayed in Jordan for seven years. My family were registered in the UNHCR. They called us, said like your family name is on the settlement scheme. Would you like to go to America? And we were thinking, yes, of course, like any place where we have a future at least. After one year, Donald Trump happened, he said like, no, no more refugees anymore in America. So we had to cancel that, not us. Like the UNHCR. We didn't have emails, nor letters and letters would take lots of time. So we were just always looking at our one phone. Probably seven months. They called us again and they said, there's a resettlement scheme happening right now. We put your family name on it. So we chose the UK. My parents weren't happy because of the culture difference. They were thinking about UK is like, you know, it's completely different to Jordan and Syria. Even though like, you know that life is expensive and difficult here, but they still have the culture, the like, you know, the religion. But they understood for us, the children like this is our future. When I was in Jordan, I used to watch hours of movies and especially Harry Potter. And so when I, when I heard the UK and England, I was like thinking, oh like, you know, flying brooms and like, you know, magic wands and that's, that's different life like, you know, there and I'll be a part of it. Uh, but unfortunately, when I arrived to the UK, um, none of that was true.

My first impression is like how peaceful the country is. And everyone here is equal. How everyone has here, here has an opportunity to continue the future, to have a better life, a decent life, I would say. That's what every refugee dream of. When. When I arrived, I was thinking probably because my race, my color, which is like completely different to white people, I would find it difficult. If I remember correctly, my first day was going to KRAN, where I studied some English there and elderly man stopped us and said like, where are you from? We were like, we are from Syria. I was really thinking like, you know, something bad will happen. But he said, oh, welcome, and you are here now. You are safe. And I really felt welcomed that day. How can I support this country? Support. Like, you know, the people living in this country. When I was in Jordan, all I thought about is like, you know, having a decent life and never thought of having a luxurious life, having, like, you know, a phone all I wanted, just like, you know, wake up in the morning, have a normal, like, breakfast, go to school, study something I like. When I arrived in the UK, I found all of that when I was in Jordan, I didn't plan anything for my future. But until I arrived to the UK, where I was secured and safe, I start thinking about my future, which is it took me a while to understand how important it is and carrying on with my life. For me, the word refugee means a lot. When I was in Jordan, I was called a refugee. It really annoys me. It's the conception of people have made about refugees. Like refugees are bad. Refugees are like, no, they are taking your job. You know you're the country. But Refugees are just like normal people are looking for shelter for like decent life who couldn't live in their country and they just moved away. And I think this has been in all human nature, like people are just moving around like, you know, for better, better life. If you see someone from a refugee background or if you notice he's he's struggling or she is struggling, just go give him this small motivation like, you know, this small push from you because you don't know what they've been through. But that small smile from your mind, like know, made their day. Who knows? Probably you are the reason. Like they achieve their full potential. So yeah, it's been it's been like in, in the past for me. The UK is my home country now. And to be honest, the home for me is like family and people around me. I would hope when they see things are better in Syria. But now, yeah, I would never go back because I know it will never be the same as before. And here I have found my life and have found my future.

Refugee Stories: Obaida

Video length - 08.50

Randy, a 19-year-old from Managua, Nicaragua, escapes political unrest and finds himself alone and uncertain in the UK. Forced to leave his family, he navigates the complexities of seeking asylum, experiencing fear and hope along the way. Amidst the challenges, Randy discovers a supportive community and a newfound sense of safety. As he adapts to life in Guildford, his dreams of studying physiotherapy in Liverpool take shape, symbolizing his resilience and determination to build a new life far from home.

This film was produced with the help of Big Leaf Foundation.

Transcript

Refugee Stories: Randy

Randy: My name is Randy I'm 19 years old and I'm from Nicaragua. I'm from Managua which is the capital of Nicaragua. I lived in a neighborhood with my family, which are my parents and my sister. One of my favorite memories is playing in my hometown with my friends, playing football in the streets, playing hide and seek. Yeah. My childhood was really nice. So when I was 13, I realized that there was a bigger issue in the political side of my country. Basically, I didn't realize that we had a dictatorship in 2006 and I was just living a normal life. But from 2018 and onwards, I just knew how bad the country situation was in terms of political government. It all started with the pension scheme change for the elderly, and then it started with the way that the government was managing the situation with the people protesting. These protests started being done by the university students and they were amazing. I attended many of them. Everything started to change when we realized that the government was putting people in jail, or even murdering people just because of the political situation. Unluckily, me and my family were living in a neighborhood which is mostly associated with this party. There are many people that work in the government and for the government, and that makes us in danger most of the time. I was 17 years old when I left Nicaragua.

This decision was made mainly by my parents, and I wasn't happy with the decision, but I knew that it was a thing that I had to do to be safe. I traveled by plane alone from Nicaragua to my next destination. I felt really scared and sad when I left by my own, because I didn't know what to expect of the new place that I was going to live in without my family. I lived in America for around two months with my cousins. We were undocumented. And at that moment my parents were going through a difficult economical situation, so they couldn't afford supporting me in the country. That was the reason why my cousins wanted me to work illegally. Which makes me feel less safe and made my parents should take the decision to send me to the UK. I took a plane from Miami to London, and throughout the journey I felt scared because I was going to claim asylum at the airport, and that made me feel frightened of what was going to happen. I was thinking that I could get rejected, that I could get deported back to Nicaragua or something like that. At the airport. The first thing I said to the officer was that I wanted to claim asylum in the UK. They put me into a room with more people trying to claim asylum. When I was in the room, I was looking at the window and I saw these people just coming into the UK or returning to the UK, feeling happy about it.

When I was feeling so scared of what was going to happen to me, and I had the uncertainty of not knowing what was going to happen. So it was a mix of emotions at that moment. When I arrived to the UK, I was 17 so I was still a child and child services had to take care of me. When a child service officer was driving me to my new location, I felt really relieved because I was more focused on getting to know the place, emersing in a new culture, and realizing the fact that I was in a completely different continent. I was just surprised about the fact that the UK drives in the other side of the road. Also the way that the houses are built with these orange walls and everything. So I really like that. When I was told that I was going to move to Guildford, I didn't know that it was a place. But then when I got there, I like the place because it was a small town, which meant I could walk anywhere. In Guildford I live in a supported accommodation with other young people. I felt comfortable because most of the people were asylum seekers as well, so we were in the same situation and these people were my age or younger or a little older than me, so I was comfortable with them. So after claiming asylum, I had to wait for around nine months and throughout these nine months I only was allowed to study, not to work. Then after nine months, I have my first substantive interview, which is the main interview. When they decide if you reject it or you're accepted in your asylum application. Unfortunately, I was rejected. And that made me feel that everything ended. Fortunately, with the support of a lot of people, I was able to go through the appeal phase, which took around 6 to 7 months for the hearing.

In November of 2023, I was granted refugee status by the Home Office, and that made me feel so happy and so relieved about my future. I was lucky because I had access to everything now. I could live like a normal UK resident, I could work, I could have access to student finance because my dream is to go to university here. So I could do that now. Hopefully in September 2024 I will be starting the physiotherapy course at University of Liverpool. I've always wanted to become a physiotherapist, but in Nicaragua I don't think that I would have done it. I don't think that it was going to be the pathway that I was going to choose, mainly because of the lack of opportunities to be a physio in Nicaragua. So if I would have stayed in Nicaragua, it was going to be the dream that I wasn't going to achieve. I miss my country, I miss Nicaragua, I miss my culture, my food, my family, my friends is just what you grew up with. And it's something that stays with you your whole life. My relationship with Big Leaf started one day after I moved to Guilford. I was just walking around Guilford, and then I received a text message from a number. Basically was just saying if I wanted to go to some music lessons and I didn't know how they got my number. But then I realised that my social worker gave them my number. I decided to go to the lessons, and I really liked the lessons, and I really like the way that they were treating me. I volunteer with Big Leaf in the Big Leaf Refugee Week, mainly in the organization of the event. After that, I've been doing some volunteering with them sometimes and some paid work sometimes. All of these experiences that I have with Big Leaf made me feel very proud of myself.

All of the achievement that I've done, being a young leader, being a volunteer now, being paid for my work and my contribution to the community, something that makes me feel very proud. I realized that I've been able to achieve things that I didn't know that I was able to. And yet, that just makes me feel happy. Being a refuge to me means being different, having to work hard every day. Giving yourself the permission to feel and knowing that you have the same opportunities as everyone. And you're equal to everyone, regardless of the ethnicity or your nationality. Now I have less worries compared to when I was living in Nicaragua or when I was living in America, because I feel more safe. I feel that my future is going how I want it to be, that I'm in the correct pathway to achieve my dreams. And I feel happy now.

Refugee Stories: Randy

Video length - 09.04

Join Janna on her exciting first pilgrimage to Umrah with her cousin Malaika and brother Deen! From London to the heart of Makkah, follow their journey as they explore the sacred Ka’bah, drink from the miraculous Zamzam Well, and run between the historic hills of Al Safa and Al Marwa. Experience the magic of midnight prayers, the beauty of Madinah, and the awe-inspiring Prophet’s Mosque. A heartfelt and inspiring adventure of faith, family, and unforgettable memories awaits.

Transcript

My First Pilgrimage

Janna: Hi, my name is Janna and I'm going on my first trip to Umrah, we're at the airport.

Shazia: And who are you going with?

Janna: Malaika.

Shazia: Who is Malaika?

Janna: She's my cousin and Deen, he's my brother.

Shazia: Say hi.

Malaika: Hi!

Janna: A pilgrimage is a journey to a special place and all Muslims should do a pilgrimage called Hajj once in their life. Which is when we go to a city called Makkah in Saudi Arabia. Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, which are five things that all Muslims have to do. Hajj is always done at a special time of the year. We can also do Umrah, which is a shorter pilgrimage that can be done at any time of the year. First step of Umrah is to make my Niyyah, which is when I say out loud that I intend to perform Umrah and get into this state of Ihram. Ihram is when we are in a state of purity and holiness. We wash and put on special clothes and we can't cut our hair or nails until we finished Umrah. We were flying from London, so I made my Niyyah and got changed on the plane. When we were close to landing at the airport in Jeddah.

Janna: We have landed in Jeddah. And I am wearing my Hijab and my Abaya.

Janna: Because you need to be modest to visit

Janna: Allah's subhanahu wa ta'ala house. I also got changed into my Abaya and hijab for Umrah.

Janna: I got changed in the aeroplane too. I'm wearing an Ihram, that is two white cloths.

Janna: Now I'm ready for Umrah. Let's go.

Janna: Then we travel to Makkah. I'm about to start my Umrah. We're about to see the Ka'bah. It's very beautiful. Makkah is where the Ka'bah is a cube shaped building covered in black cloth. Wherever we are in the world, Muslims always turn to face the Ka'bah whenever we pray. And I was right there. This is where we did Tawaf, which means to walk around the Ka'bah seven times anti-clockwise. We do this because that's what Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, did. After Tawaf, I stopped to pray. Then we went to drink some water from the Zamzam Well, which is right beside the Ka'bah.

Shazia: What are you having here, Janna?

Janna: We're going to have some Zamzam water. And it's very yummy.

Janna: Back when this was all a desert, we believe that Allah made this well appear so that Ibrahim's wife Hajar and the son Ismail wouldn't die of thirst. The next step is to perform Sa'y. This is walking or running between the two hills called Al Safa and Al Marwa seven times. We do this because that's what Hajar did when she was searching for water in the desert. There's a section that's lit up and green and men are supposed to run or jog this bit, women can run if they want to. So I did. I enjoyed running over with my dad and granddad.

Shazia: How are you feeling?

Janna: Good and excited.

Shazia: And exhausted!

Janna: Yeah and exhausted.

Janna: The final step of Umrah was to cut my hair. I only needed to cut off a small amount about a third of the length of my finger. This was to show that I wasn't in the state of Ihram anymore and my Umrah was finished. We did our Umrah in the middle of the night, even though it was very, very magical. It was still very tiring. Now I've had a few days to rest. I feel much better and I have lots of energy. Saying the five daily prayers is another one of the five pillars of Islam.

Janna: Even though we have completed our Umrah. We still need to pray five times a day. The prayers are Fajr, Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha. While we were in Saudi Arabia, we also went to Madinah, which is where the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, lived for a while and where he is now buried.

Janna: We traveled from Makkah to Madinah. It was a very long journey. We had lots of fun.

Shazia: What do you think of the Masjid?

Janna: It's very beautiful, the umbrella things go down and up. They're over there.

Janna: The reason why we visit Madinah is because it's the Prophet's sallallahu alayhi wa sallam city. And we are here to say salaam and pray at the Prophet's masjid.

Janna: Madinah was the first Muslim city, and the Prophet's Mosque or masjid is built where Prophet Muhammad used to live and where the first ever much smaller mosque was built. Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him Tomb is also here, so it's a very, very special place for us.

Janna: We've just prayed our last Maghrib here in Madinah. It's been amazing and wonderful time and I'm looking forward to doing it again with Malaika and Deen. Bye!

My First Pilgrimage

Video length - 06.28

Keystage(s) - 2 and 3

Meet Giles Goddard who is the Vicar at St John’s Waterloo. Giles is Gay and Christian, he explains his life journey and how he manages the ups and downs of being Gay in the Christian community. Giles has often felt conflicted throughout his life being gay and has faced many difficulties but through Christianity and the love of God he has found his true path in life. This documentary was created in partnership with the BFI during the BFI documentary residential 2024.

Transcript

Let Us Love

Giles: So I think for me, love is the life force, that's the core, really, of all that I'm preaching and all that I'm teaching and how I'm trying to get this congregation to live. Love is not just about being in a relationship. Love is friendship. Love is community. Love is warmth. And love is knowing that you're cared for and knowing that you're able to care for other people. Um. Love is long suffering. Love is patient. Love is kind. Love feels. It's about being fulfilled as a person. So my name is Giles Goddard, I'm the vicar of this church, Saint John's Waterloo, which is the church by the Imax in central London. I've been here for about 13 or 14 years, and I've been a vicar for about 25 years. When I was about 15, I became a much more committed Christian, and that was very, very good for a couple of years. But I discovered and this was a long time ago, this was back in the 1970s. After a while, I worked out that there seemed to be a conflict between my sexuality and my faith, and I was being told by the leadership that, you know, it wasn't okay to be an active gay person.

I kind of struggled with that for a bit. And then I decided, or it felt as though the Christianity that I thought I'd discovered wasn't what I was being offered. So I gave it all up and decided not to be a Christian anymore. Satisfied myself that God didn't exist. I was kind of living the life of a London gay man. Um, so there was a lot of clubbing. It was great, I enjoyed it. I'm not anti clubbing. Um, but it was all a bit. I felt a bit lost. I think it was quite hard to kind of form relationships and things and I and this was also during the Aids. It was when Aids was at its worst as well. And a friend of mine, actually, who I'd been at school with, said, I think you should come back to church. I certainly didn't go back with the intention of becoming a vicar. Um, but I felt that it was a place where I could be myself, and it felt like a place where I could make friends. I had other friends, but this felt like a kind of deep kind of friendship. But the vicar of the church that I was going to began to kind of talk to me about ordination, which is becoming a priest. Initially I was very resistant. I thought, why do I want to turn my life upside down? That would be completely crazy. And why would I want to be part of an institution that appears to be homophobic? So I resisted it for probably about a year. But once it planted the seed, the seed kept growing, and I really felt that more likely to be able to change an institution from within than from outside. So I actually met my partner in church. He came from abroad and he spoke to the chaplain of his university and said, I want an inclusive place of worship. I don't care if it's a mosque or a synagogue or a church. She said, you better go to Saint John's Waterloo. So we met in Saint John's and he's actually very involved here now. Um, so I feel kind of richly blessed. It's not always the case that your partner is supportive of this kind of thing, but he very much enjoys being part of it and brings a lot to the congregation. And I think we see this as a shared journey as well. So we're both trying to work out our faith and what it means.

So I think my sexuality has certainly affected the way I understand God and the way that I relate to God. I think when I was in my teens and I began to realise that being gay was a permanent state. Um, that was a huge challenge for me. And in the 1970s, it wasn't easy. I mean, it's not easy now, but it certainly wasn't easy then. Um, I think that gave in many ways. It gave me a sense of low self-esteem and not really feeling a low sense of self-worth. I think I didn't really understand the love of God at that stage either. And I think to become involved in Christianity when I was 15 or 16 was important because it gave me a sense of the loving God. But then, as I've said earlier, it also undermined my my sense of sexuality. I think I've learnt a lot since then, and I think in a way, being gay gives you a different understanding of how society works and gives you a different understanding of who you are. And I've had to work out how to integrate that with my faith. Um, so I think my faith has got deeper as a result. But it's been a difficult journey. Of course I have doubts. And of course I have.

I feel very challenged at times. Um, there are times that I feel very depressed, um, about the way the church is going. There are times when not so much now, but certainly in the past when I was more involved in these conversations, I used to find it very, very difficult when you're being told basically that you know, you're not acceptable as a Christian or indeed as a human being. And it's really difficult. And sometimes, you know, I have thought, I just want to give up on this and go and do a proper job, but that's the reality. So the advice that I give to a fellow Christian who's struggling with their sexuality is to find someone who could support them.

But the advice I'd really give us to come to Saint John's Waterloo, actually. But, um, if they don't live nearby, then, um, find a church which is welcoming and there are inclusive churches around the country that you can find or find a friend. Don't give up on God because God is the ground of our being. Different faith traditions, you know, have the same sorts of challenges. But within all those traditions, there are people who are struggling with their sexuality as well. Um, I've spoken to many Muslims and Jewish people and Hindus. Um, and within all of those different traditions, there are people who are working up the answers to the same sorts of questions that we've got. And God works in so many different ways. Um, so you don't have to be a Christian to understand God fully. Um, so my message, to the future is take action and be involved. Don't give up. Don't sit back, don't lose hope, but find people that you can work with. A million lights, a million little lights together can make one bright light. But if we don't have any of the little lights together. You don't get the bright light.

Let Us Love

Video length - 06.49

Published date - Apr 2024

Climate change is a global pressing issue. It affects everyone, irrespective of their religious beliefs. But in this film we are focusing on the viewpoints on the climate crisis from the Buddhist community. How does Buddhism tackle climate change and what are some of the steps they are taking help alleviate the problems we are facing.

Transcript

Climate Change: Buddhism

Sean: A Zen Buddhist is a tradition of Buddhism where there's a focus predominantly on meditation. The word Zen actually comes from a Sanskrit word, dhyana, and a Chinese word, chan, and it means meditation. So it's practicing Buddhism through meditation. Zen Buddhism Buddhism in general is not particularly a belief system. So Buddhism itself is kind of some guiding principles that are about people discovering their true nature. And the end result of that is to try and end suffering. So Buddha taught that life. Life is suffering. It contains suffering, old age, illness and death, and that there is a path through practice, through meditation, through how we live, whereby we can bring an end to the suffering we might experience. That doesn't mean that we won't die, but it means that we don't need to actually suffer. There is no distinction between it being the suffering of humans, or the suffering of plants, or the suffering of animals. As a practitioner of Zen Buddhism, my aim, as grand as it might seem, is to end the suffering of all beings. So you can't practice that without being concerned about nature.

David: Basically, from a Buddhist point of view. Humans and nature are completely interdependent, but isn't very much about that. All things are interdependent with each other. So if we if we harm the natural world, we are harming ourselves. If we take care of the natural world, then we're taking care of ourselves. It's very simple. Of course, the Buddha, when he became enlightened, he was meditating underneath a tree. So he had great respect for trees. And actually, in a lot of Buddhist countries, there are Buddhist movements protecting trees and protecting rivers and things. It's always been very important in Buddhism. We follow Tibetan Buddhist traditions, Himalayan Buddhist tradition. It's a very, very fragile ecosystem there. So the people that are extremely environmentally conscious, and that's all part of, you know, the Buddhist practice.

Bell: What I was saying earlier in my meditation to myself is nothing is anyone's and everyone is each other's. And I think that's a pretty spiritual way of looking at nature, I guess the oneness of it. That's what I'm trying to say. That there's no distinction between nature and you and you and nature and me and you and. Yeah, we've made distinctions and it's not very helpful.

Sean: Buddhism and activism. There's been a lot written about it, so a term that resonates with me is Engaged Buddhism. So what can be a Buddhist and sit on a cushion and meditate and kind of hope that being a good person influences other people, and that will happen and it will ripple out. But then there is also a practice of saying, is that enough? Do you also need to get off the cushion and be visible and be a voice that stands up? So not taking life is one of the Buddhist precepts, but standing by while other life is taken isn't something that aligns with that either. So many Buddhists. Might struggle a bit. Finding the balance. There's a balance between doing something that is ultimately spiritual and something that's just very practical and worldly. But the two of them can't really be separated. My teacher's teacher describes Zen as a sword that cuts two into one. So this is about bringing the ordinary everyday world and the spiritual together and not seeing them as two separate things. So to be a good Zen Buddhist and a good Zen Buddhist teacher, which is what I try to be. You can't do that on your cushion alone. Do it on the cushion, and you do it out in the street and in the real world where people aren't, and certainly Extinction Rebellion Buddhists. It's a great family of people from all different Buddhist traditions who are aligned in that thinking that we must do more than just meditate at home.

Bell: The overlap between climate activists and Buddhists. Big Venn diagram, big overlap there. I actually didn't know about the Extinction Rebellion Buddhist group until yesterday, and I have morphed over to it. And I've really enjoyed it. I found it really powerful because I automatically feel a connection to other bidders, even if I don't know them. There's a mutual understanding I feel at home. And to add on top of that, that everyone's here because they care about the climate. A lot of Buddhist ethics are about not doing harm, acting with deeds of loving kindness, being generous, being kind, being acting with integrity and authenticity. All of these things are the kind of things that everyone here is displaying, not just the Buddhists. I think Buddhists can bring something to climate activism that is needed. And I think that's this really beautiful way that we can display how we're channeling rage and anger into a peaceful and calm way of doing it.

David: I think it's everybody's responsibility to look after the planet. We can't leave it to the government because the government is just a really projection of the mind of all the people. So if people are not being environmentally conscious, we're not going to get an environmentally conscious government. Um, we all depend on each other. We depend on the animals, we depend on the plants, we depend on the whole ecosystem. Um, and we can't there's nobody up there who's going to do it for us. So unless everybody takes responsibility, it's not going to happen.

Climate Change: Buddhism

Video length - 06.08