When most of the developed nations such as the United States, Sweden, Australia and many more seem unbothered about climate change, eleven year old Swedish girl Greta Thunberg starves herself, remains mum, speaks only through her parents and has been medically diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, high-functioning autism and OCD. Over and above, she suffers from depression and anxiety neurosis, caused by fears of fatal effects of climate change.
What’s more, Greta’s sister Beata also has Asperger’s syndrome, OCD, as well as ADHD and is affected by sudden outbursts of annoyance and rage when she screams at her mother. Life becomes indeed unbearable when the girl demands round-the-clock attention from her mother, as otherwise she would jump out of her apartment building.
But Greta is immune towards her critics who have labeled her as Asperger’s by responding towards it as a superpower and said, “when haters go after your looks and differences …… you know you are winning. However, here are a few of the allegations that were leveled against her right-wing lawmakers in the French Parliament.
- MPs Guillaume Larrivé and Julien Aubert of the conservative Republicans called for a boycott of the Swedish activist, labelling her a “prophetess in shorts”, Le Figaro reports.
- “To fight climate change intelligently, we do not need apocalyptic gurus, but scientific progress and political courage,” Mr Larrivé said.
- “We are invited to a prediction of Saint Greta Thunberg, surrounded by people who see global warming as a religion,” Mr Aubert told Le Figaro and added that Thunberg had no qualifications and used only emotive arguments, saying there was no debate to be had.
- Sébastien Chenu, a member of Marine Le Pen’s National Rally, also slammed the invite saying: “She has no legitimacy other than media, I do not see why I would go prostrate before her.”
- “She is a committed young woman, but she brings nothing to the debate, and is not enough to mask all the hypocrisy of the government. The members of the National Rally will not take part in this masquerade,” he added.
National Rally MEP Jordan Bardella, who was instrumental in leading the party to election victory in the European Parliament elections labeled Thunberg’s movement ‘a new form of totalitanism.
Greta’s Achievements
Greta has since become a global celebrity. She has recently been named one of the world’s 100 most influential people by Time Magazine. She has briefly met the Pope, who encouraged her to “Keep doing what you’re doing.”
She has received numerous awards, including, most recently, the German Golden Camera award. She has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. She has been featured and interviewed in most of the world’s leading media.
She has appeared on a panel with the UN Secretary General António Guterres, addressed the European Parliament, and lunched with the Financial Times.
“Is Greta the new Che Guevara?” asked the German TV-anchor Maybrit Ilner recently during a TV debate about the striking school children.
The Saga That Is Greta Thunberg
Greta Thunberg may be considered as the youngest and fiercest climate activists alive today. 20 August marked the first anniversary of the start of Greta Thunberg’s strike for the future.
It may be worthwhile taking a look back at the journey and changes Thunberg has seen in her incredibly powerful year in the limelight, fighting for everyone’s world like there’s no tomorrow.
How It All Began
Greta was 15 when she stood outside the Swedish parliament with a hand-painted cardboard sign that read ‘Skolstrejk för klimatet’ (School Strike for the Climate) and would continue to stand there every Friday till the media started taking notice. Slowly but surely her message began to spread. She handed out leaflets that read, “I am doing this because you adults are shitting on my future.” With sheer will and determination to make a difference, Thunberg kick-started what would grow into a global campaign for climate action.
