My name is Lovisa. I am 23 years old and I live in Gothenburgh, Sweden. There, or here, I study environmental science and will hopefully continue to studies in human ecology.
Human ecology is rather hard to define as a subject. Maybe that's because it's hard to define us humans, and also ecology. What does it mean to be a human being in the 21st century, who lives in an environment? Human ecology can be the study of how humans relate to their enviroment and in all different ways we do so. The environment can be defined as natural, social or built, which according to me makes these studies even more interesting. It's broad, but it can also be very specific if you'd like.
I tend to and like spend quite some time to reflect about states/issues/situations that appear around me. I figured out it could be nice to write some of this down, and share it with you. I have no goal or bucketlist of subjects to embrace. I just have a lot of thougts that circulate, as most of us do! Often it has to do with interactions between people, or groups of people that I witness. Often it has to do with environmental problems, and how we as a local-regional-global society deal with them. Could this fit in the studies called "human ecology"?
I tend to and like spend quite some time to reflect about states/issues/situations that appear around me. I figured out it could be nice to write some of this down, and share it with you. I have no goal or bucketlist of subjects to embrace. I just have a lot of thougts that circulate, as most of us do! Often it has to do with interactions between people, or groups of people that I witness. Often it has to do with environmental problems, and how we as a local-regional-global society deal with them. Could this fit in the studies called "human ecology"?
Right now, there is a refugee-crises going on. This is how most media describe it. Why is it called "a crises"? I think, and hope it's because the countries of the European union have not yet been able to agree on how to handle the situation. Seeing it this way, the crises are in the hands of these countries, and not the refugees. But the most important reason behind calling this "a crisis", must be fact that millions of people today, are refugees. They have left their homes, with few belongings. The reasons behind this are many, and are all a part of a big system, consiting of many issues. War, shooting, killing, poverty, climate change.
Sweden have so far welcomed people here and the support for the refugees has been huge. This is amazing to watch. All of a sudden, it seemed like we were awakened and in some way confronted with a new reality.
But, here I would like to stop for a second, so that to make sure that we don't forget parts of the past. Sometimes, I think this happens to us in our fast moving society. We easily forget, not conciously, but still we do.
Sweden have so far welcomed people here and the support for the refugees has been huge. This is amazing to watch. All of a sudden, it seemed like we were awakened and in some way confronted with a new reality.
But, here I would like to stop for a second, so that to make sure that we don't forget parts of the past. Sometimes, I think this happens to us in our fast moving society. We easily forget, not conciously, but still we do.
I was reminded about the past quite recently. And when I talk about the past now, I don't mean years ago. I mean a few weeks ago, or even days. I was standing a crowded square here in Gothenburgh, to show my support for the refugees. It felt very important to be there at that time. I was focused, thinking a lot and also crying a little as I listened carefully to the speakers from different organisations and political parties. Then, my gut feeling tried to tell me something. Some people were walking around in the crowd begging for money. A lot of the begging people that you meet in the streets in Sweden today, come from Romania and are romani people. They have been here for a long time now. Many live under shelters outside, and they are very poor. And since they are poor, they have almost no rights to enjoy. They are a minority group and also a discriminated group in almost every country they are in. Sweden, as a country, has not taken care of these people. Their human rights have been away from them. There are some organisations, though, who are working to make their life a little easier.
Back to the gut feeling. Standing there, in the crowd, I felt happy that I could do such a little thing as showing my support, but at the same time I felt as if I had forgotten something. It was as if I was not being fully true to myself, or as if I had stepped away from the big picture for a while. But the beggers walking around in the crowd reminded me. We can't forget about the poor people that we see in the streets everyday. It is easy to do when the media choose to focus more on one group than another. The refugee crisis has been all over the media for the last weeks. It should not at all loose its importance, it has to stay important. It has to be in the media. But just as much as we focus on helping the refugees coming, we must not forget about the poor romani people, who beg in the streets here. They are, as I wrote before, a discriminated minority, and we can't let it stay this way. We have to remember them. We have to show them as much support as we show the refugees. We can't forget about them, just because they are a minorty, or just because media tend to put the majority of its focus on one crises.
Back to the gut feeling. Standing there, in the crowd, I felt happy that I could do such a little thing as showing my support, but at the same time I felt as if I had forgotten something. It was as if I was not being fully true to myself, or as if I had stepped away from the big picture for a while. But the beggers walking around in the crowd reminded me. We can't forget about the poor people that we see in the streets everyday. It is easy to do when the media choose to focus more on one group than another. The refugee crisis has been all over the media for the last weeks. It should not at all loose its importance, it has to stay important. It has to be in the media. But just as much as we focus on helping the refugees coming, we must not forget about the poor romani people, who beg in the streets here. They are, as I wrote before, a discriminated minority, and we can't let it stay this way. We have to remember them. We have to show them as much support as we show the refugees. We can't forget about them, just because they are a minorty, or just because media tend to put the majority of its focus on one crises.
Let's try to remember and see everyone. Say hi, smile, give something. It doesn't cost. I will try - let's try together.
Love and peace,
Lovisa
