I Was Greta Thunberg
We fought different battles, 25 years apart, but the harassment we received is similar
In 1995, the French government commenced testing nuclear weapons in the French Pacific.
Those of us who were teenagers in Australia during this period grew up in an in-between time, politically. Sure, there were things happening in foreign countries — I vaguely registered hearing a lot about a place called “Chechnya” — but it felt like the developed world was stable.
In the naivety of youth, we believed life would always be this stable.
So when the newly elected French President declared that the country would be testing nuclear weapons in the Pacific, it felt… wrong. And totally unnecessary. Protests erupted worldwide. The South Pacific Forum threatened to expel France. There were embargoes on French wine and general condemnation from the global community.
I was 16 years old. A good student. I’d never been in trouble at school. I was a reader, mostly quiet — except, perhaps, in English and ancient history, my favorite subjects. I listened to a lot of Bad Religion — it was my kind of punk music because sure it was rebellious, but in an “I know big words and worry about the future” kind of way.
