Greta Thunberg to UN: “You Have Stolen My Dreams And Childhood”
16-year old Greta Thunberg criticized world leaders on Monday during a United Nations Climate Summit that they had stolen her dreams and childhood.
“This is all wrong. I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet, you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you!” said the Swedish activist as her eyes filled with tears. “You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. Yet, I am one of the lucky ones. People are suffering, people are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction. And all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth.”
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"You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words," climate activist Greta Thunberg tells the UN. "We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you." https://t.co/F5Umw55Y5Y pic.twitter.com/K0WxGCeU4A
— CNN (@CNN) September 23, 2019
Shortly after her speech, Thunberg and fiften other children filed a complaint against five countries - Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, and Turkey. The complaint alleges the five countries have violated their human rights by not taking action to stop the climate crisis by not upholding their obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Leaders from all over the world including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron are attending the summit. President Trump wasn’t scheduled to attend, but stopped by with Vice President Pence.
Greta Thunberg watched quietly as the U.S. President Donald Trump stole the show at the United Nations General Assembly, while the highly anticipated Climate Summit was taking place. https://t.co/5ig2mymjRw pic.twitter.com/7P9RR242Mm
— euronews (@euronews) September 23, 2019