World Earth Day 2023: Till every inhabitant understands the damage we are causing to our Mother Earth...URGES Somy Ali

Just like every year, this year too, ‘World Earth Day’ is being celebrated on April 22. And this year marks the 53rd anniversary of the occasion. The idea to celebrate ‘World Earth Day’ is to make people aware of the issues concerning Mother Earth and join hands together to protect the environment. After having been a part of Bollywood films like ‘Krishan Avtaar’ (with Mithun Chakraborty), ‘Anth’ (with Suniel Shetty ), ‘Yaar Gaddar’, ‘Teesra Kaun?’, ‘Aao Pyaar Karen’, ‘Andolan’, ‘Mafia’, ‘Chupp’ and other films, the actress-turned-humanitarian Somy Ali, now runs her NGO called ‘No More Tears’. In an exclusive conversation with OTTplay, she shares her thoughts and ideologies on the occasion of ‘World Earth Day 2023’. Over to you, Somy...

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“First of all, we need to understand fully the damage we are causing to our Mother Earth in totality. Without this knowledge given to every inhabitant on our planet, nothing will change. This is because the percentage of people who care and are doing things to help our planet is vastly lesser than those who are oblivious. There are countless small things to start off with to help better our home/planet. Three basic things I practice are driving a hybrid vehicle, turning the water off when I am brushing my teeth, hence preservation of water, and using eco-friendly light bulbs. None of what I do is hard to practice nor is it rocket science. But, again, unless a layperson, a politician, someone with clout, and people in general universally are not significantly self-absorbed to ascertain the damage they are causing, nothing will change,” she says.

Somy also makes sure that she uses a single light bulb, and an eco-friendly one in the room. “I am utilizing that specific moment in my apartment. This in itself saves energy and is my small contribution to our home/earth. Littering is another huge problem that we must conquer particularly in the ocean as plastics kill ocean life. By now we should be aware of the mass amounts of plastic polluting oceans and other waterways. Plastic also kills terrestrial wildlife and harms the environment by killing land animals. There are numerous ways to respect and save our environment and another one I absolutely love and engage in is planting trees and volunteering to clean the beaches of all the garbage people disperse without giving it a second thought”.

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In the same breath, Somy added, “I am so proud of the people who initiate these campaigns and try their best to get people to partake in their mission. What baffles me is that these campaigns are not just helping a certain group of people, rather it is impacting the entire eight billion inhabitants on our planet. Yet, the disengagement and apathy is beyond my comprehension”.

And when asked about the measures that needs to be adopted to save the planet, Somy Ali said, “As with any issue, I urge people to speak up whether it's climate change, harming our environment or even any form of injustice committed against a child, woman or a man. Our voices have more power than we give it credit for and one voice speaking up will encourage others to speak up as well. This is a psychologically proven fact, thus, the first step is to speak up about the harm we are causing and simultaneously educate the public of the solutions.”

Having said that, she also emphasized the importance of educating people. In treh sense, what she meant was that it does not mean condescending to them or making them feel ashamed. No one will want to be a part of a workshop or a campaign where they are made to feel small or illiterate on a particular subject. On a parting note, Somy Ali said, “We must provide information and solutions with kindness and use ourselves as examples and how we too were unaware of the damage we were causing our planet. Only then will people care to listen not by deeming oneself superior than the rest who have not been engaging be it any issue. The point is that things will change with providing education through examples and demonstrations. We still have hope and the time to bring forth change and give our planet earth an immense amount of respect and love. It is never too late to do the right thing and that's a motto I choose to live by during my time on this planet”.