Delivering a Conservation Message
Howard Zinn said, in 1970, “The problem with the World is not civil disobedience… The problem with the world is Civil obedience”. It is our duty as civilians to hold those in power accountable to their actions; to ensure a brighter future for our children and our children’s children. When we see actions that will compromise the planet that our children will inherit, it is our duty to speak up.
When I learned about the government of Jamaica’s plans to sell off part of the country’s largest Protected Area to a Chinese company to build a massive transshipment port, I was shocked. I recognize that the issue is complex, and I understand that the government has crippling debt. I understand that $1.5 billion in the bank is a tempting prospect. But by selling Goat Islands, the government of Jamaica is selling off a piece of all of our future.
I was asked to help those fighting the proposed development in Jamaica by generating international publicity around the issue. Essentially to shine the spotlight on the illegal actions of the Jamaican Government (for they will be breaking over a dozen laws by going ahead with the project) and hold them accountable. People wanted more transparency and accountability from the government, and they wanted to know why, of all possible locations, Goat Islands?
I published an article in National Geographic Newswatch, and contributed my images to stories published in the Guardian, Huffington Post and beyond. Any day now, CNN will be publishing an Op Ed piece on the issue.
Our target audience for our message is ultimately the Jamaican government. And so, to make sure they were hearing us loud and clear, on the evening of 3 June, 2014, we gathered a crowd outside the Embassy of Jamaica in Washington, DC, and projected images, messages, and video onto the front of the building.
Here are some video and images from the evening. Read the following Blog Post for more images and information about the project.
Projecting onto the Embassy of Jamaica in Washington, DC
