Just as long as
the drought
doesn’t get worse.
Life has become really
hard in recent years.
The wind dries out
the trees.
It’s difficult to find food.
All in all, life is hard.
On today’s
Enlightening Entertainment
we present excerpts
from the insightful
environmental
documentary,
“Climate Chaos
in the South:
The Victims’ Story,”
directed by the gifted
and caring filmmaker
Mr. Geert De Belder
from Belgium.
The film presents
the heartrending reality
of people to whom
climate change impacts
are real and now.
It has been praised
for its unique way of
highlighting the
human side of the story.
And it’s the poor people
of the world, who are
particularly vulnerable to
the effects of the weather.
You don’t just emit CO2
into the air, you lose
livelihoods for the poor.
Regarding the film,
Tineke D’Haese, a
photographer for Oxfam,
commented,
“The testimonies force
you to take it seriously.
The situation is
clearly shocking, even
without showing pictures
of catastrophes.”
Dirk Hendrikx from
the Belgian newspaper
“Gazet Van Antwerpen”
wrote: “(A film) for all
who still doubt, and
for those who want to see
the damages of
climate change.
With clarifications by
experts, and testimonies
and pictures leaving
a lasting impression.
Highly recommended.”
Maybe in the developed
countries you are just
reading the books, and
looking at the television,
and seeing
what will happen.
But it is already happened.
Wereld Mediatheek
Presents
Climate Chaos
in the South:
The Victims’ Story
When we had the idea
of making the movie, the
impact of climate change
on the people
in the South,
we didn’t actually realize
the whole problem.
I went to a conference
on climate change,
and especially
the impact on the South.
And I was shocked
in this conference to
notice how large
the problem was, how big
the impact already was –
and was going to be.
I didn’t know that before.
Around 3 billion people
living in developing
countries are facing
immediate and most
severe human costs
due to climate change.
As the film shows, these
vulnerable communities
are often helpless
to adapt to
or prevent the crisis.
The idea of the movie
was to confront people
in the North
with the victims of the
so-called “civilization.”
I could only hope that
people who were
confronted with
the real face behind
a fact or a figure, that
they would be moved
by hearing the story
and hopefully
change their lifestyle.
Mr. De Belder’s
documentary was made
in collaboration with
more than ten
non-governmental
organizations (NGOs),
who helped him meet the
climate change victims
who were willing to
share their stories.
The making of the film
led to a journey to four of
the worst-hit countries:
Burkina Faso and Togo
in Africa, Ecuador
in South America
and Bangladesh in Asia.
They testify to
the fast-increasing havoc
that they face daily as
a result of climate change.
These fields don’t
normally look like this
because we’re in
an abnormally dry period.
Because these should be
the rainy months.
The rains usually last
until May in normal
rainy season, and
[we should now be]
in the midst of production.
You can see the maize
field over there.
The cobs should be
already formed, but
as you can see they’re
worthless, worthless.
And there are thousands
and thousands of farmers
suffering from exactly
the same drought, no?
We wanted to have
these particular stories
to make the facts
into persons,
into real experiences.
Many of the farmers
we interviewed,
they didn’t know about
climate change.
Yes, they did know,
of course, they knew
climate had been changing
since a few decennia
(decades).
But they had absolutely
no idea where it was
coming from,
or that it was
a global phenomenon.
Director Geert De Belder
knew that it was also
important to present
not only the individuals’
personal stories but also
a larger and objective
perspective.
Thus, he interviewed
a number of prominent
climate experts such as
British climate expert
Lord Nicholas Stern
and French glaciologist
Bernard Francou.
Most of the experts are
people in the South.
Experts from NGOs,
from governments,
from the United Nations,
from the North.
The experts give
the large scale of
climate change and
its impact, things which
the victims don’t know.
We needed the experts to
make the spectators clear
that things are happening
at a large scale.
The impact of
climate change on
the supply of water will
affect a hundred million,
perhaps a billion people.
The daily lives of all
these people are at risk
through insufficient water
or poor quality water.
When we return, we’ll
find out more about the
awakening documentary,
“Climate Chaos
in the South:
The Victims’ Story,”
through candid comments
from the director
Mr. Geert De Belder.
Please stay tuned to
Supreme Master
Television.
Welcome back to
today’s program about
the environmental
documentary, “Climate
Chaos in the South:
The Victims’ Story,”
a Wereld Mediatheek
production directed by
Belgium director
Geert De Belder.
With a balance between
victims’ testimonies
and expert insights, this
original film delivers
a convincing message
to viewers.
The message of the film
is: climate is already
changing, that there are
many victims already,
that there will be more
and more and more.
It’s going to be a disaster
that’s overshadowing
all other kinds of
disasters or wars
you could imagine.
The documentary is
divided into
named chapters, such as:
“Agriculture in Decline,”
“Fresh Water,
A Scarcity,”
“Life Warms Up” and
“Disaster’s on the Up,”
about how the quality of
life including aspects of
health, and even survival,
are impacted.
During the rainy season
we use the leaves from
particular trees as food.
We then wait for
the rainy season to end,
when the grass sellers
come around.
The women and children
are famished.
We, the adults,
are stronger than
today’s youngsters.
If you grow up hungry,
you are never strong.
There is also a section
called “Sea Levels
Continue to Rise,” and
“No Choice But to Flee,”
which zooms in on the
individuals who are
on the verge of becoming
a climate refugee.
And we know that
the coastal areas,
about millions of people
are living there, maybe
20-30 million people
are living there.
What will happen
to these people?
In the next 20 to 30 years,
this land will be
uninhabitable.
Perhaps we can live here
for 30 years.
But after that, it will be
uninhabitable.
It is such a hopeless
situation, because we will
have lost all our land.
I can’t tell the things
I’m telling you to the rest
of the population.
I can tell you that I have
had emotional difficulties
a lot of times.
In Bangladesh,
for instance, people
in Bangladesh are
so beautiful and
beautifully clothed
and so sympathetic.
When a woman is talking
that she lost her kids
in a cyclone, which are
more and heavier
than ever,
it’s not easy to sit there
as a part of the North.
There was water
everywhere,
I had nowhere to go.
I have two children,
10 and 5.
I went to the Union
Parishad with them.
The water had risen
until here at that time.
We managed to
scramble up, water
flowing all around us.
First, my youngest was
torn from my arms,
and then my 10-year-old
daughter too.
But the film also
concludes with
hope-giving directions
with constructive
sections titled, “Adapting
Out of Necessity”
and “Mitigation
is Prevention.”
I was so happy when
the last interview we did
on the last journey,
that was Bangladesh,
it was someone from
the United Nations,
a climate expert, and
he said, “Yes, it is
the fault of the North,
they are to blame,
but they didn’t do it
on purpose.
I put it in the film also
this fragment, because
that’s a nuance that’s
very important I think.
We’re not really to blame,
but yes, it’s up to us
to correct this.
In order to correct
the far-reaching problem
we as humankind have
caused, Mr. De Belder
urges more
and immediate action.
The more adaptation
and mitigation,
the less suffering.
Mitigation is a big effort.
We find that it’s a big
effort to take the train
instead of the car.
“I prefer the car.”
Yeah, I know, we have to
do all kind of things
that are not so pleasant
as before to save energy.
But adaptation, which is
the second thing to be
done, will ask still
much more efforts than
mitigation, and it will
cost lots more money.
And there are many
things we can do we,
on the transport side
or energy saving side.
That’s one thing
that has been stressed
by governments, etc.
But there is one thing
still more important:
the methane
which is caused by
the large-scale livestock
breeding worldwide.
So, it’s even more
important to stop
eating meat
or to downsize
the meat on your plate.
And the more we do now,
the cheaper it will cost.
The more we wait,
the more expensive
it will cost to stop
the negative impact
of climate change.
They must stop
the over-consumption.
They must be
brave enough to come out
of their comfort zone.
This isn’t a question of
giving up paradise;
this is a question of
giving up a very dirty
and dangerous path, and
going on to a much more
attractive one.
The scientists make
their diagnosis.
They explain why the
climate is warming up
and why the glaciers
are melting.
Now, it’s up to society to
wake up to the problem
and up to the politicians
to take measures
without further ado.
Too much I see people
stuck in dialogues and
battles and negotiations
forever and ever.
We don’t have the time!
We have 10 to 15 years
within to address
the very serious issues
of climate change,
of the loss of ecosystems,
and of the destruction
of diversity.
Without these, there is
no life on Earth.
“Climate Chaos
in the South:
The Victims’ Story”
continues to be shown to
audiences in countries
around the world.
For more details about
this documentary and
screenings, please visit
We thank director
Geert De Belder,
the film crew and
all involved
in the production of
“Climate Chaos
in the South:
The Victims’ Story,”
for a film that touches
our hearts and informs
our minds, while
inspiring us to make the
more-than-worthwhile
lifestyle changes
that will save lives.
May all of us
world citizens awaken
now to adopt the simplest
and most effective
change of all –
a meat-free lifestyle –
and thus preserve
our planet and all
precious co-inhabitants.
Thank you
for your presence on
today’s Enlightening
Entertainment.
Please now join us for
Words of Wisdom,
up next
after Noteworthy News,
here on
Supreme Master Television.
May our world
be blessed with
grace and protection.
The great majority
of people that have
a near-death experience,
even though
every physical test
and clinical observation
indicates that they are
unconscious or
clinically dead,
at that time
they are having a highly
lucid experience.
Monday, August 2, on
Science and Spirituality
discover more about
a phenomenon
that is unexplained by
medical science
in the conclusion of
a three part series on the
work of Dr. Jeffrey Long,
a physician
who is on the forefront
of near death experience
research.