I reach Parc Barton at the end of my run. Tired, I crouch to the ground and close my eyes to pay attention to the sounds around me. At first, I hear the sound of my own breath, panting from going up and down the hills of Geneva. I wait a little bit. I can hear the nearby traffic of people commuting to work, the distinct sound of the bus trampling down the road registering in my ears. I wait a little longer. I can hear the lapping of the waves from the lake against the stone barrier. Another beat. I can hear the fluttering of birds overhead and water birds splashing in the lake. 

It’s nice how finding such green spaces within Geneva is not a difficult task. Last week, while walking to a thrift store, I came across a small park nestled between busy roads. I’ve also gained an appreciation for incorporating sustainable practices into my daily life, from being more mindful about my food waste to getting around by foot and public transportation to taking the time to sort my plastics for recycling. People here do seem to care about the environment, and it’s reflected in their way of life. Within the Institute, I’ve been attending events related to environmentalism, and they’ve ranged from analyzing the effectiveness of high-level climate treaties between states to brainstorming ways to encourage sustainability among ordinary families. It’s interesting because in the United States, caring about the environment is often indicative of a particular political leaning, but here, it’s just normal for everyone to care. 

Recently, I’ve been questioning the notion of Swiss neutrality. Switzerland didn’t have any colonies, and they notably haven’t taken sides in times of conflict. Yet it didn’t become one of the richest countries in the world by accident. In one of my classes, we discussed how Swiss people and companies were invested in colonial exploitation, particularly through the Indienne textiles. The designs and resources to make these cotton textiles were stolen from India, manufactured in Switzerland, and then used as a tool to barter for enslaved people from Africa. The practice helped establish Switzerland as a trading hub, establishing a basis for it to grow into a financial center today. This shows us that Switzerland wasn’t truly neutral over the course of history. Sure, Switzerland wasn’t setting up colonies, but they were in the room where it happened. If they were never in that room, they wouldn’t have the money and resources they do now to take such care of their natural resources. Without experiencing this history, Switzerland wouldn’t become the financial center that enables corporations to continue destroying our planet to shreds. For every litter-free street I walk in Geneva, I think about waste colonialism, and how countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam, and Indonesia receive the hazardous and non-disintegratable waste we discard without a thought. By clinging on to this idea of being “neutral,” we’re erasing the history that had real, material repercussions on the world and the climate.

Today, a guest speaker from Doctors Without Borders presented to our exchange group. He explained that whenever there’s a social justice movement anywhere in the world, the organization takes the time to reflect on how that movement applies to their work. He told us that the organization is trying to decolonize their work, moving beyond the notion of a white savior that swoops into disaster-ridden areas of the Global South without questioning the circumstances that lead to the disaster in the first place. One such way of doing this is by having local frontline medical workers lead the charge. I wonder how such an approach can be applied to environmental justice. Living in the West, we need to acknowledge how our relative position of power within systems of exploitation affect not only our experience with nature, but also the experience of those within the countries we’ve profited off of. Coupled with that, when we address the severe effects of climate change in Global South countries, we can’t just swoop in and expect to be treated as a hero that will save the day. We have to include them in our conversations now so we can design a more effective and collaborative approach to environmental justice.