NOSTRA CULPA, NOSTRA CULPA, NOSTRA CULPA GRAVISSIMA EST
Dear Soum, Awinetuuma, Delwine and Wepia,
I write this with a heavy heart, knowing that my words may not be enough to make up for the world my generation is leaving behind for you. I owe you all an apology, an apology that should have come long ago, as we watched the planet unravel before our eyes and did too little to stop it. Now, as you stand on the precipice of your own futures, you are burdened with a world in crisis: a planet that is dying, its lungs scorched, its oceans choked, its skies tainted.
We failed you. My generation, the ones who should have been the stewards of the Earth, have instead overseen its gradual destruction. We saw the signs early, yet we continued to live in the comforts of denial. We prioritized short-term convenience over long-term survival. We allowed corporations to poison the land, burn the forests, and drain the rivers, all in the name of progress. Progress, we called it—but at what cost?
I remember when we first heard about climate change. It was spoken of in quiet tones at first, almost as if it were some far-off problem for another time. But that time came and passed, and still we did nothing. We thought there would always be more time, more resources, more chances to change our ways. We were wrong. You now face the consequences of that blindness.
The storms are more violent. The seasons no longer obey the patterns we once knew. The ice caps that stood for millennia are now melting away. Wildlife disappears before our eyes, and droughts choke the land where once there was abundance. Your inheritance, the Earth, is no longer the stable, nurturing place it should have been. And for this, I am deeply, truly sorry.
I apologize not just for the world’s environmental collapse, but for the weight of this burden on your shoulders. You will be tasked with fighting battles we were too weak to confront. You will have to push against systems built to profit off destruction. You will have to rebuild ecosystems we allowed to crumble. The fight for survival, the fight for the planet, has now become your fight, when it should have been ours.
You should have been given a world in which to thrive. Instead, you are left with one where survival itself is uncertain. We acted too slowly, spoke too softly, and fought too few of the battles that should have been waged in your name.
But in the midst of this guilt, I also offer you a plea. Do what we could not. Be stronger than we were. Where we failed, rise above. Hold us accountable, and do not follow in our footsteps of complacency and self-interest. The time for excuses has long passed. You have the power to demand better, to live better, and to shape a future that, while harder to secure, is still possible. The planet, though gravely wounded, is not yet beyond saving.
I believe in you, even if my generation has given you every reason not to believe in us. And in whatever way I can, I will stand with you in this fight for your future. It is the least I can do, though I know it can never fully atone for the damage already done.
It is our fault, it is our fault, it is our own grievous fault
With all my heart,
Your Father, Akunlenya (aka Kwadwo Donyinah)
About Author
