Kes Wakai Ngu (voices from Zenadh Kes)

In this video, artist and community leader Yessie Mosby talks about his home Masig, a coral clay island in the Torres Strait, north of the Cape York Peninsular in Queensland. Masig is slowly disappearing, submerged beneath rising sea levels. Mosby talks about the spiritual and mental toll of witnessing the destruction, explaining that a loss of his homelands equates to the end of customary cultural practices for his people. With the constant threat posed by climate change, life is characterised by fear for the future. Despite this, Mosby embodies the strength and resilience of his ancestors, and of Traditional Owners who continue to fight on behalf of their lands. This is an urgent call and warning, to critically examine our inaction around climate change, from a community experiencing its effects on the frontline.

'Every day I wake up, every morning I wake up, looking at my children, looking at my family. Looking at the surroundings of my home, my island...keeps me motivated. Keeps that fire burning. Listening to the laughter of our children keeps that fire burning. Knowing that what I am doing now is for their future. It’s not only for the future of the children of Masig, my children and the children of the village of Masig. I am doing this for my family, my clan, my tribe, my nation and all saltwater people.'—Yessie Mosby