We, as humans, have been evolving throughout the centuries, and as we evolved, unfortunately, the inequality between races, sexes, and species has continued to this day. “The atrocities committed by the ‘white men’ of the world against all ‘others’ are played in front of our eyes through different means of media outlets, as if we are all watching a horror movie. The year 2025 holds examples of ethnic violence and crimes being committed against people of apartheid regimes in places like Palestine, Congo, East Turkistan, and India, while mass sexual violence against women is being committed in Sudan right this minute. Women are being psychologically, physically, or sexually assaulted and even killed by their husbands, boyfriends, or family members all over the world, while their male perpetrators get away with their crimes. In a report published by UNICEF in October 2024, more than 370 million girls and women alive today have been raped or sexually assaulted worldwide before the age of 18. The United Nations estimates that approximately 51,100 women and girls were killed by their intimate partners or other family members during 2023. Within the context of this real-life horror movie, nature and animals are the “others” that are most likely to be the least protected and rarely seen. Every year, it is estimated by the World Resources Institute that humans are responsible for the destruction of millions of acres of forest land due to corporate greed. The organization PETA reports that more than 110 million animals are killed annually in the United States alone for the purpose of animal testing and that every twenty-four hours, 6.5 billion animals are slaughtered for food. These numbers, unfortunately, increase drastically every year” (Keskin, 2025).
When the world is on fire, what should we do to keep our sanity?
1. Educate yourself: With the help of technology, we can be informed about what is happening on the other side of the world in real time. We can reach any information with the click of a button, but with this ease come problems regarding the authenticity of the information we receive. While it is extremely important to educate ourselves about the current events of the world, we need to be extra careful to fact-check everything we see or read on the internet. Don’t forget: Knowledge is power.
2. Stay Emotionally Resilient: Dealing with the world’s injustices can be overwhelming. Recognizing your emotions—anger, sadness, and helplessness—is very important. Know what you are feeling, but do not let these feelings paralyze you. You can practice prayer, meditation, and breathing exercises to help you deal with these emotions. Allow yourself to feel, but also find ways to turn these feelings into purpose.
3. Act: It is perfectly natural for us to feel helpless as we watch other beings suffer. We may feel we have no power to stop their suffering, and this feeling may lead to depression and/or other kinds of psychiatric problems. It is important to keep in mind that although we may not be able to stop a war, we have the power to take a stand. Taking a stand can involve joining a protest, boycotting, contacting government officials and people who have the power to persuade them to act, or simply using your online platforms to inform those around you.
4. Use Your Skills for Change: We all have a skill: writing, painting, speaking, coding, organizing, etc. Use your strengths to help raise awareness of the causes you support. Your skills and strengths can be powerful tools in fighting the injustices of the world.
5. Support Ethical Alternatives: You can use your daily choices as a means of resistance. Choose fair-trade products, eco-friendly clothes, plant-based diets, and ethical technologies. These small yet significant acts can make a meaningful impact on the planet and its inhabitants.
6. Stay Hopeful: Hope is not pretending that everything is fine. It is, in fact, believing in the possibility that change is possible and that we can strive for a better world. It is important to remember that if others have persevered through worse, we can surely make a difference.
You might think, ‘I’m just one person; what can I do?’ Remember that 8 billion people can be thinking the same thing. Sometimes, it takes just one person to change the world.
Photo Credits
Featured Image: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/inequalities/2024/05/08/its-not-rocket-science-the-politics-of-inequality/
Photo 1: https://www.newsweek.com/homeless-man-set-fire-burning-50-percent-his-body-1641867
Photo 2: https://www.djjs.org/blog/together-we-can-change-the-world
References
Keskin, Betul. ECOFEMINIST CONCERNS AS REFLECTED IN MARGARET ATWOOD’S ORYX AND CRAKE AND DORIS LESSING’S THE CLEFT. 2025. Atilim University, Master’s Thesis. Yoktez.