Disclaimer: The following article reflects the views of the individual author, not those of Her Campus Media.
On Tuesday, Jan. 14, Slovenian tennis player Dalila Jakupovic collapsed on the court of her qualifying match at the Australian Open due to intense coughing episodes caused by smoke from the country’s ongoing wildfires.
In a press interview reported by NBC News, Jakupovic stated, “I never had breathing problems. I actually like heat. But… I just couldn’t breathe anymore and I just fell on the floor.”
Jakupovic was not the only player to experience breathing difficulties. Former Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard from Canada also asked for medical assistance throughout one of her matches.
Courtesy: Archyde
As the 2020 Australian Open closes on Feb. 2nd, the players will return to their respective countries where air quality is significantly better. However, Australian residents remain in these unrelenting conditions with the uncertainty of when this living nightmare will come to an end.
New South Wales and East Victoria are experiencing the most devastation. According to an article by BBC News, the fires have claimed 28 lives thus far and an estimated 100,000 sq km of bush forest and parks across the continent have burned.
For residents of Melbourne—where the Australian Open is currently taking place—the encroachment of thick smoke from its neighboring cities is merely a somber indicator that sweeping flames will soon be their reality too.
Courtesy: Common Dreams
While residents have been instructed to wear face masks and close their windows, preventative measures can only reach so far. Entire towns have been engulfed in flames and people are being forced out of their homes. As we sit around and wonder, “Where are the millionaires and billionaires that donated to Notre Dame when it erupted in flames?” let us do what we can to help out.
To contribute to Victoria and New South Wales, two states hardest hit by the blazes, you can donate directly to the state fire authority here or to a local fire brigade, many of which are volunteer-based. To help departments in New South Wales, you can donate on the government website found here.
Monetary contributions are not the only way to help out. We can equally join the fight against Australia’s wildfires by joining the movement against climate change. Global climate experts warn that the scale and devastation of the wildfires are clear examples of the way climate change intensifies and perpetuates natural disasters.
Courtesy: France 24
David Bowman, director of the Fire Centre Research Hub at the University of Tasmania says, “We’re in the middle of a war situation.” The enemy is not our environment, it is ourselves. It is time that world leaders acknowledge that our globe is heating up year by year, and it is time that nations come together to finally productive discourse into effective policy.
While today it may not be our backyard that is in flames, tomorrow, rising sea levels could be eroding it. If Earth is our home, we must start caring for all spaces in the house, not just the rooms in which we sleep.
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