In her own words, Ralyn Satidtanasarn, AKA Lilly, is a 12-year-old “kid at war.”
She’s been dubbed Thailand’s answer to Greta Thurberg, winning her first victory in June 2019. She persuaded Central, a major supermarket in Bangkok, to stop giving out plastic bags in its stores once a week.
Some of the biggest brands, including 7-Eleven convenience stores, pledged to stop handing out single-use plastic bags by January.
Lilly did sit-ins in front of Thai Government buildings, inspired by Thurnberg.
“Greta Thunberg gave me confidence. When adults do not do anything, it’s up to us children to act,” she insists.
Though she often strikes from class to carry out activism, she stressed that she chose not to travel to the US for the UN climate conference. “My place is here, the fight is also in Southeast Asia,” she had said.
Tags: Activism, Climate crisis, plastic pollution, Thailand