A new year begin. In a world that can seem increasingly adrift, even to the most optimistic among us. So to find some hope, Futura wanted to meet Jane Goodall. She shares her life experiences with us and gives us her impressions of the world.
A pandemic which never ends. Tensions that are exacerbated. A climate that goes into a spin. At the start of 2022, for the first time, I admit, I felt really helpless. Helpless. And then… a spark ignited the fire! This meeting with Jane Goodall. Always so solar. Still going strong. Almost 88 springs now. A great lady. “Together, we can build a better future. A future in which people and other animals are respected, not for what they can give, but for what they are., she says quite naturally at the turn of the conversation. Without suspecting that she has just touched me in the heart.
I even now dare to imagine that she and I have some things in common. First, that of believing in humanity. In “the indomitable strength of the human spirit that will never give up”. To also believe in nature and its tremendous potential to resilience. And when sweet Jane Goodall evokes her childhood for me, the circle is complete. I definitely feel connected to her.
“Rusty”she remembers, “He was the hotel dog around the corner. I spent all my time by his side. » With him, no blackboard, no homework, no notes. Just the pleasure. “He was one of my greatest teachers. It is thanks to him that I discovered that the animals have personalities , a mind and feelings of their own. » Thanks to him and to a quality that perhaps tends to be somewhat lacking in today’s world, patience.
In the forest with the chimpanzees
Jane Goodall, until then I simply knew her as this young woman who, in the 1960s, long before I opened the eyeson this world, had upset the way humanity looked at animals. By dint of a lot of patience – yes, we come back to this – she had managed to gain the trust of wild chimpanzees. And to observe how they knew how to use tools. A real philosophical revolution for the time. “Even though I felt totally in my element, it wasn’t easy. At first, I couldn’t even get close to the chimpanzees. They probably thought of me as a ‘great hairless white ape’.”quips Jane. “So when I finally saw one of them sticking a twig in a hole and then pulling it out, covered in termites he wanted to eat, I couldn’t believe it. I waited to observe other chimpanzees do the same to talk about it. » A wise attitude from which some could still take seed today.
But if Jane Goodall went to meet chimpanzees, in what is today the forest of Tanzania, it was not with the idea of making an extraordinary discovery. “It really happened by chance”she assures me with a modesty that honors her. “What I was hoping for was just to live a little more in connection with nature. There were difficult times. When I witnessed episodes of violence from chimpanzees. But I really spent in the forests of Gombe some of the best years of my life. I have wonderful memories of it. Like the day when Flint, Flo’s little one – a dominant female in her fifties whom I particularly loved – who, at about five months old could barely walk and approached me to touch my nose . Under the nervous and protective gaze of his mother. A simply magical moment! » Which put Jane Goodall on the path to another discovery, just as dear to her mother’s heart. A discovery verified over four generations of chimpanzees and which shows how the attention of at least one adult – not necessarily the biological mother – in very early childhood can positively impact the whole life of a child. Whether he’s a chimpanzee or a human probably doesn’t change the situation.
Of men and animals
“We still tend to forget that we are an integral part of the animal kingdom. That man is just one animal among others. And despite a intelligence like no other, we are today destroying our Earth. Our house. The only one we have”is surprised Jane Goodall. “It is to this contempt that we show our Planet that we owe them biodiversity loss reported by researchers and climate changeAlso. I would like each of us to understand that we all have an impact on the Earth, but above all, that we have the possibility of making a difference. The choice to limit our footprint…”
Since the start of the health crisis , “blocked” in the house where she grew up, in England, Jane Goodall does not relax her efforts. “The ‘digital Jane’ may even be more connected to the world than ever. And his interactions with people around the world give him hope that we can still take action. » A feeling of optimism that she shares with us in her book published in Editions Flammarion last October… “The book of hope».
What the wisdom of this great lady recommends to all of us is to question ourselves before consuming. To ask us, before each purchase, if its low cost is linked to a form of slavery or if the materialsraw materials used are harmful to the environment. Or, if it has generated animal suffering. “If the answer to just one of these questions is yes, don’t buy! I myself became a vegetarian when I became aware of the emotions that were hidden behind this piece of meat on my plate. The fear, the pain. And that’s not to mention the resources that must be mobilized to produce this meat. water, land,energy. decide to reduce meat consumption , it is truly among the strongest commitments an individual can make to the planet. »
Changing our habits
But become vegetarian will not be enough to protect biodiversity. “My connection to nature has taught me that to protect wild animals, you have to protect their habitat, usually the forest. And work with local people. » This is why the Jane Goodall Institute – whose actions are to be discovered, among others hereon the website of its French branch – is committed to working with them. “How do you expect people to care about the protection of chimpanzees and the forest if they don’t know how to feed their families, how to survive? »
Thus the Tacare program – for Lake Tanganyika Catchment Reforestation and Educationbut presumably a nice pun with English “take care” which means ” take care of you ” –for example, has been working since 1994 not only to protect the wildlifewildlife and the environment, but also to the economic and social development of local populations. “A holistic approach that makes it possible to have a significant impact on the ground, for all animals – including humans – and nature. » Jane Goodall is convinced of this. “Because everything is connected. »
This is why, for example, Jane Goodall was immediately “wrapped” by Cyril Dion’s project. This film, “Animal”, which shows the damage we have caused to our planet. But which above all tells inspiring stories and takes us to meet great personalities. “Sometimes we feel that the choices we make every day are insignificant in the face of issues that affect the entire planet. But it’s wrong ! Collectively, these choices can make a difference. I want to encourage each of you to do your part. However small she is. Because even if I don’t believe very much in the ability of politicians to change, I believe very strongly in ours to finally take matters into our own hands. »
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