My Awakening
by Rumaitha Al Busaidi
The first distant star you see during sunset; that’s the meaning of my name. Throughout my life, I never took the meaning my name seriously and in fact actually hated it. But that all changed one cold summer evening as the sun was bidding me farewell while I tried to keep myself warm snuggling in my subzero sleeping bag as I lay on the ice cold ice. I was surrounded by the calming silence of glaciers and ice around me with the most stellar view I had ever seen in my life greeting me. It was the view of the milky way staring right in front of me in the closest proximity I’ve ever experienced in my life. Millions of specs of stars greeting me and giving me the reason to love my name again. It dawned on me then that stars don’t shine without darkness, but with the light in my everyday environment, I was taking it for granted. But then, a large sound overpowered that spectacular scene. It was a crackling sound that caused alarm and made my heart stop. I sat up as I and those around me realized that it was the sound of a nearby glacier splitting forcing us to flee in fear of an avalanche that would bury us. I was in Antarctica in a bid to become the youngest woman of my country of Oman to reach the South Pole and while many days later that bid was a successful set record in history, that milky way view and crackling sound remain as my reminder to not take my surroundings for granted. It was a reminder that it was time for all of us to change our ways and to wake up from our slumber, and I’ve been doing that ever since; giving the environment the voice it doesn’t have. It was my awakening!
We were lucky enough to sit down with Rumaitha to hear more about her story and what she learned from her experience in the southern continent on earth. What do you think you would learn from travelling to Antarctica?
About
Rumaitha is an Omani marine scientist and an advocate of women empowerment as a solution to the climate crisis. Rumaitha currently serves as the Director of Projects and Environmental Affairs for Oman’s fisheries investment arm, Fisheries Development Oman. She also serves as director of the first and only environmental NGO in Oman called; Environment Society of Oman. As someone who has personally witnessed climate change impacts as a result of her expedition to the South Pole and becoming the youngest Omani in history to step foot on the coldest, windiest and driest place on Earth, her passion and advocacy for climate using the lens of women and girls empowerment has grown even stronger. So, during her time as an MPA candidate at HKS, she founded WomeX; a 21st-century platform providing culturally-relevant mentoring for women from the Global South to achieve their 10x potential by providing boosters to enhance wellness confidence, self-esteem, and professional growth.