YANNA MALLARI
To “Leaders”,
Computers speak in a language of codes, zeroes and ones. A microphone picks up the sound of our voice, and electricity takes the vibrations of our tone to transmit coherent words to the other side. Pixels on the screen arrange into the colors and shape of our face. Heard. Seen.
But when you reach out, it’s all just code and numbers, static, metal, light. Nothing.
When I pour my heart out, is it meaningless, static vibration, or can you hear the cries of a scared child? When I look at you through my screen, can you see what I have witnessed in my eyes?
If I reached out, would you be there?
Yanna Mallari is a young Filipina writer and climate activist from Manila, Philippines. She is part of the Philippine youth climate alliance, Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines, and is passionate about climate justice and human rights. You can find more of her work in Nymphs Publications and Ice Lolly Review, and find her on Instagram, @yannawrites_.