Climate Displacement: Carrying the Seeds of Home With You

By Madeline Hansen ​

The idea of home isn’t limited to a concrete foundation or the roof that sits over our heads; it is something that is rooted deeply within us. Home is like a thick blanket that we wrap around ourselves. A fabric woven from memories, cultures, and traditions; something you carry with you always. The quote “displacement is not the loss of home. It is the reminder that we carry home within us, like seeds waiting for the right soil” chronicles this idea so thoughtfully, and these words ring true to so many who have been displaced due to climate disasters.  

Globally, climate disasters like floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, and fires force millions of people from their homes annually; as climate change continues to cause these events to strengthen in severity, this level of displacement only worsens. One event that I would like to hone in on is the deadly wildfires that tore through Chile in 2024.  

Beginning in early February, massive wildfires spread throughout Central Chile, preceded by days of scorching temperatures, eventually burning nearly 160,000 acres by February 28, 2024. After the flames died down, leaving behind a charred earth in their wake, 112 people were dead, and over 300 were missing. An additional 1600 people had lost their homes to the flames, and countless others were displaced and severely impacted, making this one of the most devastating natural disasters to strike Chile in years.  

Upon researching this disaster, I discovered the story of the Hurtado family, whose home was reduced to kindling on February 2, 2024. Their neighbors described the day as “hell,” and the sky above them as “tongues of flames.” Like so many others, the Hurtado’s and their neighbors will now have to leave behind their charred memories and start over. This requires immense resilience; how could you do anything but carry the seed of your home with you?  

This evokes a painful question: what does it mean to lose everything but your memories? To be ripped away from your home? These memories: their culture, their traditions, and their knowledge and understanding can’t be burned by flames. They are resounding and eternal heirloom seeds, waiting until they can once again be planted. This leads me to think of the idea of home in a new light. When geography and foundations are stripped away from you, home stretches far wider than any street. Through violence, lashing flames, trembling earth, or rising flood waters, what you carry with you and pass on can never be taken away.  


References:

• https://www.internal-displacement.org/focus-areas/Displacement-disasters-and-climate-change/Links to an external site. 
• https://www.npr.org/2024/02/03/1228880677/chile-fires-valparaisoLinks to an external site. 
• https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/feb/10/chile-wildfires-vina-del-mar-achupallas#:~:text=The%20Hurtado%20family%20%E2%80%93%20father%20Juan,city%20is%20completely%20in%20shockLinks to an external site.