Yara Manasrah: Gun Control and Climate Change Activist

Yara Manasrah fights for gun control and climate change action with March For Our Lives Georgia and Zero Hour Georgia.
When did you start working with March for Our Lives?
I started working there around a year or two ago. As State Press Director I make press releases for events, contact the media, and connect them to some of our people so they can do interviews. I get the word out there so people know that we’re doing stuff. I work more on the logistics side of things — I want to put people who don’t get much of a voice out there on the front lines. They need to be the ones speaking for us because they are the ones most disproportionately affected by this issue.
What are some challenges you’ve faced working on gun control activism?
There are quite a few issues with working with the general public and trying to get them to understand that it is an issue that needs to be solved. It’s more about making sure this doesn’t happen again, not limiting people’s freedoms. Getting people to understand that our lives are in danger and we need to work on saving some lives. It’s a global issue and everyone needs to work together to combat it.
Tell me about your work on climate change.
I really feel very strongly about climate change. I worked hard in my own life to combat it, like deciding to go vegetarian and making sure my family understands how we can minimize our impact. We are trying to pass legislation about pollution and littering in Georgia and the nation. We need to spread more information and combat “fake news,” making sure the scientifically proven facts are spread. It starts with my household and it moves up from there. I love working with the team — we are all very proactive, making sure our schools are being sustainable.
Have you faced any challenges as a young activist?
I feel like I don’t face as many challenges as a young activist so much as being an activist of color. Making sure people know that I understand what’s happening here because I am one of the voices of the minorities. I’m Middle Eastern and my parents are immigrants. Some people invalidate my American viewpoint because of that, but I was born here. It’s just a matter of making sure that my voice is just as loud as everybody else’s and showing people that I’m not a fraud, I’m not a joke. I also want to make sure that other people are just as loud.
With the 2020 Elections coming up, what do you want the candidates to know about young people?
I know that a lot of the Presidential candidates are not counting out the young vote — to say the least, we’re pretty aware and we know what’s happening. They’re definitely listening to us (at least, on the left side) in some way, shape or form. I just want them to understand that minority people count too — and not just racial. Sexual diversity, people with disabilities. I want them to not count anyone out.
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