Greta Thunberg's Father: 'Ultimate Nightmare For A Parent'

Climate change activist Greta Thunberg attends a Fridays for Future protest in Turin, Italy December 13, 2019. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
December 31, 2019 Topic: Politics Region: Americas Blog Brand: The Buzz Tags: Climate ChangeGreta ThunbergStrikeGlobal WarmingSweden

Greta Thunberg's Father: 'Ultimate Nightmare For A Parent'

He says she's happy, but he's worried.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg’s father said that though his daughter is happy in her activism, he worries about her.

Svante Thunberg spoke out in an interview with BBC, saying he is “not supportive” of Greta Thunberg skipping class to go to climate protests. Thunberg’s father also said his daughter suffered from depression before she became an activist, which also kept her out of school.

“She stopped talking … she stopped going to school,” he told BBC, adding that it was the “ultimate nightmare for a parent” when she began refusing to eat.

He said he is worried about Greta and the “hate” she encounters, particularly about “fake news, all the things that people try to fabricate her — the hate that that generates.”

Thunberg added that his daughter handles the criticism well. “Quite frankly, I don’t know how she does it, but she laughs most of the time,” he continued. “She finds it hilarious.”

“You think she’s not ordinary now because she’s special, and she’s very famous, and all these things. But to me she’s now an ordinary child — she can do all the things like other people can,” he said.

“She dances around, she laughs a lot, we have a lot of fun — and she’s in a very good place.”

Thunberg traveled with his daughter when she sailed to the United Nations Summits in New York and Madrid.

“I did all these things, I knew they were the right thing to do … but I didn’t do it to save the climate, I did it to save my child,” Thunberg said. “I have two daughters and to be honest they are all that matter to me. I just want them to be happy.”

He also said when she turns 17 soon, she will not need him to travel with her anymore.

“If she needs me there, I’ll try to do it,” he said. “But I think she’ll be, more and more, going to do it by herself, which is great.”

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Image: Reuters.