ABOUT
Zain was born in Karachi, Pakistan, 2001. In 2013 and 2015, Zain witnessed the death, suffering and poverty caused by unprecedented flooding and severe heatwaves in the region firsthand; he felt obligated to reduce the suffering he saw as an act of civil duty, and raised money to help provide relief to the areas affected by the heatwave.
However, Zain soon realised that his attempt at helping people in the Thar desert was less than a drop in the bucket towards helping people in the long run, and something more fundamental was wrong and needed fixing.
Zain came to Canada in 2019 to study at Simon Fraser University and began engaging in acts of non-violent civil disobedience to inspire government action on the climate emergency. For instance, he successfully got SFU to divest its remaining investment money from fossil fuels by giving an ultimatum to the university administration of a hunger strike.
He also helped start successful campaigns to demand action on climate change and was arrested and jailed multiple times as a result and, through his actions, Zain became a valuable member of the Canadian climate movement.
In 2022, Pakistan was hit by another wave of extreme flooding that resulted in 90% of the crops being lost; this came to Zain's attention when he was watching the news from his prison cell in Port Coquitlam, where he was jailed for participating in a march with Wet'suwet'en First Nation elders.
Zain met his wife, Sophia Papp, through their work on protecting the old growth forests of British Columbia. They are married and live together in Vancouver, BC. Because of his non-violent activism, Zain is facing removal from Canada - the place where he has spent the entirety of his adult life.
Zain and Sophia are hoping that Canada will allow Zain to stay in the country through Permanent Residence so they can help preserve and protect life in Canada and beyond.
