Rastas to march next Wednesday

One local organisation is planning a march and rally in an effort to bring awareness to the ills of society and how communities could put a stop to them.{{more}}

A group of rastafarians called the Nyabinghi Warriors say that the march is scheduled to take place next week Wednesday, in conjunction with the celebration of the 122nd anniversary of the birth of His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I, former ruler of Ethiopia and a deity of the rastafari religion.

In an interview with SEARCHLIGHT on Tuesday, group spokesperson Ras Bongo Iley says that the event is geared towards giving people from all spectra of society, an opportunity to join them and air their views on the issues that are wreaking havoc on the communities.

Bongo Iley said that he hopes as a consequence of the march and rally, the country would be restored to the once peaceful nature that existed.

“We are using the cause also to get our youths to restore some form of confidence in themselves in this fight against crime and violence, because we inherit the old colonial education that teach us about dependency.

“There is a talk about Education Revolution, but we know that is a gimmick, so what we checking on now is the real Education Revolution which would educate our people in terms of interdependency rather than maintaining the old mindset.

“Rasta putting it out there, but we would like it to be a national event where members of the public can have their say in the development of our country.

“We are trying to reach out to the people to give them a platform to express their feelings; it is not partial to rasta, because everybody have something to say; everybody have an idea and everybody feeling a hurt somewhere, and they should come to express their feelings.”

The march, which starts at 3:00 p.m., begins at the Peace Memorial Hall at Richmond Hill, and will journey up around the Kingstown Seventh Day Adventist Church on to Bay street, down to Rose Place and up to back street where it will culminate at Heritage Square for the rally.

The rally will feature speeches, drumming, and live performances.

The visiting members of the organisation told SEARCHLIGHT that one of the main causes of the apparent spike in crime is unemployment and underemployment.

Using parts of a speech made by Selassie, and later immortalised in song by Jamaican reggae singer Bob Marley, group members elaborated their point.

“Until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior… there will always be war. This is what is happening because of one’s educational or material gains one automatically tells himself that he is transformed to a first class citizen, and you, who don’t have, become a second class citizen.

“The major reasons for crime: egotism, prejudice, maliciousness, human self interest have to be replaced by tolerance, understanding and goodwill, or you will always have war. That is the reason for the crime and the antidote also, because as long as we keep on living selfish and dem kinda way we will always have crime.”