Opinion - The 14th Salt March in Durban will take place on April 22.
Participants will be making a commitment to non-violence and Ubuntu.
They are also encouraged this year to think of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Nelson Mandela and Albertina Sisulu, both of whom believed in non-violence and Ubuntu, and lived their lives devoted to these ideals.
This march was started in 2005, as a tribute to Chief Albert Luthuli under whose leadership the Congress of the People took place and it was here that the Freedom Charter was drawn up.
It is also dedicated to the famous Dandi March in India. What is the tie that binds these two important events?
The Dandi March draws attention to the basic food item in every home and the injustice of imposing a tax on this item and prohibiting Indians from producing their own salt.
It was a protest against injustice and foreign rule.
The Freedom Charter and the Congress of the People were also a protest against injustice and oppression by a minority of the population.
The common struggle binds the two events, one in 1930 and the other in 1955.
We must also remember we are now living in a country where we are free to move anywhere, speak our mind without fear and be able to obtain healthcare, education and welfare, which was not easily available to us in the past.
There is much more that needs to be done and we have to do it.
However, now we are not being deterred from activities by an oppressive government.
Let us not forget that all these liberties are here for us to utilise due to the tremendous sacrifices made by both Nelson Mandela and Albertina Sisulu, among others.
Last year we observed the anniversary of Oliver Tambo, who was also a great leader.
The Durban Salt March, in replicating the Dandi March that took place in India 88 years ago, focuses attention on a non-violent struggle against a manifestly unjust taxation on salt but, in essence, a protest against colonial rule in India.
This march was able to mobilise millions of people across the Indian continent and was instrumental in the eventual liberation of India.
The 78 volunteers who set out on the march from Ahmedabad in India walked through 700 000 villages, for 24 days, over 245 miles, reaching Dandi after mobilising millions of villagers on the way and influencing millions of people elsewhere to embark on similar campaigns in other provinces of India.
It was indeed an amazing feat, taking into account there were no cell phones, no computers, no film industry and no television yet they were able to have footage of the march, media was present all the way and the world was informed of what was happening.
It was 33 years later, on August 28, 1963, that the march on Washington DC took place, involving 250000 people protesting segregation and job discrimination against African Americans.
This year, we also observe the 50th anniversary of the April 4, 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Non-violent struggle took root in the US and in South Africa, and many other parts of the world.
Today as we see angry protesters burning down public amenities, schools libraries, universities, farms and agricultural products without consideration for the consequences of the destruction of property and the earth, and the consequential damage to future generations, one wonders who are these leaders who encourage this kind of behaviour.
Destruction in the end hurts us all and, more so, the future generations - as the resources of the world are being destroyed.
Take for instance the depletion of sand from our shores.
For more buildings to be erected more sand is used, more concrete is mined and all that material comes from the earth, which acts such as these are destroying.
Our good progressive leaders are calling for renovation, repair, recycle and re-use in order to conserve, while we see buildings being destroyed by educated people.
Che Guevara said: “At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love. It is impossible to think of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality.”
I ask, can we find love when we watch people burning down buildings, farms, schools and libraries? Can we see love in these acts?
The leaders who instigate these acts speak like Mark Antony - calling for peace and calm, and at the same time flaring up anger in the people.
In defining democracy, Mahatma Gandhi said: “Democracy must in essence mean the art and science of mobilising the entire physical, economic and spiritual resources of all the various sections of the people in the service of the common good of all.”
Clearly, it is a call to responsibility. We, as a people, need to take responsibility and begin to make a difference and we can.
The story of Eddie Prinsloo for instance indicates that farmers can help to make a difference.
He not only gave his farm to his workers but is also prepared to teach them the necessary skills to develop the farms into viable businesses.
Acts such as these can be performed by each one of us. Every generous act makes a difference.
But one sees from history, from watching the lives of those suffering in the aftermath of destruction, such as the Rohingyas, the Syrians, the Congolese and the latest atrocities against Palestinians, and so many others who have been affected by wanton violence, that life becomes unbearable after destruction and violence.
If we practise our religion and believe in love then we cannot but feel the pain of these people, whose loved ones are killed and who are displaced from their homes and means of livelihood, and who are maimed for life.
The Salt March is a reminder to the people that we have an alternative to this. It is a call to halt the wanton violence perpetrated by violent regimes, as well as by protesting civilians.
Our alternative is non-violence and Ubuntu. This is our philosophy and, if we were to live according to this philosophy, we will all be working together to building a South Africa, an Africa and a world of which we can all be proud and we will be leaving a powerful legacy not only for the world, but also for the future generations.
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