It was my honour and privilege to be a part of the annual March against Monsanto on 21 May 2016.
Joining the global community who are speaking out against multimillion dollar, chemical companies who are slowly working their way to owning the monopoly of our precious seeds and drenching our beautiful planet in their toxic herbicides.
Africa is a playground for the biotech industry and especially my precious South Africa. Our government are so occupied with the current corruption and chaos within our political parties that they have forgotten to look after their people. They are so concerned with trying to be modern and first world that they haven’t noticed the catastrophic side effects of the GMO crisis.
Our people are getting sick, our soil is under attack, our farmers are trapped, our water systems polluted. Ecogenocide and a Crime against Humanity before our eyes AND NO ONE IS SAYING ANYTHING. The stores and suppliers who stock the stuff blame the Department of Agriculture. The Department of Agriculture say that big daddy FDA said its fine so it should be ok. The government say, ask the Department of Agriculture. Eish !!
And to top it all off !! Toxic glyphosate is being sprayed on to homes and families in the name of the war on drugs – Horrendous that the departments allowing this to carry on haven’t been locked up for attempted murder!
This past year has been a wild and wonderful journey, joining a crew of hardcore, fierce, environment and people loving EARTH WARRIORS, to make our voices heard in as many cities as we could reach in South Africa.
The organizers for each event are all volunteers with full time jobs and some with kids to manage during the process, yet they do it because some people are just born that way and caring is what they do. I am grateful and honoured to know them and South Africa should be so proud that they have people of this quality fighting for them.
At our particular march – I remember looking into the eyes of the beautiful humans who took the time out of their busy day to stand up and be counted, to make a noise and expose themselves to gawkers and cameras and strange looks, to swim upstream and walk against the brainwashed majority.
I remember thinking that it feels so good to connect with others who have woken up to the fact that our planet needs looking after and people outside of our immediate family circles need care and protection. For many it is not an easy thing to do, protesting is totally out of many peoples natural comfort zone.
To me, every city that took part in South Africa has a different feel unique to their people and personality.
Johannesburg is raw and real
Cape Town is chilled out, positive and earthy.
Nelspruit Two Brave Warriors
Pilgrims Rest – farmers territory, serious and consistent
Mtubatuba – heart of South Africa – local farmers
Durban is artistic, creative, adventurous, caring and wholesome
Port Elizabeth is hardcore yet colourful, deep and family- Photo credit Astin Sampson
All of these people walk the talk in their daily lives and really are a part of the change that they want to see. Remembering, that protesting is only a small (but very necessary) part of creating awareness and making change.
For me I need to remember that sometimes when fighting FOR something, getting angry is ok as long as it can be channelled in the right direction. The pain and suffering caused by these corporations is not something that can be taken lightly. The brainwashing of our youth in their classes and universities is shameful. Showing them the fantastic science behind manipulating genes without going into the consequences of putting it into practice in the real world is crime in itself. The trickery and propaganda used on our precious farmers is so deceitful and manipulative.
This isn’t an article about that so I will stop with the devastating effects of Monsanto, Bayer the 1% and the likes of who serve a God of money and blood, own and are attempting to destroy our seeds and poison Africa and our Earth. To them I have this to say – We will fight until we are free.
Those corrupt corporations know that their worst nightmare is an informed public and they know that as soon as everyone realises, they lose all of their power. This in itself scares the daylights out of them…………. and it should.
It is not an easy job being an activist. It is draining, time and all consuming and sometimes depressing knowing the truth BUT Seeing people becoming aware, making change and keeping the ripple going makes it all worth it.
“Never underestimate the power of a small group of caring people”. To all of these worthy few, I have this to say – You are one of the minority fighting for the majority whose eyes haven’t opened yet. For that I thank you for standing with me and the rest of the world who truly care.
An awesome poem by our performer… thankyou Weza Awethu Sonamzi for this meaningful poem !
“Jailer.
You deal in life and freedom
Master of trade
You’ve gone and given away our heritage
Your eyes glaze as your pockets fatten
Fit to burst with tainted green
Your business thrives off human suffering
Jailer.
Hear the cries of the people
Listen as the Earth dies at your hands
How can you be so unaffected, unmoved?
Jailer.
You’ve shackled the world in your quest for power
You’ve poisoned the land
So blinded are you by greed
Your throne is made from the bones of people you fed lies laced with poison
Jailer
There’s only so much that we can take
You’ve threatened our planet
You’ve threatened our people
There’s an uprising taking place
We are on the brink of a revolution
We will reclaim the land and its produce
The Earth will live and thrive as it has done before
And you, dear jailer
Will be stripped of your power and influence
Your deceptive lies will find no attentive ear
Your ideals of power and destruction will return to being just dreams – as they should be
And you, dear jailer, will become the prisoner
Trapped by your own greed and hunger for destruction ” Weza
With love
Rushka Johnson
