Poetry and singing on the steps of the Durban City Hall marked Earth Day at an event driven by the youth of the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA).
Placards that denounced fossil fuels and nuclear power and promoted clean energy included topical lines such as “I can’t breathe”.
They also called for people to better protect the planet, so the next generation could have a future.
Wentworth resident Vanessa Blackburn spontaneously led everyone in song, singing We Are The World, written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie.
Artists Crosby Luhlongwane and Nkosiyapha Hlela, of the Mariannridge-based environmental organisation Green Thumb Society, reminisced in their lyrics about stories their grandparents told about a more sustainable environment, along with lines such as “keep the oil in the soil’’ and “there’s more to life than silver and gold”.
A trio of young activists lay on the hard paving, surrounded by emergency tape, to represent people who had lost their lives to environmental disasters, such as the storm of October 10, 2017, that struck the city.
The event on Thursday morning, which saw messages to the government to not ignore communities, went out on a live stream on the SDCEA Facebook page.
“I think the youth can come up with solid tactics,” said SDCEA youth activist Mvuzo Ntombela.
“We are more driven by technology. Our technological tools can give South African youth more strategies to tackle this issue, starting here in KZN.”
Ntombela said the youth in the organisation had learnt a lot from leaders such as Desmond D’Sa.
D’Sa said there would be further events in the wake of Earth Day, stressing climate change, at Cuttings Beach, Bluff, tomorrow and at Scottburgh on Tuesday.
Independent On Saturday