Bring out the vuvuzelas

The “pots and pans revolution” occurred in the wake of the Icelandic financial crisis. In January 2009, the largest protests in Icelandic history saw thousands laying siege to their parliament.

Protestors demanded the resignation of the government and the prosecution of the prime minister. They were enraged by the combination of a stock-market crash, unemployment tripling as well as the threat of food shortages.

We face a similar plight in SA in our slide into the abyss of recession, facilitated by a bull-headed government hellbent on spending way above our means — consequences be damned. The inner sanctum of WhatsApping elite aside, South Africans are enraged and have taken to the streets.

Last Friday, 600 marched to Liliesleaf Farm, where we held a poignant gathering at the symbolic refuge with ANC stalwarts Cheryl Carolus, Joyce Seroke and Fazel Randera. The slogans and chants of that day aside, there is much to learn from our struggle veterans: their deeply imbedded values and beliefs and, importantly, their stamina.

The wish they articulated for us is that the present-day struggle against our despot president and his cronies will be shorter than their own against apartheid.

Our marches on Friday were peaceful and dignified – as designed by the Save SA campaign for civil action – by ordinary citizens who were courteous and disciplined. But the president and his coterie would be misguided to mistake that for a lack of resolve. Effective change requires a common purpose, determination and noise. In Iceland, they went to battle with pots and pans.

In SA we have a more effective weapon — that mind-numbing torture device we know and love, the vuvuzela. It is time to unfurl our South African flags and songs of unity and struggle and go to battle to fight for a better future for all South Africans.

Adam Craker Via e-mail