BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - THE ORGANISATION of Rastas in Unity under the umbrella of the Nyabinghi Theocracy Order (NTO) will soon be rallying through the streets of Basseterre to protest the manner in which Rastafarians are being treated in the Federation.
Next Friday (August 17) Rastafarians and supporters will take to the streets of Basseterre at 10:00 a.m. and end at the Independence Square where a "Rasta Rally" will kick off at 12 noon and wind down at 6:00 p.m.
The March and Rally, according to Public Relations Officer of the NTO, Ras Dabo Penny, is to protest against discrimination, marginalisation, religious intolerance, abuse of rights, marijuana laws and use, police brutality and bigotry among a host of other concerns.
Penny said that this is the first march and rally the NTO would be having and that the Order sees it fitting given the effort being put forth by the government to respect the rights of gays and Christians.
"We think that it is time to draw it to the attention of our leaders that we are living people too, and just like how they are trying to respect the rights of gay people and Christians, we think that we have a right to get that much respect too. We have a right to choose who we want to be.
"When it comes to Rastafarians, people treat us as if we do not have any rights and that is not right," he explained.
He said that the NTO hopes to gain the attention of the government with regards to having their rights included in the St. Kitts and Nevis Constitution.
"We hope to achieve a more unified approach towards tackling the problems that we have here. We also hope to push a little more pressure on our brothers in parliament to have a Bill of rights included in our constitution," he said.
Prominent persons are slated to give presentations at the rally including Washington Archibald, who will be speaking out about the Rastafarians' struggle and he would be offering ideas for solutions as they seek to move forward.
The theme for the event is "United we stand, divided we fall" which Dabo said comes from the teachings of Marcus Garvey who believed in equality for all of mankind. The march/rally is also being held on Marcus Garvey's birthday which is of significance to the NTO.
"Marcus Garvey told us 'A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without root' and today we see our people living with no regards for their fellow men. We see bigotry being a part of their living and we don't think that the message of Marcus Garvey is fully put in place by the people, and we really want to focus on the sentiments of Marcus Garvey, that equal rights and justice stand for all.
"And we see today that society is trying to deny us of our rights and we must take a stand, as people who are Rastas, we want our right to be free acknowledged just like any other person who is free and acknowledged too.
Penny is encouraging persons to join in the Rastafarian movement towards demanding equal treatment for all, and march and rally with them next Friday.
"We are asking everyone to come out and take a stand, especially parents, for the future. The children are our future and we do not want our children to come up under that same degradation and the same pressure that the people of this generation are living under," he encouraged.
