PE residents stand united on beliefs

Hundreds of Port Elizabeth residents took to the streets on Saturday to raise awareness on issues ranging from gender based violence to farm murders and corruption within the national government.

Three different events were staged across the metro aimed at drawing attention to major societal concerns particularly in the wake of national women’s day on Sunday.

A silent, sit down protest held at Nelson Mandela Bay’s City Hall saw more than 200 participants gathering with the hope that their presence would encourage the municipality to take action against gender based violence.

Event organizer Tayla Hynch said the scourge of gender based violence had become a pandemic which needed to be addressed by the metro.

“We have taken matters into our own hands as we are tired of government not doing anything about it,” Hynch said.

Another march held at Standford Road saw a group of about 50 people calling for the public to stand up against gender based violence.

Event organizer Cuwan le Roux said: “Gender based violence is getting out of hand - it is a pandemic and not enough people are doing something about it,” le Roux said.

At William Moffett hundreds of people gathered to bring their various concerns to the publics attention.

Organizer Sharon Jessop said the protest was for people who wanted take a stand against several issues affecting individuals ranging from crime and gender based violence to the lockdown.

“We can’t stand back and not do anything. If we can get awareness of the issues many people face during this difficult period then we can create hope and courage to fight back,” Jessop said.

— HeraldLIVE