le Peadar de Bluit
October is the third month of the national Ógra campaign on Road Safety – Moilligh Síos! So far most Ógra cumainn have come out to campaign on this issue, and as a result the message of our campaign has been reaching cities, towns and communities across the entire country. But we can do more, we need to re-double our efforts to ensure that our message hits home. No one else is going to do this for us so we need to ensure that people across the country know that high speeds on roads cost a very high price. The campaign is going very well so far but now is the time to step it up.
No other youth-wing have taken on, or would dare confront issues like we have. We demanded an increased focus on the issue of young people dying as a result of suicide, we confronted the evils of imperialism in its many forms, though none of these jobs are done yet, and we will continue to be active on them but we now have another target – Road Carnage. In order to make a difference on this issue we are going into communities across the country, to the people in those same communities calling on them to take ownership of their actions on the roads. If we fail to convince people that current road behaviour is unacceptable, that lives are being lost needlessly on the roads daily our aim in undertaking this campaign will be lost. We can make a difference on this issue, and we should do everything in our power to make that difference, for the good of everyone.
For this reason a National Day of Action has been planned for next Wednesday 24 October. A considerable number of Ógra cumainn have already been active on this issue this Day of Action is a chance for those cumainn to build on their good work up till now. Other cumainn who may not yet have been active on this particular campaign now have a golden opportunity to implant the importance of this campaign in their local areas. The importance of partaking in a Day of Action should not be overlooked either. By mobilising the entire membership of Ógra we send a very strong message that we are not just going to let this go, that we are serious, and that we want action taken
Possible actions for the Day of Action include: leaflet drops, roadside vigils, public talks, youth group engagement, etc. Any action that highlights the importance of this issue will be worthwhile. A strong national Day of Action will not only show how serious we are in relation to this issue but it will show that we a force to be reckoned with in youth politics in this country. To see young people on the street campaigning passionately on an issue that they feel strongly about sends a powerful message and makes more of an impact than politicians paying lip-service to this and so much else. If those actions are part of a national Day of Action, the message is all the more potent.
We cannot let lingering government inaction around Road Safety on both sides of the border act as an impediment to the success of this campaign. Since the launch of the campaign in August Ógra Shinn Féin have campaigned tirelessly to convince people to change their attitudes. A Day of Action presents with a real chance to make a difference, let’s not miss the chance. We are the campaigning radical edge of the Republican movement we need to live up to that title. It’s our job to get out there and make our voices heard. It’s our purpose to change people’s attitudes around their behaviour behind the wheel and so much more.
Get the message out there, to your villages towns and cities. Say it loud and say it clear: Moilligh Síos!
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