Hong Kong Protests Day 4 – The Umbrella Barricades

“A 'No' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble." ~Mahatma Gandhi, Indian civil rights leader and political activist

Tuesday - September 30, 2014

Central Hong Kong has been transformed into a sort of “revolutionary stand-off.” The streets are empty, strewn with litter, discarded signs and broken umbrellas. Utilitarian metal barricades, eerily reminiscent of scenes from Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, block off the main thoroughfares in the central part of the city and clearly define where the protestors stop and the rest of the Hong Kong public begins.

Sometimes piled up high on themselves, the metal barricades are twisted and ugly, threatening injury if crossed and discouraging any sort of easy passage around, over or through. Clearly, these metal blockades are there to make a point, and while they certainly are effective, over the weekend another type of barricade sprung up – the “umbrella barricades.” Making a vibrant visual statement, these blazing bursts of color scattered throughout Central Hong Kong may have a far greater impact than their metal counterparts.

The umbrellas, tethered to the metal fences, are a colorful demarcation of the stand being taken in Central, a bright and cheerful “line in the sand” that was drawn even more decisively by the students and the protestors over the weekend. If their aim was to capture the visually-hungry media’s attention, they have done their job – these colorful umbrellas are the perfect prop to break through the noise and focus attention squarely on Hong Kong.

But for the protestors they have a much more practical and disturbing function. The umbrellas are being used as protection against tear gas canisters that, at any moment, might be hurled into the crowds by angry law enforcement. After the police violence on Saturday night, now every protestor carries one; often they remain open all night long as a kind of make-shift tent, a protective covering of sorts and, of course, as a statement.

Because of this, the movement has been dubbed in the media “The Umbrella Revolution,” an effective catch-phrase insuring that across the globe the wires are picking it up, the cameras are snapping and even more eyes are turned to Hong Kong – as for the students, everyday they’re becoming more aware that they’re not alone, that their movement is growing, and that the world is, indeed, watching.