2014 has been a year rocked with political protests all over the world, with racial tensions, corrupt governments, rallies for democracy, and calls to action against sexual assault dominating the headlines.
In August, an unarmed black teen, Michael Brown, was shot by Darren Wilson, a white officer in Ferguson, Missouri. After several months of deliberation, Wilson not indicted.
In November, Tamir Rice, a 12 year old African American boy, was shot by two white officers; he was holding a toy airsoft gun.
Recently, a video of Eric Garner, a middle-aged black man, being held in an illegal chokehold, saying “I can’t breathe” repeatedly until he died has gone viral. These cases of police brutality, along with other cases, have incited a wave of protests across the United States in a call to end racially based police brutality.
In Venezuela, protests have been persisted due to a shattered economy, staggering crime rates (25,000 murders per year), food shortages, and political oppression. Originating as a student protest, the movement has garnered a lot of support against President Nicolás Maduro.
In late 2013, Ukraine’s President Yanukovych rejected an agreement with the EU in order to form stronger ties with Russia. Protesters were outraged at this prospect. Later, pro-Russian rebels begin to take action and the situation turns into a crisis.
Pro-democracy protests have been taking place in Hong Kong against the Chinese Communist Party since September. Most of the protests and demonstrations in the “Umbrella Movement” have been lead by student activists.
In September, a female student was sexually assaulted on the campus of Jadavpur University in India. Initially, the “Hok kolorob” or “Let there be noise” revolution was a response to the University’s Vice Chancellor, Abhijit Chakrabarty’s lack of action, citing that he was protecting the culprits rather than the victim. They were further outraged when the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress Leader and Education Minister, Partha Chatterjee, dismissed the incident completely.
In August, the Azadi March began in Pakistan against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party claims the 2013 election was rigged; protests against the illegitimate government have continued ever since.
Whether or not you agree with the messages of these protests, there is no doubt of their importance. As the end of the year approaches, it’s easy to look back fondly at the small, trivial details: Billboard Top Songs for the Year, the highest grossing movies, etc. But we can’t forget the tragedy, violence, and injustice that occurred all around the world.
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Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9