Unconventional Protests Around The World | By Jeypraba Veerapan
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| Illustration by Rachel. |
For the last few years, we have witnessed an increasing number of protests around the world for various causes such as equality, anti-racism and environmental issues. It would not be an exaggeration to say that protests are as important as voting —both of which allow people to exercise their right to create policy change. Protests are often painted as unruly and disruptive, but in reality, protesting allows ordinary people whose voices are not being heard through conventional means to make a stand and fight for their rights. A few prominent protests that managed to make history and bring change for the better include the 1913 Women’s Suffrage Parade where thousands of women gathered in Washington, D.C. to fight for women’s right to vote. Even though a constitutional amendment guaranteeing women’s right to vote took seven years after this parade to be ratified, the women who marched in this parade played a pivotal role in making it a reality. What often comes to mind when protests are mentioned is the sight of people marching in large numbers, huge placards and chants — which is often the case, but every now and then, we get to witness some truly ingenious and unconventional ways of protesting. Here’s a list of unconventional protests around the world that truly turned heads and left a lasting impression.
Boston Tea Party
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| An illustration showing chests of tea being thrown from ship decks in Boston Harbour. Source: HISTORY. |
The Boston Tea Party is not as delightful as it sounds — it is an act of rebellion by American colonists against the British for unfairly imposing “taxation without representation”. The American colonists were furious that they were made to pay a series of taxes without even being represented in the Parliament. The British Parliament imposed taxes on essentials such as paint, lead, glass, tea and virtually every piece of paper used by the colonists from playing cards to newspapers. The Boston Tea Party was triggered by the Tea Act 1773 which granted monopoly and tax exemption to the British East Indian Company. A group of merchants and tradesmen disguised as Native Americans boarded docked ships filled with tea from China and threw 342 chests or 41 tonnes of tea into Boston Harbour. This act of rebellion resulted in the British Parliament passing the punitive Coercive Acts in the hopes of crushing further resistance. This was not well-received by the colonists and eventually led to the American Revolutionary War which resulted in American independence.
Beer Glass Chain
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| The kilometre long chain of beer glasses filled with candles in Prague. Source: Bangkok Post. |
Protesters in Prague, Czech Republic built a chain of beer glasses filled with candles earlier this year to challenge the closing of pubs and restaurants in the country as part of the Czech Republic’s COVID-19 preventive measures. The demonstrators, mostly from the hospitality industry, formed a kilometre long chain in central Prague with glasses placed two or three metres apart. "We are here because we are really desperate and at the end of our tether, physically and mentally," explained protest organizer Jiri Janecek. The manager of a small brewery in the south of Prague complained that the government had hurt the hospitality sector with its three restaurant closures since March 2020. Some of the protesters carried Czech flags and the organizers even put up a coffin with nails as a symbol of the impending death of their businesses.
Empty Shoes Stand-In
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| Thousands of shoes were placed at Place de la Republique to symbolise the hundred-of-thousands of people who were expected to attend the banned climate march prior to the opening of the COP21 meetings in Paris, France on November 29th, 2015. Source: Mashable. |
In November 2015, thousands of pairs of shoes lined Paris’ Place de la Republique to replace marchers who were supposed to take part in a climate protest. Ahead of the Paris Climate Talk (COP21), environmental activists planned to stage a protest to call for a strong deal in Paris that will see a prompt transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. However, in the wake of deadly terror attacks in the city on November 13, French officials banned large-scale demonstrations due to security concerns and the activists decided to protest in absentia by placing empty pairs of shoes in the Paris square. Over 10,000 pairs of shoes were lined up in place of 200,000 participants originally expected to take part in the march. Among those shoes were a pair of black Oxfords sent in by Pope Francis, who had long been a staunch advocate for climate change awareness and prevention.
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Pope Francis' shoes in the Place de la Republic in solidarity with the climate march. Source: Madeline Lisaius via Twitter. |
Washing the National Flag
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Peruvian women washing their national flag as part of their protest against Alberto Fujimori’s presidency. Source: Resonancias. |
In 2000, Peruvian women regularly gathered in front of the government palace in Lima, the capital city of Peru to wash their national flag which had been “sullied” by the country’s dirty politics. Former President Alberto Fujimori’s third consecutive term in office was widely opposed by the Peruvian demonstrators because they believe that he abused his power and used violent tactics to crush his opposition. The act of washing the Peruvian national flag, dubbed as “lava la bandera”, symbolizes cleaning their country which had been dirtied by their government’s anti-democratic behaviour. Eventually, the lava la bandera protest achieved its goal — five months after the protests began, Fujimori stepped down.
Protesting in a Towel
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Datuk Jamal Yunos outside the Selangor Chief Minister’s office clad in towels to voice his dissatisfaction over the constant water cuts in Selangor. Source: MalaysiaGazette. |
Last but not least is our very own Malaysian protester who turned heads when he showed up at Selangor Chief Minister’s office in December 2016, clad only in towels and carrying a dipper to protest against the constant water cuts in Selangor. Sungai Besar UMNO Chief Datuk Jamal Yunos showed up at the office early in the morning and told reporters that he had not showered for two days and that he wanted to take a shower at the state secretariat building. He then angrily lambasted the Selangor state administration for failing to solve the state’s constant water supply issues. Jamal made a comeback in September 2020 when he posted a video of himself, again clad in towels, taking a bath by a river in Tanjung Malim, Perak in solidarity with Selangor residents who were faced with a sudden water disruption due to pollution at Sungai Gong in Rawang. This time, Jamal encouraged Selangor residents to unite and gather outside the state secretariat with towels to “demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the state government and the Chief Minister over their failure to provide the best water services and supply to Selangor folk.”
Some of these protests might seem lighthearted or even silly, but it is undeniable that the ingenuity of these exercises and the brilliant messages they deliver are very powerful in making a change for the better. Protesting could be extremely difficult and dangerous, especially in countries where the government uses violence to suppress people from voicing out. Unconventional ways of protesting, such as lining up thousands of pairs of shoes in public spaces is not only an effective way of making our voices heard, but it is also relatively safe.
As my sufferings mounted I soon realized that there were two ways that I could respond to my situation: either to react with bitterness or seek to transform the suffering into a creative force. I decided to follow the latter course. — Martin Luther King Jr.
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