Protesting The City
Oral Communication Practice
Cities can be the place of dreams. Increasingly diverse groups are moving to cities to pursue different aspirations, collaborate and innovate. But cities can just as easily become flashpoints where different opinions clash; places of disappointment, anger and fear as decisions made by people in power leave different groups disadvantaged and even threaten their survival.
This video features scenes of people protesting against policies that threaten their livelihoods. Watch the video and respond to the questions below.
1. How do you think the people in the video are feeling?
2. Have you ever felt the need to protest against something?
RESPONSES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
50-year-old Indian farmer
“What will our future generations say, that we didn’t raise our voice? That’s why we’re sitting on the street, to save our land for our grandsons.”
on protests against the new farm laws in India that could threaten their livelihood
19-year-old Singaporean student organiser
“I don’t really speak up in groups unless I really need to. The reason why I’m speaking up is because the climate crisis is pressing.”
on protests to urge the government to take bolder action against climate change
21-year-old Thai working student
“While it is good that more people support the cause [on the Internet] . . . physical presence is important as it offers infallible proof to the people who dismiss us as “trolls” or “children who do not know any better”, that we are not simply “a minority” since there are so many of us”.
on protests against what was seen as an unfair election of government
3. What are your views on public protests?
A Hong Kong policeman
“It’s very painful because doing my duty means keeping law and order in the country and stopping violence but my own children are also a part of the protests.”
on protests against China’s control over Hong Kong
36-year-old African writer
“A lot of the time people say to the have-nots “protests are not the right way to handle things.” But we need to remember that when you are a have and when you are a have-not you see the world in very different ways.”
on the Black Lives Matter protests originating in America against anti-Black violence, especially from the police
35-year-old Singaporean policy officer
“Even more important are the conversations that the protests should lead to. Every decision we make will have trade-offs and people losing out. Both sides need to be clear about what they want and also be open to truly understanding each other as well.”
on what’s important to have in a protest to effect change
