As 2019 draws to a close, in a photo special, Reuters photographers captured images from the protests that swept the globe this year…
Protests swept the globe in 2019, with millions of people taking to the streets from Catalonia to Colombia, Haiti to Hong Kong.
Each movement had its own trigger. Some were fed up with corruption and entrenched elites. Others wanted democracy or independence.
Hiba Ghosn, 36, who works in the fashion industry, poses for a photograph behind her friends sitting in the afternoon sun on Martyrs’ square, as people gather for a demonstration during ongoing anti-government protests in Beirut, Lebanon, on 17th November. “They are thieves, every single one of them. They’ve been robbing us for 30 years,” She said. “The new generation should come in and politicians that are more like us, and see what we see. I think it’s gonna take a very long time to reach there…but we will. I think we’ve woken up the dragon…[Globally] people have had enough. I think they are all asking for those basic rights.” PICTURE: Reuters/Andres Martinez Casares
Some called for reforms and others opposed them. Worries over climate change and environmental destruction also galvanised activists worldwide. The frustrations were sometimes similar, from inequality to powerlessness.
Often the protests turned violent, with security forces killing several hundred people in Iran, Iraq and elsewhere. Volleys of tear gas became a familiar sight in traditionally peaceful and stable Hong Kong.
Yet amid the gunfire and clouds of tear gas, there was a global solidarity as demonstrators drew on each other’s determination and strength.
Reuters photographers in more than a dozen countries documented the depth of feeling that linked disparate movements.
Paola Correa, 37, who is an artist, poses for a photograph at a protest during a national strike in Bogota, Colombia, on 26th November. “I go out to protest because I am sure that the demonstrations…can generate the social and political transformations that this country needs,” Correa said. “In reality, I do not protest for me, I protest for people of other races, for the peasants, for the disappeared…There are many ways to support the protests, there are people who don’t go out on the streets because of the fear that the state itself is generating… but [you] can make a difference, in how you treat others, that’s also a change, and it happens from the most intimate moments of our lives.” PICTURE: Reuters/Luisa Gonzalez
“Right now we are in a stage of awakening and we have to take advantage of that,” said Andres Felipe Vargas, a professor joining an anti-government strike in Bogota, Colombia.
“What is happening in our country, and these injustices that generate inequities, are the same injustices that are destroying the planet,” he said.
In Algeria, Amiri Yacine, who joined rolling demonstrations since February in opposition to the elite that has controlled the country since independence in 1962, likewise feels his demands are universal.
“I am protesting against injustice and dictatorship,” said Yacine, 26, holding a poster depicting the world’s protests as a blossoming flower, packed amongst hundreds of mostly young demonstrators in Algiers. “We want to build a new Algeria.”
“My message to protesters is just be peaceful – be wise and keep calm. Fight the system with good ideas, because they don’t have ideas.”
Amiri Yacine, 26, a student, poses for a photograph during a protest rejecting the December presidential election and against the country’s ruling elite in Algiers, Algeria, on 15th November. “I am protesting against injustice and dictatorship,” he said.”People are protesting around the world. In Lebanon, Iraq, Chile, France, Hong Kong and Haiti, because of injustice and corruption.” Yacine, who has joined rolling demonstrations since February in opposition to the shadowy elite that has controlled Algeria since independence in 1962, feels his demands are universal. “We want to build a new Algeria..,we want free media and a total respect of human rights. Also, we want jobs and infrastructure,” Yacine said. “My message to protesters is just be peaceful – be wise and keep calm. Fight the system with good ideas, because they don’t have ideas.” PICTURE: Reuters/Ramzi Boudina
Summer has turned to winter in Hong Kong, where demonstrations against a controversial extradition bill turned into a push for greater democracy.
The Beijing-backed government has refused to yield, while the protesters have gathered in vast numbers, turning shopping districts into a sea of black-clad people.
“This is a universal demand for democracy and fairness,” said Jasper, a 27-year-old bank worker, who joined a downtown protest at lunchtime. He cut a suave figure, in a suit, red-and-blue striped tie and pocket square, standing on Pedder Street in the city’s central district.
Jasper, 27, who works in a retail bank, poses for a photograph during a demonstration in Central, Hong Kong, China, on 12th November. “This is a universal demand for democracy and fairness,” said Jasper, who joined a downtown protest at lunchtime. Like many protesters he declined to give his surname and wore a surgical mask to conceal his identity. “Every country in the world faces the same situation. This will not be an easy road, but we all know we are doing the right thing.” PICTURE: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton.
Like many protesters he declined to give his surname and wore a surgical mask to conceal his identity.
“Every country in the world faces the same situation. This will not be an easy road, but we all know we are doing the right thing.”
The movement has invited comparisons with protesters pushing for independence for the Spanish region of Catalonia, where the sentencing of separatist leaders to long prison terms led to renewed and sometimes violent protests.
“We’re here, mainly young people, outraged by the sentences and the inability of politicians to talk,” said Barcelona student Axel Buxade, 18, holding a Catalan flag at a demonstrators’ camp on a city street.
“There have been acts of mutual support, if they reach their goal we’ll be very happy,” he said, referring to Hong Kong.
Axel Buxade, 18, a student, poses for a photograph with a Catalan flag during a protest at University Square in Barcelona, Spain, on 9th November. “We’re here, mainly young people, outraged by the sentences and the inability of politicians to talk,” said Buxade. “There have been acts of mutual support, if they reach their goal we’ll be very happy,” he said, referring to Hong Kong. PICTURE: Reuters/Rafael Marchante
Economics, and in particular inequality has also proved potent fuel for protests in Lebanon, Chile, Ecuador and Iraq.
“People in the world are tired of injustice,” said Chilean Alex Munoz Fuentes, a 47-year-old accountant, standing before a burning barricade on a Santiago street.
“I don’t want anything given for free,” he said, the national flag in one hand and a pair of goggles to protect him from the effects of tear gas in the other.
“But I know that in Chile the institutions, the law and the constitution are made to abuse the working classes. I want a new deal.
“Hong Kong is similar, the authorities are not thinking about people’s well-being. I have a fraternal hug for them, and all my solidarity from Chile. Please don’t give up.”
Alex Munoz Fuentes, 47, an accountant, poses for a photograph with a Chilean flag in Santiago, Chile, on 8th November. “People in the world are tired of injustice,” said Fuentes. “I don’t want anything given for free,” “But I know that in Chile the institutions, the law and the constitution are made to abuse the working classes. I want a new deal…Hong Kong is similar, the authorities are not thinking about people’s wellbeing…I have a fraternal hug for them, and all my solidarity from Chile. Please don’t give up.” PICTURE: Reuters/Jorge Silva.
