-Paper Dragon
Public demonstrations are usually broadcast through television, but a new method of spreading the world has arisen. The solution? Facebook, Twitter, and other social media networks! Here are the most famous protests of 2014 and why they are important to us.
Public demonstrations are usually broadcast through television, but a new method of spreading the world has arisen. The solution? Facebook, Twitter, and other social media networks! Here are the most famous protests of 2014 and why they are important to us.
#Euromaidan (Ukraine)
Viktor Yanukovych, the president of Ukraine in Nov. 2013, made a mistake when he decided to suspend trade talk with Europe. A small group was the first to demonstrate, in Ukraine's capital, Kiev. They gathered in Independence Square (or Maidan Nezalezhnosti) to demonstrate for their cause. This is when #Euromaidan was born. Through worldwide support through Twitter, it became a real revolt and Yanukovych was kicked out of office.
In March 2014, Vladmir Putin claimed Crimea, which was a part of Ukraine since 1954. Ukraine supporters and Pro-Russian Separatists are still arguing about it.
Viktor Yanukovych, the president of Ukraine in Nov. 2013, made a mistake when he decided to suspend trade talk with Europe. A small group was the first to demonstrate, in Ukraine's capital, Kiev. They gathered in Independence Square (or Maidan Nezalezhnosti) to demonstrate for their cause. This is when #Euromaidan was born. Through worldwide support through Twitter, it became a real revolt and Yanukovych was kicked out of office.
In March 2014, Vladmir Putin claimed Crimea, which was a part of Ukraine since 1954. Ukraine supporters and Pro-Russian Separatists are still arguing about it.
#SOSVenezuela
Students protested in the street Feb. 2014 against Venezuela's new president, Nicolas Maduro. Maduro's new laws had brought goods shortages and growing crime rates to Venezuela for a while. On Feb. 12th, Leopoldo Lopez was the first to spread the word through #SOSVenezuela. Lopez, part of an activist group Un Mundo Sin Mordaza (A World Without Censorship), spoke of peaceful protesting instead of violence. As more and more people became aware of Venezuela's situation, more people joined and the protests got more violent. Finally, on Feb. 18th, Lopez was arrested and put in jail. Citizens are still furious about Lopez's arrest, but the protests have stopped for now.
Students protested in the street Feb. 2014 against Venezuela's new president, Nicolas Maduro. Maduro's new laws had brought goods shortages and growing crime rates to Venezuela for a while. On Feb. 12th, Leopoldo Lopez was the first to spread the word through #SOSVenezuela. Lopez, part of an activist group Un Mundo Sin Mordaza (A World Without Censorship), spoke of peaceful protesting instead of violence. As more and more people became aware of Venezuela's situation, more people joined and the protests got more violent. Finally, on Feb. 18th, Lopez was arrested and put in jail. Citizens are still furious about Lopez's arrest, but the protests have stopped for now.
#BringBackOurGirls (Nigeria)
You may have heard of this one. The Islamic group Boko Haram kidnapped 270 girls from a Chibok boarding school in northeastern Nigeria on April 14th, 2014. 57 of the girls escaped on the first night, but the others were not so lucky and have not been found. A group of locals were the ones who started #BringBackOurGirls to command the world's attention. As you can see from the picture, U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama has gotten involved in the campaign as well. There has been no progress in finding any of the kidnapped girls so far.
You may have heard of this one. The Islamic group Boko Haram kidnapped 270 girls from a Chibok boarding school in northeastern Nigeria on April 14th, 2014. 57 of the girls escaped on the first night, but the others were not so lucky and have not been found. A group of locals were the ones who started #BringBackOurGirls to command the world's attention. As you can see from the picture, U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama has gotten involved in the campaign as well. There has been no progress in finding any of the kidnapped girls so far.
#HandsUp, #HandsUpDontShoot, #BlackLivesMatter (USA)
This is one of the most well-known hashtags around here, because some of you may have seen demonstrations for this cause in Seattle too. It all started in Ferguson, Missouri on Aug. 9th, when an African-American teen named Michael Brown was fatally wounded by a white cop. An eyewitness said that Brown raised his hands in surrender before he was shot, sparking the #HandsUp hashtags. Many protests were started in the area, and there were many more when, on Nov. 24, the cop was cleared of all charges. A few days later in Staten Island, New York, 34-year old African-American Eric Garner was choked to death by- you guessed it- a white police officer. His final words, "I can't breathe," are as famous as #HandsUp. Thanks to the viral spread of these messages, many protests all over the USA have been happening.
Without modern social media, the rest of the world may know about these important events too late. If you want to support any of these causes, you can click here for #Euromaidan, here for #SOSVenezuela, here for #BringBackOurGirls, and here for #HandsUp.
Sources: huffingtonpost.com,philly.com,newyorker.com, DOGOnews.com
This is one of the most well-known hashtags around here, because some of you may have seen demonstrations for this cause in Seattle too. It all started in Ferguson, Missouri on Aug. 9th, when an African-American teen named Michael Brown was fatally wounded by a white cop. An eyewitness said that Brown raised his hands in surrender before he was shot, sparking the #HandsUp hashtags. Many protests were started in the area, and there were many more when, on Nov. 24, the cop was cleared of all charges. A few days later in Staten Island, New York, 34-year old African-American Eric Garner was choked to death by- you guessed it- a white police officer. His final words, "I can't breathe," are as famous as #HandsUp. Thanks to the viral spread of these messages, many protests all over the USA have been happening.
Without modern social media, the rest of the world may know about these important events too late. If you want to support any of these causes, you can click here for #Euromaidan, here for #SOSVenezuela, here for #BringBackOurGirls, and here for #HandsUp.
Sources: huffingtonpost.com,philly.com,newyorker.com, DOGOnews.com