Around 300 Thais and foreigners in Thailand and from other countries joined in an online protest against racism on Sunday, joining with the voices to the global calls for justice for black American George Floyd who lost his life in police custody in Minneapolis last month.
With the restrictions for coronavirus or COVID-19, protestors having 'I Can't Breathe' messages on their arms and also placards gathered on the video-meeting platform Zoom to highlight the call in Thailand as they witnessed the video clip of the last moments of Floyd.
Thailand Protests Against Racism on Zoom Call
"I've lived in three continents now. I have best friends who are from the African community, who are also black Americans, and ... you see a stark contrast in how they are treated," said 28-year old Natalie Bin Narkprasert, one of the event organizers.
"Everyone has hopes, everyone has dreams, everyone bleeds red, you know," she said. "It's crazy that they still have this in 2020 when in 1963, that was when Martin Luther King did his freedom speech." The group also observed 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence - the period that Floyd was filmed pinned under a white officer's knee - to know "how it feels", Natalie added.
Some said racist bias existed in Asia, although it might be more subtle, and that they hoped for gradual changes. The death of Floyd has set off the biggest anti-racism protests seen in the United States in decades and sparked demonstrations worldwide.
(With agency inputs)
