Protest Day

I was out shopping today when I ran into a protest. I didn't realize what it was until I saw about a hundred riot police decked out in full gear and lined up on the street. Did I turn around and walk the other way? Of course not! This isn't Sudan. I wasn't the only white girl around.
What did I do? I got closer to take pictures. There were tons of newspaper photographers around, then you had all the locals with their cell phones and all the tourists with their regular cameras.

But I have to admit I got bored pretty quick. At first it was a bit of a novelty to actually be allowed to take pictures without worrying that the police might see me and arrest me. But after a while even the novelty of the freedom of picture-taking wore off. No one was waving swords or large sticks. I couldn't read their signs but none of them included a 'down down USA'. Even the chanting was pretty pathetic, they weren't even yelling very loud. The riot police were just standing around and I'm sure there wasn't a real bullet to be found, just those fake rubber ones. All in all, not too exciting for a protest.

I will say that the Sudanese riot police could take a lesson or two from these Metro guys about how riot police should dress and behave, all those knee pads and helmets.

In Sudan it wasn't uncommon to see trucks of riot police speeding through town. At first I was a bit alarmed. I used to count the trucks and use that to determine the importance of what was happening. Less than 10 in a row meant it was nothing. More than 30 meant I should probably head home soon. After a while I found a new scale to measure by. It all revolves around several observations:

1) Do the soldiers even have shoes on?

2) Are there any large plastic shields?

3) Are they holding up the shields or are they just haphazardly thrown anywhere?

4) Can you see AK47s?

5) Are they using them to pick their noses?

6) Are there any helmets involved?

7) Is there anyone manning the 50 caliber on the top of the truck?

8) And finally, are his hands actually touching the gun?

...It's so strange to think about the things that I have somehow become accustomed to.

Click on the post title to see the last time I was up close and personal with riot police.