Unheard Voice of the Common Man
In recent times, the common man’s voice has become more insignificant and unheard than it used to be in the past. This is the beginning of an unutterable end that is yet to be seen. Dare I say that a civil demonstration is a stepping stone towards achieving one’s goal.
A study, that was published in ‘Why Civil Resistance Works’, was carried out by Maria J. Stephan (Director of Educational Initiatives at the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict), Erika Cheanoweth (Assistant Professor of Government at Wesleyan University) and a postdoctoral fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs in the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. The study involves over 323 violent and non-violent resistance that has occurred between the year 1900 till 2006. The results show the following: ‘in the face of regime crackdowns, nonviolent campaigns are more than six times likelier to achieve full success than violent campaigns that also faced regime repression.’ But this success rate is also dependent on the external interference that is prepared to suppress them.
Non-resistance movements use the method of conflict resolving, whilst non-civil-resistance uses many coordinated tactics, like strikes, boycotts and demonstrations. There is no direct harm or even physical harm to the opposed. The goal is to be achieved with a peace.
Non-violent campaigns are more than twice as effective as armed resistance to achieving their goals. Over the past forty years, this trend has grown. Violent resistance is becoming rare — it is getting out of fashion and outdated.
Most of us know about a 16-year-old Swedish environmental activist, Greta Thunberg, who has started a movement “School Strike for Climate” which created awareness about global warming throughout the world. Now, her young voice is heard by everyone; her little voice speaks loudly and she has garnered support all over the world. She doesn’t aim to create chaos; she talks to the world and they listen.
Demonstration or, more commonly known as, organized rally is an act of freedom of expression carried out by the people. Demonstration is held in accordance to a collective of depressing and devastating moments experienced by a huge number of people for a period of time. All of the people have one thing in common — their collective interest. This is an act portrayed to seek justification to an issue that is personally felt by many to be unacceptable and unavoidable as it contradicts with the principles they believe in and even if their livelihood is at risk.
Moreover, any government of any country on Earth that do believe that humans are meant to be treated equally are subjected to practice their believe by allowing the citizens to know the truth and obtain justice under the rule of law. Under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights, it clearly states that “everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference” and “everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression.” This clearly shows that demonstration is an act conducted under the basis of law and till it is conducted in a civilized and calm manner, the voices will be heard, but if the rally is in an uncivilized manner then it will face unprecedented consequences. Unfortunately, in the past few decades, mostly all demonstration did begin in a calm and composed manner but it quickly took an unprecedented turnover where the situation quickly escalates and the objective of the protest was not achieved.
Most of the demonstrations have been organized with a hope of achieving and fulfilling their goals they have intended. Unfortunately, most of the rally has ended with a scuffle between the authorities and the people and as a result blood was spilled. The situation might go to that extent due to the actions carried out neither by the people nor the authorities. It could have also been initiated by external or internal forces which would profit them. A very fine line exists between demonstration and riots.
Demonstration is carried out by the common man with a common goal which is for the betterment and well-being of society. When it turns into a riot it means the people are pushed into a situation where there is by default no choices left but to express their voice and emotions with an unrestrained behavior.
The well-known demonstration turned riot — Yellow Vest Movement in France. It has been ongoing for nearly one and a half years and it is still currently ongoing now. One of the French people’s main agenda was for the current government to lower the cost of living, fuel prices, rise of minimum wages. Both the representative form the government and the people have not found a common ground yet to solve the problem but the government did take some measures by providing tax-cuts for low-income people. At one point the demonstration actually started to fade away but since the past month it has been gaining its momentum back. Demonstration will only be carried out by the people till they are not critically affected, economically and socially. If it surpasses that particular time frame, then the demonstration or the riot will start to enter a phase of declining number of participants. This is because people will have to live their life after all and most importantly, they have to make a living as well.
Moreover, another recent protest that has been making headlines throughout the media for the past couple of months is none other than the current the Hong Kong Protest. One of Hong Kongers primary petitions was upon one of the most controversial extradition bill proposed by the Hong Kong’s Chief Executive, Carrie Lam in the parliament. This extradition bill clearly will affect the sovereignty of Hong Kong’s judicial system. That bill was the main reason that forced Hong Kongers to carry out demonstration throughout the city but, unfortunately, it turned into a riot. At first, the sign of irreducible strength and unity among the people was tend to be applauded by global citizens. Sadly, the situation quickly escalated and became unstable due to the scuffle between the authority and the people. Although there were some unexpected incidents that unfolded during the riot; the extradition bill has been retrieved. It was seen as a prominent success achieved by the people, but the movement was already beyond a peaceful protest.
Most of the demonstrations take a significant amount of time to create a significant impact on the society but once it has a strong foothold for its cause, it will eventually lead the government to step in and take necessary actions. As long as the demonstrated common cause of the people are in accordance with the rule of law, justice will prevail. As quoted by a well-known American civil rights activist, Martin Luther King:
“ Darkness cannot drive out darkness,
only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate,
only love can do that. “
If violence is prevailed, no matter the situation, there will only be more oppression by government authorities on the people. Injustice is all that will prevail in the end of the day and this is exactly what occurred to the Honduras people that wanted their President Juan Orlando Hernandez to step down but that did not go as planned. This utterly proves that demonstration should be carried out in a civilized and non-violent manner in relation to allow the voice of the common man to be heard.
“So, societies that are emerging from a civil resistance campaign, even a failed one, are far more likely to emerge with democratic institutions within the next five to ten years,” says Erika Cheanoweth.
Social media would be a better choice other than riot, to create a significant change in the society regarding an issue when demonstration fails. This was clearly proved when the volunteers in non-governmental organizations decided that they should play a crucial role in preserving the nature. They did create awareness on the importance of preserving nature. This sense of self-realization on the importance of nature became a reality during the destruction of the Amazon Rainforest which took place recently.
Destruction of nature will surely give rise to climate change and in a survey, titled “Is the Public Willing to Pay to Help Fix Climate Change?” echoed by Yale University and George Mason University, resulted in widening acceptance of science revealing human-driven climate change. 7 out of 10 Americans say climate change is a reality, and most think human activity is primarily responsible. The survey was conducted among Americans (1202 adults aged 18) which resulted that they have become more convinced in the last five years, that 76 percent described extreme weather events as the most influential factor for the shifting of their views.
A common man can make his voice heard not only by demonstration but also through social media. The choice made by one, depends on one’s situation.
– The right to voice is a citizen’s right –
text Asshwin Palaniappan Ramanathan
edited by Reshma Durai
