OXLAEYHow to Eat a Sandwich with a Gas Mask On
There were bands and drinking and dancing. There were fiery speeches which lasted long into the night. There were small bonfires to warm up with in the cold night. This went on a few days, each day the number of students with the energy and will to keep it up trickling down.On the night of the 29th there were only about 100 or so students left, as far as I know. I left a few hours earlier to get some sleep as did my roommates.The next morning (November 30) however, early in the morning, they awoke to some scary text messages. The Maidan Square had been charged by the elite security force. As these divisions pushed the protesters out they used excessive force and a few students and journalists captured parts of the altercation on camera. All the news was hearsay at this point in time. My roommates were on the phone constantly. What we knew war that some of the student protesters had run up the street, into an old monastery, where they were hidden from the security forces. This altercation changed the dynamic in the city dramatically.I don’t know how normal citizens learned of the police action but when I arrived at the monastery around 11 am, there were about 300 people shouting with rage. It wasn’t any longer just the students. The crowd was made up of grandfathers, women in their 40s with too much lipstick, mid-aged men with beer bellies. The crowd that was forming was more representative of the larger Kiev society.I couldn’t understand what was being said but the tension in the air was palpitate. You could see rage on the faces of those present. But also fear. I suspect that many were afraid that the riot policy might also show up and clear them out as well. After all the Maidan Square was only about a 10 minute walk down the hill. While government forces occupied the Maidan the protests had somehow just shifted to the open area in front of the monastery.
As the hours ticked by the crowd grew. Someone showed up with a few loaves of bread. Others passed out hot tea. Before long, a “kitchen” had been organized. Huge piles of food had been brought to the site by regular citizens of Kiev.
Someone brought a few car batteries and a microphone. Women (mostly) were smearing sandwiches. Men (mostly) were organizing speakers on a small platform. It was purely spontaneous political protest. According to those I spoke with, none one from the regular political parties bothered showing up.
Cars were driving – bumper to bumper – through the streets honking their horns in support. Someone said it was on purpose to block any potential movement by security forces.
As night fell, the protesters, now numbering a few thousand, obviously felt more at ease. Couples took pictures of themselves. Children could be found, running around. The tension subsided. The protesters had staked out their ground and felt safety in numbers. Nobody was going to let the security forces in this night. Highly organized groups (from teams of (unmarked) boy scouts to church choirs, set up an infirmary and food supplies in and around the monastery. Some wore gas masks, prepared for the worse. See the video above.
Late at night, the news on the street circled around: The major opposition parties called for a larger protest march to reclaim back the Maidan the following Sunday (below).
