Voices of the protesters from around the world

By By Kathleen Foody And Andrew Welsh-Huggins, The Associated Press

Protests over the death of George Floyd and ongoing discrimination against minorities took place in many global capitals Saturday including Berlin, London, Paris, Tokyo and Seoul, South Korea, as well as U.S. cities.

Voices of some of the protesters:

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“It could have been me. Could have been my brother, my father, any of my friends who are black.”

— Erik Carlos, who was among the mourners gathered outside a church before a Saturday morning service in Floyd’s hometown of Raeford, North Carolina.

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“Being black is not a crime.”

— Fourteen-year-old Marie Djedje in Paris, who said she is bracing for obstacles in life because she is black. She was among several thousand people gathered within sight of the U.S. Embassy; they were kept back by barriers and police.

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“We as a society don’t tolerate racism.”

— Amina Koss in Berlin, who said she’s concerned some politicians, including in Germany, are making racism acceptable again.

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“If a society is not worth preserving, then what are you doing? You’re perpetuating a nonsense.”

Bob Jones, 75, who attended a Black Lives Matter rally in Sydney, saying it was worth the risk to rally for change despite the state’s chief health officer saying the event could help spread the coronavirus.

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“Many of us are angry, and I want to help create a situation where we can start a conversation.”

— Literature graduate student Shunichiro Kabayashi, who joined dozens of protesters in the Shibuya district of Tokyo.

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“I urge the U.S government to stop the violent suppression of (U.S.) protesters and listen to their voices.”

— Jihoon Shim, one of the organizers of a rally in Seoul, where dozens of people carried signs such as “George Floyd Rest in Peace” and “Koreans for Black Lives Matter.”

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“We’re tired. I’m tired of, on my timeline, seeing black men and women and saying Rest In Peace for another black life that should still be here.”

— Maiya Mack, a 19-year-old student at the historically black Clark Atlanta University, who joined protesters outside the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus.

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Associated Press writers around the world contributed to this report.

By Kathleen Foody And Andrew Welsh-Huggins, The Associated Press


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