Those Who Sincerely Burn Their Shops As A Result Of The Unrest Of The Death Of George Floyd

Illustration. (Photo: Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Protests over George Floyd's death have spread across the United States in recent days. The crowd condemned the police action that killed the African American.

Hundreds of shops and restaurants in the city of Minneapolis, where Floyd was killed, were damaged by fire as a result of protests that led to riots between civilians and police. In fact, not a few shops were looted.

However, there were a number of shop and restaurant owners affected by the riot who gave up their damaged and burned places in support of justice and were on the side of the demonstrations in the case of Floyd's death.

One such place is the Gandhi Mahal restaurant. The restaurant owner named Ruhel Islam does not regret the burning of the business he has built for nearly 13 years.

"Let my building burn. Justice needs to be served and those officers need to be jailed," Ruhel was quoted as saying by CNN, Sunday, May 31.

Princess Ruhel, Hafsa Islam, explained the conditions on the day of the riots. Since Tuesday, May 26, they turned the restaurant into a safe place for protesters who were injured and needed first aid.

Until the evening of Thursday, May 28, the protests turned violent and started a fire. Hafsa said locals are doing their best to protect Gandhi Mahal by standing in front of it.

However, fire cannot be fought. Within hours, the windows were broken and by morning their restaurant had turned to ashes. Despite the loss, Hafsa said he was steadfast in supporting the protesters and their cause.

"This is not about business, this is about us, this is about George Floyd and everyone whose lives have been wrongly taken because of police brutality. We fight for justice in this unfair system," he explained.

Not only Gandhi Mahal. One bookstore named Moon Palace Books was also affected in this riot. Instead of driving away the demonstrators, shop owner Jamie Schwesnedl and his wife, Angela, decided to turn their business into a safe place.

Schwesnedl hung an "Abolish the Police" sign on the window, in refusal to allow officers to use the parking lot and shop yard as a defense for the security forces.

The couple also turned their room into a "danger-free zone," where people set up medical outposts for injured protesters to clear tear gas and clean their wounds.

"People are furious, and rightly so. There is no government organization or person in this city who really listens to people, hears their pain and anger, and addresses their concerns," Schwesnedl said.

"I don't know what's going on, but it shouldn't be the job of small business owners to keep our customers and neighbors and our communities safe from the police, but here we are now," he added.

George Floyd's Death and the Problem of Racism

The murder of a black citizen George Floyd because he was occupied by police officers has exacerbated the issue of racism in the United States. The incident in Minneapolis prompted hundreds of blacks to take to the streets to stage demonstrations. In the aftermath, the four policemen involved in the incident were fired.

It all started when two Minneapolis police officers approached a vehicle parked on block 3700 Chicago Avenue South. According to CCTV footage from a shop received by The Washington Post, they were seen approaching the driver, known as George Floyd. One of the officers then handcuffed Floyd and sat on his neck.

Many residents witnessed the incident. One of them is Darnella Frazier, the person who recorded the incident and shared it on Facebook.

As more and more people witnessed what happened, Floyd began to moan in pain. According to Frazier's testimony in another of his videos described, the man's face was pressed so hard that his nose was bleeding.

"You're just going to sit there with your knees to his neck?" asked a witness to the police.

A few minutes later, the man appeared motionless, his eyes closed and his head drooping in the street. A witness said, Floyd's body did not move at all, and asked the police to immediately stop his action.

Then, the man who was already unconscious was stretchered into the ambulance. The people who were still at the scene told the two policemen that the incident would haunt them for the rest of their lives.

Investigate the police to follow up on reports related to the forgery case allegedly carried out by Floyd. According to the police, he had to be paralyzed because he fought back.

But the information is still vague. Meanwhile Minneapolis Police Chief, Medaria Arradondo asked the FBI to seek further cases.

The incident sparked hundreds of people to gather along the crime scene (TKP) and stage demonstrations. The crowd then staged a long march to the local police headquarters.

In front of the police headquarters, demonstrators then clashed with police. Tear gas was fired to disperse the masses.