Black lives Matter movement: "mothers' walls" to protect demonstrators

"Wall of moms", in French "mur de mamans". Not necessarily the type of wall Donald Trump had imagined. But for the past few days, a group of mothers of American families has attracted the attention of the whole country. As Black lives matter protests continue in Portland, Oregon to denounce police violence, moms dressed in yellow T-shirts and wearing bicycle helmets march on the front line forming a living wall to protect protesters from officers federal.

Deeming the local authorities lax, President Trump dispatched federal agents to the rebel city to protect public buildings in particular. Far from appeasing the spirits, the presidential decision only fueled tensions and galvanized the movement which was beginning to run out of steam.

“At the heart of it were hundreds of women dressed in yellow and singing“ Hands up, please don't shoot me ”- evidence that not only has Trump's dispatch of federal agents failed to stop the protests, it has reinvigorated them” #wallofmoms everywhere please https://t.co/rG0udxw5oD

Caught in a vice, between on one side, the demonstrators ready to do battle and the tear gas jets, the American "moms" are trying to avoid the worst. "Our wall is not concrete, but it will protect against rubber bullets. We are simply trying to protect each other", explains one of them to France 24 special envoy, Loïc Pialat. 

Do not attract attention

Together, they chant peaceful slogans like "Hands up, please don't shoot me" ("My hands are in the air, don't shoot me"). There is no question for them to attract the attention of the media: they only want to serve a single cause, the "Black Lives Matter" movement. On Wednesday, the leaders of the anti-racist movement asked them to avoid speaking to the press.

Here in #Portland protests, moms preparing their line to stand up to federal troops and try to shield others pic.twitter.com/BPUCEQcD0W

For the past sixty days, thousands of demonstrators have gathered in Portland every evening. Clashes systematically break out with federal agents. The men, deployed by the Department of Homeland Security - an organ that was created to prevent a repeat of the September 11, 2001 attacks - use tear gas, rubber bullets or stun grenades to disperse crowds. On the side of the police, we denounce illegal acts on the part of protesters who throw stones and bottles in the direction of the police, also blinded by laser torches.

Typically, an evening in Portland begins with rallies and marches in arteries whose businesses protect their storefronts with boards, and ends with clashes, protesters clubbed or targets of tear gas.

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