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#PTSD #Exile
2 Years Since
#PolyUSiege: Pro-Democracy Protester who Fled Hong Kong Missed Relative's Funeral, Fears Retribution from #Regime

#PolyU #PoylUSiege #Trauma #HKPoliceState

Source: In-Media HK; #Nov20

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#PTSD #Exile
2 Years Since
#PolyUSiege: Pro-Democracy Protester who Fled Hong Kong Missed Relative's Funeral, Fears Retribution from #Regime

When "A" (pseudonym) heard that a close relative had passed away earlier this year, she immediately made plans to fly back to Hong Kong for the funeral. She quickly picked an airline and a date for the flight; but when it came to selecting her seat, a sense of dread and anxiety suddenly struck her: "I'm really scared of being arrested."

In the end, she did not take the flight.

"A" was working overseas when the the 2019 #ANTIELAB movement broke out. She was not a frequent participant, and had only taken up back-end support roles when she visited her family in Hong Kong.

In November 2019, she went to Hong Kong Polytechnic University (#PolyU) to support the pro-democracy protesters inside, and was trapped when police laid siege to the campus.

She attempted to escape on two occasions without success; in the end, police took her information, and she was taken away by ambulance.

Afterwards, she returned overseas to work. She had thought that she wasn't affected much by what she experienced.

She never imagined that her fears of retribution would only worsen, rather than fade away over time. "When the time came that I needed to return to Hong Kong, I found out that I was too afraid to do so."

"If a family funeral wasn't enough of a reason to come back, then what else is there in Hong Kong worth coming back for?" "A" had never considered emigration; but now, she knows she could not return to her hometown in the foreseeable future.

She considers herself half an exile, and she could only acquiesce with her predicament: "You can't take back what has happened."

In November 2019, pro-democracy protesters declared a city-wide strike in Hong Kong. Roadblocks were set up across the city, and protesters occupied the PolyU campus in order to blockade the nearby Cross-Harbour Tunnel in Hung Hom.

Police surrounded the camlus from November 17, 2019 on, trapping protesters and citizens alike, and blocking multiple escape attempts by protesters.

Large crowds of civilians answered calls online to "break the siege", advancing towards the university from nearby districts. Police made mass arrests in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hung Hom, and Jordan; over 200 citizens were arrested on rioting charges.

Though many were released without being charged after the maximum 48-hour detention period, some of them are arrested again from their homes by police two years after in 2021.

#PolyU #PoylUSiege #Trauma #HKPoliceState

Source: In-Media HK; #Nov20
Full article: https://bit.ly/3DzVEqO