“GO HOME”

Rubén Salgado Escudero

January 20, 2015

“I saw the Victoria Harbor filled with fishing boats with large banners that read ‘GO HOME’ in both Cantonese and English attacking the ‘Occupy-Central’ protesters.”
“It was November 1st, 2014, over a month after Hong Kong’s ‘Occupy-Central’ movement began, where students peacefully took over the streets and camped in some of the city’s major centers. As I was walking down the Avenue of Stars, a popular tourist destination that honors celebrities from the Hong Kong film industry, I saw the Victoria Harbor filled with fishing boats with large banners that read ‘GO HOME’ in both Cantonese and English attacking the protesters.

The government and a growing number of Hong Kongers had become increasingly more impatient with the movement as public opinion began to shift toward disapproval of the prolonged protests. They felt that the protests were beginning to deeply effect key industries such as retail, transportation and tourism.

This manner of counter-protesting was an impressive sight to see. I was surprised that tourists, Chinese folk included, would simply continue their visit along the promenade, laughing and posing for photos while completely ignoring these strong messages behind them on the vessels.”

Rubén Salgado Escudero+-

Born in Madrid Spain, Rubén worked 10 years as a 3D Character Animator in the film and video-game industry before moving to Myanmar and becoming a full-time freelance photographer. In 2014, he was a participant in the Eddie Adams Workshop in New York. His work has been shown in publications such as TIME magazine and GEO, and has been exhibited in various festivals across the world. More