I'm tearing up. The white human shield. This is both incredibly beautiful and incredibly sad. #FeesMustFall pic.twitter.com/azbT2CymSI — RockTheCity24Oct (@BongoMuffing) October 20, 2015

This picture has been hailed as simultaneously both beautiful and incredibly sad.

A group of black demonstrators in South Africa were protesting against unaffordable tuition fees (#feesmustfall) at their university when police reportedly started moving in.

Police had previously used force against the group, raising fears violence could follow as they pushed back against the Eastcape Midlands College students a second time.

But before police could reach them, a group of white students from the neighbouring Rhodes University formed a human shield around them to prevent officers using violence to disperse the protest.


White allies are asked to move to the front and make a human shield. pic.twitter.com/FschDGUuRS — VARSITY (@varsitynews) October 20, 2015

The human shield appeared to work, with police backing down and ceasing firing rubber bullets and stun guns.



Reports in the Rhodes university newspaper Activate described the scenes.

Rhodes students united with the EMC protestors with the hopes of discouraging use of unnecessary force by the police. According to an eyewitness, tensions rose when protestors were chanting at the police to leave, and the police responded by driving towards the crowd in an attempt to disperse the protestors. Gates at EMC were closed to prevent students from entering the premises. The eyewitness explained that a man attempted to climb over the gate resulting in SAPS firing what was initially thought to be rubber bullets into the crowd. However, SAPS have since stated that stun grenades were the only weapons used against the protestors.

But the human shield had not gone unnoticed by social media.

The white born frees who created a human shield to protect their fellow students… We def salute you! — Amenhotep of Km.t (@MajestyKagiso) October 20, 2015

The white students forming a human shield around black students is a smart strategy which demonstrates how white kids are more important. — Mrs Inana Junghans (@VWolpendz) October 20, 2015

The white human shield has me in two minds 1. The black human shields and barricades weren't human enough? 2. Thank you for your solidarity — majin bae (@arbitarilyaubs) October 20, 2015

The White Human Shield… See the things we come up with when we work TOGETHER and not AGAINST one another? — IG: Hilary_Yam (@PandoraYam1) October 20, 2015

U threatened to shoot the protesters, now that there's a white human shield u retreat? — Madam Ratchet (@Rowry_M) October 20, 2015

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