Death at the hands of police is a leading cause of fatailty for black men in the United States of America, as reported by the Los Angeles Times in August 2019. 1 in every 1,000 black men in America can expect to die in this way, according to a study led by Frank Edwards, a sociologist at Rutgers University. 

   George Floyd, an African-American man, was subjected to a routine police control on Monday 25 May in Minneapolis, offering no resistance. He was first handcuffed and then made to lie in the street. The policeman, Derek Chauvin, pinned Floyd to the ground with his knee pressing on Floyd’s neck. This is a blatant example of police using excessive force.

   While Floyd was repeatedly heard begging “Please, let me go, I can’t breathe,” the horrified onlookers implored Chauvin to show mercy, but he had no pity. After about five minutes of this treatment, Floyd stopped breathing and he was pronounced dead an hour later.

   As long as the police are allowed to use excessive force and violence on black men and boys, no one can feel safe; in the USA or anywhere else. The world has become smaller with the digital era, with video posts spinning around the web and this kind of behaviour can become a model for other countries, just as the indignation and the cry for justice in Minneapolis can be echoed by every peace-loving voice and resonate across the continents. The police who behave with emotional intelligence are injured much less and do much less harm to others, anywhere in the world.

   Minneapolis is no longer on the other side of the globe, it’s just a click away. We are all George Floyd today. That agent’s knee could be crushing down on my brother’s neck, my father’s neck, or my own. 

   I feel this injustice get under my skin because I was taught to have respect for all people; human dignity is universal, covering all nations, religions, languages and cultures. I cannot believe that this kind of violent racism is still going on, so many years after the great Martin Luther King preached for the peaceful brotherhood of man. I do believe that when people really want to change the world, they just need enough courage to speak out and the change has already started.