What It Was Like To Be Right In The Middle Of The G20 - Live Pictures and GIF's

It was the weekend of July 7th and 8th, in Hamburg at the Hamburg Messe where the 2017 G20 Hamburg summit was held. The G20, also known as Group of Twenty, are an international forum comprised of the governments and central bank governors of twenty major economies- including countries like Australia, China, Germany, and the United States. The G20’s purpose of gathering is to discuss issues that relate to the ultimate global, economic growth, as well as market regulation and international trade. Along with the usual agenda, the G20 summit planned on discussing issues related to refugees and national security.

While this was to be the twelfth meeting of the G20, all did not go as planned. In the weeks that would lead up to the summit, protests would begin to plague the city of Hamburg and the surrounding cities. On June 18th, a total of 13 arson fires sprung up along the German railway, attributed to unidentified people. The fires occurred along the German railways weaving through Berlin, Hamburg, Leipzig and other cities and towns. The next day on June 19th, a group that calls itself Shutdown G20 took responsibility for the arson attacks. Although the arson attacks were serious, they were only one many protests that sprang up around Hamburg in the weeks before the summit, and the days leading up to the event.

On July 2nd, took up protest along the waterways, forcing an bulk freighter that was filled charcoal and heading into Hamburg - a form of protest that is less about causing inconvenience, and more about exhibiting how it feels to be placed in a helpless situation, unable to move forward. As the days of the planned summit grew nearer, the protests grew more violent.

On July 6th, just a day before the G20 Hamburg summit, protesters and police clashes in a violent display, leading to the injury of both police and protesters. Banding together, protesters took to the streets with an attempt to overrun where the summit was being held. Police used water canons to deter the protesters, though the riots and violence continued.

The violence only escalated on the day the summit began, July 7th, when protesters-turned-rioters set fire to cars and destroyed surrounding shops, climbing through broken windows to loot the insides as.

For three hours, protesters in black bloc and masks rioted, uncontrolled in the streets, until armed police forces were deployed in an attempt to control the riots and put an end to the violence.

After the G20 guests and leaders left the city, riots sprung up and continued on July 9th, a day after the summit had ended. Over fifteen-hundred police were sent to the Hamburg and surrounding areas in an attempt to control the mayhem, and over a hundred-thousand protests showed up, en masse - some to have their voice heard, others to take advantage of the resulting rioting and violence. By the end of the protests and riots, only a 182 people were arrested, out of the massive number of rioters and attendees to the protest.

That's it for today. I really want you guys to take care- especially after reading things like this.

Love,
Vany