In recent days much has been said about the meaning of putting the flag of Colombia upside down. This would be the true representation that this citizen action in networks would have.
The National Strike reaches its eighth day and although the National Government has not been able to agree with the protesters and their petitions, a group of citizens has begun to take action wearing the national symbol upside down. This signal has already transcended social networks and has become a show of resistance for many.
Not only ordinary Colombians have changed their profile images to show the Colombian flag upside down; This sign of protest has been joined by some personalities from the country such as J Balvin and Radamel Falcao among other celebrities who ask for SOS due to the situation in Colombia. For this reason, speculations have begun about what the true meaning of this citizen digital action is.
The true meaning of putting the Colombian flag upside down in networks
For a long time, the upside-down flag has been used in various countries as a sign of nonconformity and citizen discomfort towards the governments of the day. A part of the Colombian population has adopted this digital measure during the National Strike as a call for help for the violation of human rights, international entities such as the United Nations (UN), the Organization of American States (OAS), Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the European Union (EU).
Others even state that the use of the flag upside down is stipulated in the Charter of the United Nations Organization (UN) as a request for help, which is not true. According to Florencia Soto, from the UN Secretary General’s Office of the Spokesperson, in words she delivered to the newspaper Timethis is not true since the Charter of the organization “does not make such mention in its text”.
However, the most accurate symbolism of hoisting the national flag upside down would be a new representation of the traditional yellow of riches, blue of the seas and red of the blood of the liberators. Putting the flag in reverse order would give greater prominence to red, which in this case would be a symbolic act in memory of the victims in each of the violent actions that have taken place in various areas of the country, in addition to being a call to the international observers to investigate these events.
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