Their voices are quivering. Several break down crying.
These are frightened and fearful women and they’re frustrated as hell.
We are speaking to four of them – wives of riot police who, right now, are on the frontline in the fight to keep control of the streets ofHong Kongon the 18 th weekend of violent pro-democracy protests.
They are mothers, too; all have children, aged from toddlers to teenagers. And they’re scared – scared for their children, scared for their husbands, scared for themselves.
We are not using the women’s names as they have all requested anonymity.
“We cannot go out on the streets anymore. We don’t dare to,” says one, who we will call Emily. “And I tell my children, ‘don’t tell anyone, not your teacher, not your best friend, no one, what your father’s job is’.”
Being the child of a Hong Kong cop is now a dirty secret which could invite bullying, threats, fights or attacks.
For their fathers, it is also like being in an urban warzone – where they’re set upon by fellow Hong Kongers, hit with poles, whacked by wrenches; where protesters have wrestled them to the ground and tried to snatch their guns.
They’re facing firebombs, being sprayed with corrosive material and are up against sheer mob fury.
In return, the police have repeatedly sprayed the protesters with water cannon, shot more than a thousand rounds of teargas, squirted pepper spray in their faces. There’s been outrage at the violence used in making arrests.
On one day, we witnessed multiple, aggressive arrests. Nearly 20% of protesters they arrested had to be taken to hospital for treatment. A number were unconscious.
Most significantly, within the space of three days, the police have – for the first time – fired twice at two different activists, hitting an 18 – year-old in the chest and a boy of 14 in the leg.
Both are still in hospital after surgery and now face charges. Both acts were justified by the police leaders as being necessary because the officers feared they were in a life-threatening situation.
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But the turmoil on the streets and how the police have dealt with it has led to rising anger and hatred against authorities and police.
The wives we speak to tell us of family rifts because of their husbands’ work. “I’ve lost friends and some of my family have stopped speaking to us,” says one woman, who we will call Rose.
“Have you asked your husband to leave his job?” I ask. “Yes. I did ask the question. I did ask if he can quit his job but he said that they are the ones who are maintaining the law and order of the society. Imagine if one day there is no police? Imagine what would happen ? “
She pauses to think. “So we have no choice but to stand by them and they have no choice but to be targeted at, because of the criminal and social unrest.
” I don’t have five demands, just one : to keep my kids in a safe environment which should be the right of any parent but it’s not for us. “
Rose says she has thought of splitting from her husband.” Not because I don ‘ t love my husband, but I love my kids more. “
But she has concluded that even this wouldn’t stop the abuse.
” Even if I choose to divorce my husband, my children are still the children of a policeman. “
All the women say how terrified they are of doxing – the practice of tracking people down on the internet then exposing all their personal details, such as telephone numbers, addresses, schools and workplaces.
They talk of having to change their school classes and teachers after their children are identified as the offspring of police and then victimized.
“Our husbands are trying to protect all the Hong Kong people, “says Emily. “They think we are all family in Hong Kong. They are working so hard. We hardly see them.
“We are so disappointed by people that Hong Kong has come to this terrible situation. They just want to bring Hong Kong back to peace again.”
And they are all worried their children will be left without fathers. “I’m worried about his life,” Victoria says of her husband, “I’m worrying that one day he won’t come back home.”
We get a sense there is some sympathy over the protesters’ democracy demands – but not their use of violence.
Several – unusually – voice criticism over how the Hong Kong authorities have dealt with the whole protest movement.
One woman, “Emma”, says: “The Hong Kong government needs to do something. They need to start using politics to govern the city , rather than using the Hong Kong police as a political tool to help them. “
But now, it istheirhusbands who are on the frontline trying to curb the outpouring of violence.
Their turmoil is a side not heard in the months of protest but the overwhelming number of protesters and ordinary Hong Kong citizens we’ve spoken to indicate there’s little sympathy for the police right now.
Instead, they are viewed as exacerbating a lot of the trouble with their actions – and while that continues to be the view, the misery and turmoil for the police officers’ families will go on.
Emily is crying as she tells us: “I am born in Hong Kong. I’ve lived in Hong Kong for more than 30 years. We love Hong Kong so much. Everyone here used to care about each other so much, but now I don’t think we do.
“I am so disappointed about the Hong Kong situation.”
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