Social media goes blue in solidarity with Sudanese protesters
PARIS — Using the hashtag #BlueForSudan, activists, social media influencers and celebrities have begun a viral campaign to express solidarity for protesters in Sudan based simply around the colour blue.
International concern has grown in recent days over the situation in Sudan after the military earlier this month dispersed a sit-in in Khartoum leaving dozens of protesters dead.
But, unusually for a crisis in Africa, awareness has spread even to young people around the world as celebrities on social media, sometimes with tens of millions of followers, take up the cause.
According to activists writing on social media, the blue viral trend started after a protester named Mohamed Mattar was shot dead in
Khartoum on June 3 during the crackdown. His favourite colour was reportedly blue.
It “started as a tribute to him, now turned to a symbol of all our martyrs, and their dreams of a better Sudan”, wrote a Twitter user calling himself Saad the Lion (@ Saad_Alasad).
Many users have also replaced their profile pictures on Twitter and Instagram with the colour blue, a move that has found prominent backers.
These include Sheikha Al Mayassa Al Thani — the sister of the Amir of Qatar.
On Instagram, British supermodel Naomi Campbell, who has over seven million followers, reposted Sheikha Al Mayassa’s post and changed her own profile picture to blue.
American singer and songwriter Demi Lovato — who has almost 73 million followers — also changed her profile picture to blue on her Instagram account.
Another American singer Ne-Yo also changed his profile picture, reposting a post urging people to “raise awareness” over Sudan.
On June 3, days after talks between protest leaders and the military collapsed, armed men in military fatigues broke up the protesters’ camp in an operation that doctors said left 120 people dead.
The health ministry has put the death toll for that day at 61 nationwide.