ABOVE: Watch raw video footage of the protests in Hong Kong shot by Canadian teacher Michael Metelnick.
TORONTO — Canadian Michael Metelnick decided Wednesday night to visit key protest sites in Hong Kong and see for himself the “chaos” he heard about.
What he witnessed, though, was a peaceful gathering and a palpable sense of community.
“What I found really surprising was the feeling of caring in the crowd,” said Metenick, a native of Ottawa who works as an English teacher in Hong Kong. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people helping others here.”
He said in a city not particularly known for politeness, he heard more people say “sorry” for bumping into him on Wednesday night than in the nine years he has spent in the city.
“I almost felt like I was back in Canada.”
Thousands of people have occupied key areas of Hong Kong demanding the right to choose their top leader without interference from China.
Metelnick described the scene to Global News as “apocalyptic” and “surreal.”
In video footage he shot, cheers can be heard as vehicles arrived with food and water for demonstrators. He snapped photos of deserted road tunnels, roadblocks made of metal barricades, and abandoned buses covered in messages from protesters.
“People were very peaceful,” said Metelnick. “There weren’t any police in sight.”
READ MORE: Full coverage of the protests in Hong Kong
He said protesters are keeping the area clean — even using recycling stations that have been set up.
Metenick said a war memorial in the heart of the main protest area is being respected.
“It’s a grassy area but they don’t walk or camp out on it,” he said.
Metelnick recalled a “speaker’s corner” set-up where people were given two minutes each to speak their minds. “They even let people who disagreed with the protest to be heard.”
He said there’s no doubt demonstrators are passionate about the cause. “Even though I don’t understand Cantonese, you could hear it in their voices.”
Metelnick is one of an estimated 300,000 Canadians living in Hong Kong, a city one-third the size of Ottawa with more than seven times the population.
He said he has a lot of respect for people taking part in the demonstration.
“Having such a huge protest and being able to sustain it for more than one day is laudable,” he said. “Heck, for a ‘communist’ country, the police have been restrained, all things considered.”
He believes the protest will “peter out” this coming weekend. “People have to go back to work,” he said.
“If they push it much longer, either the government will lose patience and do something stupid or the protest movement will do something stupid,” he said. “Either way, a no-win situation. So they should both save face and talk.
“If it goes on much longer, nothing good can come of it.”
BELOW: Canadian Michael Metelnick shares photographs from the protests in Hong Kong.
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