Gezi park protesters bring handmade masks to counter police tear-gas rampage

ISTANBUL

Writer Ece Temelkuran posted on Twitter her picture with a handmade gas mask.

Following two police crackdowns loaded with tear-gas, protesters resisting the demolition of Taksim’s Gezi Park at the heart of Istanbul are now manufacturing their own hand-made gas masks.

In what could become a must-have accessory for every Istanbul local, the protesters have invented masks by diagonally cutting big plastic bottles of 2.5 liters, placing an air pollution mask inside, and fixing the whole together with an elastic. 

For those who need a hand, the occupiers have also stuck posters with instructions on the trees. They also advise bringing vinegar against the effects of the tear-gas.

As the protests entered their third day, Istanbul police had organized a dawn raid and once again fired gallons of tear-gas. In the end, the raid only seems to have increased the determination of the activists, who are now taking their own precautions.