Protesters defending Santa Monica REI store revisit to reflect
LOS ANGELES - Video showing two people defending the REI store in Santa Monica has been seen millions of times worldwide, and the duo went back to the store Friday to talk with our FOX 11 team.
"It's surreal. It's all boarded up now, and it's crazy to see how it is now," said Natali Skaya.
Skaya said she and Zeeshan Khan came to Santa Monica on Sunday to participate in the peaceful protest.
"When Zeeshan and I got here, our goal was to join the peaceful protest. There were a lot of people there and it was moving," she said.
However, on their way to the protest, they saw people trying to break into REI.
"I saw a lot of people standing around and looking and I don't know what happened but I just felt, I was so tired of being part of that bystander culture because we all know it's wrong, we know it shouldn't happen and I felt like if I can step in to help, why shouldn't I, and in my head I wasn't thinking oh I'm risking my life for this, I was thinking maybe I can stop these people from doing something because a lot of media is paying attention to the looters and then it completely diminishes the reason that we're actually protesting," said Skaya.
Skaya said the reason for the protest is George Floyd, and she wanted to protect the message.
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"Someone should have stepped in when George Floyd was on the ground. I hope that whenever I see something happening that shouldn't be happening, I can step in and help. If we all can do that then we will change the world," said Skaya.
As looters tried moving Skaya from the storefront, Khan stepped in.
"Once he [the looter] put hands on Natali, that's when I knew I had to step it up, and even though it wasn't as peaceful as I wanted it to be I said I'm carrying," said Khan.
Khan said the looter told him he was carrying too, and Khan told him to leave, and the looter left after throwing a firework their way.
"This is just what I do regularly. I stand up for the right thing," he said.
He does not think of himself as a "hero."
"The real heroes are the ones that are locked up right now for just protesting, hundreds and hundreds arrested just for protesting," said Khan.
Khan and Skaya were able to deter the looters for a while, but eventually, they came back and broke into the store.
"At first I thought of it as a failure but then I just see all of the reaction that's happening that people are now being more peaceful and the looting has gone down, I haven't even heard about that many lootings, so it feels like a landmark to me. It feels like a heavy responsibility, and I can't stop now and I have to keep going," said Khan.
People and some celebrities have reached out to Khan and Skaya about their bravery. REI also contacted the two of them, and plans to meet them next week.
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REI Co-Op released a statement about BLM:
"As a cooperative, REI is built on a set of ideals that we hold dear—we are stronger when we come together.
However, the heartbreaking racial violence and injustices that the Black community continues to experience across this country provides a stark reminder that for many, those ideals are not a reality.
It’s just as stark a reminder for us at REI—that for all our ideals, we are still a long way from achieving them for all in our own community.
We must do better.
We must continue to challenge ourselves, and our community, to be better listeners, better partners, better advocates for one another. For us to see the change we want in the world outside, we must start inside.
We will continue to work with our partners, across the country, who have worked for years in service of greater equity and inclusion in the outdoors. And we call on our entire community to come together with collective resolve and a commitment to respect, understanding and support."
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