This is the moment a crowd of Chilean protesters forget their anger to play with a large inflatable ball with armed soldiers.
The incident was filmed on Plaza Sucre in the city of Villa del Mar in the central Chilean province of Valparaiso and the footage, described by local media as “a moment of peace”, was widely shared on social media.
Video Credit: CEN/@SrGmez
The footage shows smiling soldiers playing ‘volleyball’ with a large crowd of demonstrators, protesting about rising inequality in the country, as they throw the huge inflatable ball backwards and forwards.
One armed soldier is seen attempting to head the ball before it is passed to a colleague who gestures to the crowd and teases whether to throw the ball back or not.
While the soldiers stand in a group in front of the hundreds of protesters, the ball is pinged around in the air between them.
Meanwhile, protesters are heard singing: “The united people will never be defeated.”
At the end of the heartwarming footage, a smiling soldier is seen ruffling the hair of a young boy who is in the crowd with his parents.
Video Credit: CEN/@ClotaJofre
Twitter user ‘Farrugiap’ wrote: “This protest was a pleasure. We gathered together peacefully and we must thank the soldiers for looking after us.”
Netizen ‘Lujcto’ commented: “This is a wonderful image.”
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Story By: Jonathan Macias, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
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