to stop the protests. Anyone out on the streets without permission after curfew was arrested, or worse. My dad had a business trip one day and his flight was delayed, and there was a curfew starting that evening, at maybe 6 or 7 pm. In those pre-cellphone days, we weren't sure if he was going to make it, so we were anxiously waiting in the house to see if he showed up. Two minutes before curfew, he still wasn't home, and we were really worried. I was hoping he had hunkered down in the airport until the curfew was lifted the next morning.

Right as the curfew began, my dad's car raced up and pulled into the driveway, just a few seconds late. He said he was able to race across the whole city (the airport was clear across town) and through downtown at top speed because the streets were almost completely devoid of cars by then, so he made it home in record time. Pretty stupid on his part, though, he could have easily ended up in prison, tortured, or worse.