Multi-part Series of Courage and Compassion on the Street, Part 4: The AV United Cube of Truth – Anonymous for the Voiceless

Founded in April 2016, Anonymous for the Voiceless is the brainchild of Paul Bashir (vegan) and Asal Alamdari (vegan) from Melbourne, Australia. The idea came as an extension of their own personal realizations and journeys to a compassionate vegan lifestyle after being moved by shocking documentaries such as “Earthlings” and by the powerful speeches of animal-people rights activist, lecturer, and educator Gary Yourofsky (vegan). From this humble beginning with a clear motive of justice for the animal-people, Anonymous for the Voiceless has rapidly spread across the globe, with an estimated 375 chapters in 61 countries supported by more than 100,000 trained volunteers. On May 6, 2023, AV United Cube of Truth events were held around the world in 77 cities. Let us join some of them live on the day.

All Anonymous for the Voiceless (AV) events follow exactly the same protocol. They are held in a location that has a high volume of pedestrians, who have more time to stop and interact. Volunteers in black wear a Guy Fawkes mask – which has become a universal symbol of championing the oppressed – and stand silently in a square motionlessly holding placards and screens called the Cube of Truth. The content being displayed are visual samples of the horrifying images perpetrated upon animal-people through the livestock industry and in vivisection laboratories around the world.

On the periphery, the outreach team patiently wait to engage with the audience. Their role is to ask the most direct and relevant questions to those viewing the screen content, such as “How do you feel when you view these videos?” and “Do you think it is an injustice to treat animals this way?” and “Would you be willing to go vegan to stop these terrible practices?”

Paul shares with us the importance of a clear and direct approach from the outreach members to maximize their effectiveness. “The truth is not always friendly and comfortable to hear. It’s not always going to be easy for someone to absorb and adopt and start changing their lives. But it is necessary. For the animals, it is necessary. For us to do the right thing by the animals, it is necessary.”

As an outreach member assisting on the May 6 event in Taipei, Alexander Proulx (vegan), shares his thoughts on why he thinks it is important to stop animal-people cruelty and what he would like to say to the non-vegans of the world. “Because they’re like us. They can feel the pain. They can feel anxiety when we treat them like that. It’s not respectful. Be consistent with your values. If you say you’re against animal abuse, you cannot everyday pay for animal abuse to happen. And just go vegan for animals, that’s what I want to say.”