'Yes' voters crying in the streets
Supporters of Scottish independence reacted with bitter disappointment on Friday as their hopes of breaking away from the United Kingdom were dashed, with some dissolving in tears on the streets of Edinburgh.
Many had stayed up all night in the hope of a new dawn for their nation but instead had to accept defeat on a gray, rainy morning in Scotland's capital.
"My feeling was just crushing, quite devastating," said 16-year-old Charlotte Darroch, who was at Edinburgh's main counting center wearing her school uniform, her tie pinned with "Yes" badges and a Scottish flag wrapped around her shoulders.
"We all felt it was going to go the other way. I genuinely thought the feeling on the ground was different. I don't think people realized quite how important this was," she added.
One of thousands of under 18s given the vote for the first time in Britain, Darroch pledged not to give up hope after 1.6 million people voted for independence.
"It's not the end of the 'Yes' campaign," she said.
Outside the Scottish Parliament, "Yes" voters Paddy Burns and Rikki Maclean were walking home after spending all night at a friend's house watching the results.
"They have said we're not up to the task of governing ourselves, and that kills me," said Burns, a 23-year-old bartender.
"All we have to do is pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and keep making our voices heard until we get self-determination."
Maclean added it was now vital for Prime Minister David Cameron to deliver on his promise to devolve more power back to the Scottish people.
AFP
(China Daily 09/20/2014 page11)
