An LGBT direct action group hacked hundreds of adverts on the London Underground, urging people to take action to stop deportations on commercial flights on International Migrants Day (December 18).
Lesbians and Gays Support the Migrants (LGSMigrants), a group of queer activists that protest against state violence and media attacks on migrants, replaced 200 Tube adverts with instructions on how to take action as part of a wider movement against deportations of vulnerable people from the UK.
The ads read “See it, Say it, Stop it” in a reappropriation of the British Transport Police's “See it, Say it, Sorted” campaign that encourages passengers to report any unusual items or activity, and feature illustrations of police forcefully keeping migrants on planes for deportation.
“Often when we are confronted with situations where we see vulnerable people falling victim to an abusive system we feel powerless to help,” said Sam Björn, a spokesperson for LGSMigrants.
“We want to change that. We aim to build a movement to resist this brutal, racist practice of secretive deportations and the hostile environment as a whole. We hope to empower everyone to take a stand and refuse to sit in silence.”
The adverts shoot down British Airways, the largest UK airliner responsible for carrying out multiple deportations on behalf of the government. One man, Jimmy Mubenga, who was being restrained by guards as he was being deported to Angola in 2010, died on the British Airways flight.
LGSMigrants volunteers were also out on the Heathrow Express, the underground line that takes passengers from across the city to Heathrow Airport, handing out leaflets and, the group said on Twitter, “reminding Christmas travellers that British Airways participate in the governments (sic) racist Hostile Environment”.
Members of LGSMigrants were amongst a collective of activist groups who demonstrated against a charter deportation flight from Stansted Airport in March 2017. Some of them, known as the “Stansted 15”, were convicted on December 10 of endangering the safety of the airport.
The move shocked protest circles, human rights groups and migrant charities, with many criticising the lack of tolerance from authorities of the peaceful protest.
Amnesty International described the convictions as a “crushing blow” for human rights in the UK.
