An anti-racism campaigner who ran over 8000 miles from South Africa to London says that he was profiled as an illegal immigrant during his travels through Europe. Ugandan-Brit Deo Kato, 37, set out on the run as part of his mission to highlight migration and Black people "being singled out", however, he says was stopped by police six times in one day he travelled through Croatia and Bosnia.
After leaving Cape Town on July, 24, 2023 from the at the Long March to Freedom exhibition commemorating the Anti-Apartheid Struggle against racial segregation and white supremacy in the African nation - he finally arrived in London last year on December 22.
Although Deo says he was touched by the people he met who "understood the message", even taking days off work to join him in running - the racial profiling he faced took a toll, underscoring the reasons for his campaign. Speaking to the Mirror he said: "A few times I was stopped six times in one day, on one run and that's quite a lot.I was seen as an illegal immigrant.
"I was stopped by police numerous times and I was continuously asked for my documents to prove I was in the country through legal means. "I said to some of them, 'this is specifically why I’m on this journey.' This is why I’m taking this specific route because of migrants using this specific route. I am here to highlight migration and us Black people being singled out and profiled a lot.
But Deo says that constantly being stopped by officers and having people take pictures to report him, affected him mentally, adding that he worried if he could even rely on police if he faced danger while running through forests and rural parts of Europe.
