EXCLUSIVE PICS: ‘Build Bridges Not Walls’ Protests Sweep Europe

A new campaign group called “Bridges Not Walls” has kicked off Inauguration Day with protests against President-Elect Donald J. Trump and the “far right” across Europe.

“Together, we are dropping banners from bridges across the country – and the world – to send a simple, hopeful and unmistakable message”, the group announced on their slickly designed website.

Banners being distributed across the country include phrases such as “United Against Islamophobia”, “Migrants Welcome Here”, “Queers Solidarity Smashes Borders”, and “People Not Profit”.

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The groups pictured met on Vauxhall, Westminster, and Waterloo bridges in central London, and the organisation claims to have organised protests on 10 bridges in London and more than 150 across the country.

Similar protests by the group have already been held in Paris, Berlin, Rome, and other various major European cities.

Nona Hurkmans, Bridges not Walls spokesman, said: “On Trump’s inauguration day we’re taking action to show our support for groups under attack – here in the UK, across Europe and in the USA – and to reject the rise of a dangerous and divisive far right politics.

“We won’t let the politics of hate peddled by the likes of Donald Trump take hold. What happens next is up to us and by standing together we can show that the rhetoric of fear and hate have no place in our society.”

Chief Executive of Migrants Organise, Zrinka Bralo, explained: “We stand in solidarity with colleagues and friends in the US. We have all read reports of an increase in hate attacks.

“The emergence of neo-Nazis and white supremacists is scary; the attempt to normalise what is going on is even scarier. We have the responsibility to fight against attempts to divide us.

“Our shared values of justice, respect for dignity, human rights and the truth must shine through these difficult times.”

“Banners will be unveiled in the capital cities of all four British nations, and in Dublin too. Other iconic locations include Ironbridge and the Humber Bridge. Outside the UK, banner drops are planned in Addis Ababa, Berlin, Rome, Oslo, Madrid, Toronto, Sydney, Phnom Penh and San Diego.”