Born in Uganda and raised in the UK, Deo took up running to take care of his health. Over time, that personal discipline became a journey of purpose, connecting resistance with identity, protest and hope.
Crucial moment
In 2020, a moment of global reckoning around racial injustice – the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis – became a turning point for Deo. He realized that running could have a purpose beyond endurance.
“I thought, ‘I have to do something about this. Whether it’s big or small, I want to use my career to create change and speak out against racial injustice,'” she explained.
That conviction led him to run six miles every day for 381 days, marking each day of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a pivotal moment in the American civil rights movement.
He told himself, “I’m going to keep doing this as long as I can because that’s how change happens.”
Day after day, Deo kept going, turning physical resistance into a form of activism aimed at confronting racism and amplifying conversations about migration and justice.
Retracing the migratory routes
From this commitment, Deo set out to travel from Cape Town to London, symbolically traveling humanity’s first migratory routes from Africa.
The road ahead was long and arduous. Climbing mountains, crossing deserts, and running through wildlife reserves, Deo moved through landscapes that were constantly changing around him.
“It feels amazing just to be moving. Then all of a sudden I see elephants and kids start running past me,” he shared.
Barriers and restrictions
Along the way, Deo witnessed how complex and restrictive migration can be, particularly for people displaced by climate impacts, economic pressure or conflict.
It saw how limited regular routes and movement restrictions left many people effectively unable to move within their own regions, trapping them in unsafe or unsafe situations and cutting off routes to safety.
“Some people end up detained simply for trying to flee the conflict or because they are considered outsiders. Even when they have the correct documentation, they can still be detained.”
The further along the migration route I went, the more I was considered an irregular migrant.
Deo himself faced similar barriers. At one point, he was detained despite having the correct documents. In other areas, he was forced to divert his trip due to conflict or restricted access.
As I traveled north toward Europe, the scrutiny intensified.
“The more I traveled along the migration route, the more I was seen as an irregular migrant. People would call the police simply because they saw someone they thought didn’t belong passing through their area,” he explained.
Crossing some of the most spectacular and unforgiving terrain in the world, Deo experienced Africa on foot, where nature and movement shaped every kilometer of his journey.
Community support
Despite the challenges, Deo’s journey was sustained by community support. Along the way, he was joined by local runners, strangers and online followers. Those moments of shared effort and solidarity kept him going.
“Without the support of the community, I would not have been successful on this journey. It’s what really gave it meaning,” he said.
His journey was never just about endurance. It was about recovering the history of migration, a history rooted in resilience, human progress and development.
“People move for many reasons and every trip tells a human story,” Deo emphasized.
Looking ahead, she plans to continue using her platform as a form of activism and continue speaking out about migration, belonging, and shared humanity. As he says: “Don’t limit yourself. Believe in your power to create change.”