Read

User menu

Search form

Artists Target Drone Operators With A Giant Portrait of One of Their Victims

Artists Target Drone Operators With A Giant Portrait of One of Their Victims
Thu, 4/10/2014 - by Eric Stoner
This article originally appeared on Waging Nonviolence

In a brilliant creative action, an art collective with the help of enthusiastic locals unfurled an enormous poster in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of a young girl who lost her parents and two younger siblings to a drone strike in August 2009.

The portrait is entitled #NotABugSplat, which is a reference to the term “bugsplat,” used by drone operators to dehumanize victims of their missile strikes. Rather than seeing small, grainy figures comparable to insects on their computer screens, drone operators who happen to fly over this heavily-bombed, rural area near the border of Afghanistan will now be confronted with the image of this innocent girl looking back at them.

Launched by a collective that includes Pakistanis, Americans and others involved with French artist JR’s Inside Out Project — in collaboration with Reprieve UK and the Foundation for Fundamental Rights — the artists involved hope to create a dozen more of these installations around Pakistan.

This art project, which has garnered significant media attention around the world, is just the latest development in the burgeoning anti-drone movement. As Code Pink’s Medea Benjamin and Kate Chandley conclude in an article that reviews some of the recent highlights, “efforts to curb the use of killer drones have made remarkable headway this year.”

While there is still much to be done, there is evidence that the mounting pressure against drones both at home and abroad is having an impact on policy. Although President Obama dramatically escalated the drone war in Pakistan over his first two years in office, the number of drone strikes and casualties peaked in 2010 and have dramatically fallen ever since.

According the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, there were no confirmed civilian casualties in Pakistan in 2013 and more than 100 days have passed since the last drone strike in the country — the longest recorded pause in attacks since they began 10 years ago. And asSpencer Ackerman reported last year for Danger Room, the long boom in military spending on drones is over.

To continue to build awareness around drone strikes — and the movement to end their use — a broad coalition of organizations and individuals have organized Spring Days of Action. Their website lists dozens of creative actions planned around the country as part of this coordinated campaign over April and May.

Originally published by Waging Nonviolence

3 WAYS TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT

ONE-TIME DONATION

Just use the simple form below to make a single direct donation.

DONATE NOW

MONTHLY DONATION

Be a sustaining sponsor. Give a reacurring monthly donation at any level.

GET SOME MERCH!

Now you can wear your support too! From T-Shirts to tote bags.

SHOP TODAY

Sign Up

Article Tabs

If the left wants to build a mass movement that appeals to millions, we first have to address the tiny, vocal minority in our ranks holding all of us back.

The country’s new prime minister, Andy Burnham, has promised a break from the politics of the last 40 years—realizing more broadly that Labour must stand up for the 99% against big business, or the party will become irrelevant.

The tragic shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo is just the latest example of ICE having a fundamental disrespect for human life — further proving why the agency should be stripped of funding and shut down, and its rank-and-file agents and leadership prosecuted.

While the U.S., EU and their allies are enabling Rojava—the strongest force against Islamic State— to fall, it is vital for internationalists to continue to support this beacon of democracy and liberation.

June 23, 2026 may be remembered as the beginning of the end of the Democratic Party establishment.

If the left wants to build a mass movement that appeals to millions, we first have to address the tiny, vocal minority in our ranks holding all of us back.

The current wave of food recalls is a direct byproduct of President Donald Trump’s administration deliberately removing the safeguards put in place aimed at protecting American consumers more than a century ago.

From a pro-democratic perspective, civil society and new media organisations are surging in the aftermath of the Orban regime.

We can still celebrate success while simultaneously putting a cap on net worth.

The country’s new prime minister, Andy Burnham, has promised a break from the politics of the last 40 years—realizing more broadly that Labour must stand up for the 99% against big business, or the party will become irrelevant.

We can still celebrate success while simultaneously putting a cap on net worth.

Posted 1 month 4 weeks ago

The current wave of food recalls is a direct byproduct of President Donald Trump’s administration deliberately removing the safeguards put in place aimed at protecting American consumers more than a century ago.

Posted 1 month 4 days ago

From a pro-democratic perspective, civil society and new media organisations are surging in the aftermath of the Orban regime.

Posted 1 month 6 days ago

If the left wants to build a mass movement that appeals to millions, we first have to address the tiny, vocal minority in our ranks holding all of us back.

Posted 13 hours 43 min ago