How are gays and migrants alike? They are instrumentalised. The ones were instrumentalised by the East, the others by the West, so neither is needed in Lithuania. The former has been used to promise security and protection of human dignity, and the latter to postulate respect for Western democratic values. Both were guilty of believing the promises of a better life. Believing promises has led to concertina fences, a policy of pushbacks for some, and rejection, discrimination, and bullying for others.