Civil March for Aleppo keeps on going

Civil March for Aleppo keeps on going
They set out on the day after Christmas with the goal of tracing the route taken by Syrian refugees backwards from Berlin to Aleppo. 

Whether you support or oppose them, they are determined to keep on going and educating people along the way as to the plight of the Syrian people as a result of living in a country at war.

Their manifesto is simple: “Civilians for civilians, we will walk, hand in hand, from Berlin, through the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Greece and Turkey – to Aleppo.”

Their major purpose is to show solidarity with the people of Syria although they refuse to politicize their efforts or take sides.

For that, they have come under criticism from many Syrians who view the brutality of the Assad regime as the impetus for the destruction of their homeland as well as the resulting refugee crisis.

The group consists of young men and women, families with children, journalists and filmmakers, students and friends, some of them picked up along the way.

Some members of the original group that left from Berlin even quit their jobs and took time off from school to take part in what they believe will be remembered as a historical march.

Dressed to accommodate the harsh winter conditions, they walk during the day and sleep in a variety of prearranged accommodations in stopover cities along their pre-planned route. 

Civil March for Aleppo was the brainchild of Polish travel blogger, Anna Aboth, who lives in Berlin, Germany. 

She explained on the Facebook page she created for the group that she could no longer just sit watching from behind her computer screen while people were suffering and decided it was time to take action. 

Having an already established group of online followers, Anna’s idea quickly blossomed and gained momentum.

Anna Saraste, Finnish born Press Assistant of the Civil March for Aleppo, told Ida Akerstedt of the International Press Foundation (IPF) that roughly 50 people from 15 different countries walk on any given weekday with as many as 200 people participating on weekends. 

“It has been crazy. We were quite surprised,” Saraste told IPF. “But the message behind the march is so simple. That’s why it has become so successful.”

The Civil March for Aleppo team hopes that the number will reach close to 1300 as they continue to make their way towards Syria in the coming months.

“There are people of various nationalities, age groups, social profiles and so on. All of us joined the cause of standing up against the horrible crimes,” said Martin Madej, a Czech student who joined the group for three days.

The 23 year old said it was a beautiful experience and that there were many like him who were eager to join the march if only for a few days.

“Can you only march from one part of town to another? That is absolutely fine. You showed your support. Everybody is welcome to join,” Madej told IPF.

So far the marchers say they have been welcomed with open arms in the cities they have passed through. They have been granted sleeping accommodations in gyms, sports facilities, churches, and told IPF that one priest even had their entire group stay as guests in his own home.

“It is great, but there is a wish that the same treatment will be shown to refugees coming the other way around; those who are coming to Europe and who are in even more need of support,” Saraste told IPF.

The Civil March for Aleppo team say they expect to reach the border of Syria in March or April of 2017, but that safety is more important for the participants than keeping to a rigid time schedule.

Saraste said they continue to monitor the situation in Syria every day from the road and have no desire to put anyone’s life in danger by entering a war zone.

“The Syrian border is closed at the movement,” she told IPF. “Nothing is moving over the border in any direction so we will have to see how it is in a couple of months.”

Not everyone agrees with what the group is doing and they have received much criticism on social media… but they remain faithful to what they see as their mission.

“It is sad,” Saraste told IPF. “This is only one initiative, one attempt to have people talk about the situation in Syria.”

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