Image source: Áine Donnellan
As a gathering of peacemakers march through the lush Slovenian mountains with their Palestinian flags raised high, the contrasting realities of the two worlds become increasingly apparent to the participants. Birds chirp above the activists' heads. Drones soar above their Palestinian counterparts. This unjust reality is felt in communities across the world – and in an act of protest, people are urged to walk together.
“A walk is a nice gesture. For a walk, you need to do a first step. And each step counts, each step to our brothers and sisters everywhere” says Andrea Cvitan, co-organizer of Walk Peace EU’s (WPEU) third 'Justice for Palestine' march, which saw participants from all walks of life journey from Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana, to the city of Rijeka in Croatia, spreading messages of peace and unity along the way.
The three-day hike which covered over 100 kilometers is part of an evolving peace project, where people gather, walk across country borders, and connect. With themselves, with each other, and with dreams and ideas of what a more just tomorrow could look like. Along the way, they distribute flyers to passers-by and raise awareness about peace-related topics. A trail of watermelon stickers seems to spontaneously appear wherever they have passed. Some sing, some talk, some walk silently; all journey in peace.
“We started these walks because we saw how passively the world responded to all these bad news”, explains Andrea, stressing the importance of not disassociating from the horrors that are happening as a means of avoiding pain – but rather, to let the pain stir you into action. One of her co-organizers, Anna Permondo, says the project is an invitation to “walk the talk”. A chance to examine if we truly live what we preach, and to then begin acting upon the insights gained during the walk.
“Walking has been a form of protest for centuries”, says Anna, explaining that today’s peace marches have roots in pilgrimages. “The common denominator is moving your legs in a certain direction, peacefully, and with some goals in mind.” Anna, now 67, joined her first peace march at the age of 14. She believes the potency of walking as an act of protest lies in the personal transformation that it can allow for. For her, peace-walking has through the years been a tool for processing everything from the state of the world to the grief of losing family members, as well as finding solace in its communal aspects.
“There is so much to learn, especially from the people you walk with. Then the walk starts happening inside of you”, says Anna. During the latest WPEU walk, Anna and the other participants learned about a school for peace which existed for 10 years in Croatia during the height of the Yugoslavia war, which saw children from ‘opposing’ nationalities attend class, connect, and form deep bonds with each other. This school is a powerful example of a peaceful and impactful means of protest against the violent division of the time. And the knowledge of its existence, as well as all other inspiring, peace-related topics that were shared during the walk, serve as fuel for the walkers to keep going – to pursue their vision of a peaceful world, one step at a time.
After receiving one too many heartbreaking updates from Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, a group of four international friends with a longstanding experience of contributing help to refugee communities in Europe decided to join forces. Their aim was to channel the frustration, sadness, grief, and anger they felt towards the inhumane war machine that is currently ravaging our world, into something that would help transmute these heavy feelings into hope, comradery, and action. Cue, WPEU.
Originally, the WPEU team dreamed of a long peace walk from Europe to Gaza, inspired, in part, by Israeli and Palestinian Peace Activists, Maoz Inon and Aziz Abu Sarah. However, due to logistics, they had to scale their vision down to the more feasible, current format of WPEU – which is so far seeing walks take place between Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia.
Although less dramatic of a journey, this format may prove even more impactful than the original plan as it raises awareness about the Palestinian plight in nations where the topic calls for attention. Slovenia is one of the European nations that recognized Palestine as a sovereign state on May 30, 2024, while Italy and Croatia have yet to do so. Hence, WPEU holds the potential for real impact in the countries they venture through – and serves as a reminder that what’s most impressive may not always be the most effective route to achieving your goals (in this case, spreading the messages of the Palestinian plight).
The first walk, held in March of this year, saw a small but mighty group of eight participants from six different nations cover the distance of 42 kilometers between Rijeka in Croatia and Trieste in Italy. The group left the experience feeling inspired: “Our first, small two-day walk happened and it was truly successful! Not in terms of numbers or media attention, but in the positive feeling it left in our hearts and other goals that were accomplished along the way”, writes Ruzanna Sukiasyan, a WPEU co-organizer.
Ruzanna entered the project filled with a sense of hopelessness and frustration over the outbreak of more wars – yet the walks, and all the like-minded people she has met there, have left her feeling empowered.
“It is so beautiful to discover that it’s not just three or four of us who think this way. We’re way, way more”, says Ruzanna, who – together with the group – encountered representatives of the 3rd World March for Peace and Non-Violence, during the walk. Learning of this global movement that is seeing people in 93 nations, over the course of 95 days (2 October, 2024-5th January, 2025), march together for peace, in a similar spirit to WPEU, strengthened the walkers’ hope in our collective potential.
The second walk, from Trieste to Ljubljana, was not much bigger, yet once more had an immense impact on the peace walkers who left the experience with a sense of comradery, new perspectives, and hope. By the time the third edition rolled around, things had begun shifting. Over the span of three days, 30 people participated in the walk while crowds gathered for the cultural events held in the cities visited by the walkers – including flash mobs, guided tours, music performances, and the ceremonial release of paper boats into the sea, inscribed with messages of peace.
This time around, the walk garnered plenty of local media attention and saw the walkers connect with and initiate activities in the local communities touched by their pilgrimage. In Rijeka, the last stop of the journey, WPEU gathered in the city hall to continue speaking of peace – and they were joined by the mayor, local poets, writers, and a crowd of keen listeners. The impact of the walks is hence expanding from the immediate participants to the wider public – and the WPEU team are determined to continue on this trajectory, with the planning of walks in the new year already in progress.
The initiative is clearly limited in terms of bringing the ongoing genocide in Palestine to an end since it does not (so far) entail any mass protests, petitions, pressure on governments, or direct actions to shut down and/or disrupt weapon manufacturers. Yet this does not mean it is of less importance or impact. Impact is difficult to measure and predict. A single conversation can turn someone’s life around – and therein lies the power of this more indirect form of activism. By providing the participants with space to reflect, realign, and be inspired, WPEU acts as a sort of refuelling station for those in need of energy, ideas, and motivation, which they can then bring with them onward into the more direct actions they take in their daily lives; be that towards the Palestinian plight, or any other peace-effort they’re involved in.
So in the wider picture of the movement for Palestine, this type of action may be seen as ‘preventative care’ for those with sensitive hearts and passionate wishes for a more peaceful world. The aim could be for this indirect form of activism to work in tandem with, rather than replace the vital, direct action of movements such as BDS; to serve as a resting-and-nesting place from which to spring back into the world with newfound energy, a clear intention, and widened problem-solving abilities.
In a similar spirit to the walks themselves, this grassroots initiative illustrates how making dreams a reality is often a slow process. How everything, including peace, starts from an idea, the willingness to try it out, and the courage to keep stepping forward into the great unknown with a deep trust in your vision, because what started as a little seed, an idea, of a walk to get rid of frustration, is now blooming into a tangible and impactful project, which has so far touched the lives of hundreds of people from many different nations – and which holds the potential to touch many more.
Through allowing space for the participants to reflect on the actions they do or do not take in an effort to bring about more peace and justice in the world, WPEU serves as a sort of pause-and-reflect-type-of- activism. By turning heavy emotions into a source of empowerment, WPEU demonstrates an effective response to the anxiety-inducing reality the world is currently facing and serves as a reminder that each of us holds responsibility – an ability to respond – to it all. So the question is, do we walk the talk?
To join a future WPEU event, find out more about their mission, or follow them online, hop on over to walkpeace.org, or find them on Instagram @walkpeaceeu.
This article is part of a series on movements for social and environmental justice worldwide. Find out more and read the other pieces of the series here.
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