These last few months have been some of Aleppo, Syria’s worst. As it remains rebel-held, many citizens have had to suffer from atrocities they did not ask for. Despite it being a dangerous war-zone, thousands of humanitarians will be marching from Germany to Syria at the end of December.
History of Aleppo
Aleppo, Syria is one of the most ancient and historical cities in the world and the largest city in Syria.
Over the last few years, it has transformed from being the country’s industrial and financial epicenter to the refugee crisis epicenter. This is due to the uprising against the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, that primarily began in the summer of 2012 when rebels started their attempts to gain control of Northern Syria. This eventually divided Aleppo, with the government reigning the west of the city and the east remaining rebel-held.
Since its beginning, the turmoil has not stopped. In mid-2016, the Russian government allied with the Syrian government and began attacking the rebel-held east-side of the city.
The government has dropped chlorine gas bombs on besieged Aleppo, killing and injuring many, and destroying some of the only hospitals left for injured citizens to find medical care.
Every day, many Syrians are attempting to flee the war zone and find sanctuary in other countries, but the government has closed down the primary access routes into the area, causing the escape route to be extremely tough and almost impossible.
The March
A Berlin-based activist group has planned the Civil March For Aleppo, which beginning on December 26, will go from Berlin to Aleppo. Anna Alboth, a Polish journalist, was the creator behind the event after she had enough of the current horrific acts taking place in Syria.
The 2,000-mile trek will begin in Germany and will then go south through Czech Republic, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Greece, and Turkey. It could take over half a year in its entirety. Throughout the trek, the volunteers plan to stay in hostels, campsites, schools, hotels, and even on the street or in the wild if needed. Security is a big concern, especially getting into countries such as Turkey, but this isn’t stopping the activists. Alboth’s hopes that hiking all the way to the Syrian border will raise awareness about the suffering going on in the city at the moment, and in turn, entice the world to alleviate it. She hopes to find humanitarian solutions for the people suffering in Aleppo.
A Facebook page and Website, civilmarch.org, has been created for the event. On the website, it states, "We've been taught submission to war. We've been taught to be afraid of the powerful who pull the strings. We've been persuaded to take sides with "the good" and blame "the bad", to accept the division of people into the better and the worse, the ones who can sleep safely in their own beds and the ones who have to flee for their lives." It then goes on to say, "We want to go and help people like us, who just weren't lucky enough to be born in Berlin, London or Paris. We will not tolerate the siege of Aleppo anymore. Civilians for civilians, we will walk, hand in hand."
In just a few weeks, over 3,000 determined and united volunteers will begin their march to Aleppo in hopes of generating some sort of solidarity and peace for the citizens.