The White Memory Line

After more than 1,100 days of suffering and at least 200,000 lives lost to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it is more urgent than ever to embark on the path of dialogue and reconciliation. As António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, recently reminded us: "The future of humanity depends on investing in peace mechanisms, not in war. Yet global tensions are rising, the nuclear threat is growing, and safeguards are eroding."

How far will this vicious spiral of hatred, violence, and destruction go? This devastating madness is annihilating hundreds of thousands of human lives, shattering countless families. Shouldn’t these sacrifices be enough to awaken our leaders to the urgent need for bold and committed diplomacy? As Gaël Giraud aptly puts it: "The world needs peace. Not peace built on a balance of weapons and mutual fear, but peace forged through dialogue, to build a better world for future generations."

Yet, against all reason, heads of state continue to bolster their military arsenals, citing the deterioration of the security environment. While defense budgets skyrocket and arms production and sales reach unprecedented levels, the resources allocated to building a common future, based on peace and the well-being of others, remain tragically scarce.

And yet, the people themselves overwhelmingly do not want war. They simply long to live alongside their loved ones, to love and to share, far from the projects of domination fueled by individuals whose hunger for power and fear of the other have blinded their hearts and wounded their souls. History teaches us clearly: domination and destruction never lead to peace. It is with this conviction that White Memory Line was imagined - a pluralistic space dedicated to investing in lasting peace and safeguarding us from the horrors of war.

Positioned wherever topography allows along the 4,300 kilometers of border between the European Union, Ukraine, and Russia, White Memory Line is intended as a corridor for peace. It is a memorial space honoring the hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians who perished in the Russo-Ukrainian war - a place of reflection and dialogue between nations, resonating with the surrounding environment: the rugged, beautiful, and rich borderland stretching from Finland in the north to the southern tip of Crimea.

Crossing nearly eight countries, including Russia, this porous border line, its length determined by the number of victims, reminds us all, regardless of nationality or personal history, that barbarity has no place in our world. It urges us to sit together, to speak, and to lay down our fears. Made of wood and draped in white fabric, this line stands as a symbol of our undeniable interdependence and the vital need to stay united against the horrors of war.

President Putin may claim to be, I quote, "entrusted with a divine mission to defend Russia and ensure its sovereignty, now and in the future," but invading and killing have nothing providential about them, and certainly nothing missionary. Love and peace, on the other hand, are truly divine in essence.

One thing is certain: the time has come to act - to invest collectively, for ourselves and for our children, in the peaceful future that every human being deserves, whether in Europe, Russia, or elsewhere.