The Global March for Peace and Nonviolence began in New Zealand on October 2, 2009, the anniversary of Gandhi’s birth, declared the “International Day of Nonviolence” by the United Nations. It will conclude in the Andes Mountains (Punta de Vacas, Aconcagua, Argentina) on January 2, 2010. The March will last 90 days, three long months of travel. It will pass through all climates and seasons, from the hot summer of the tropics and the deserts, to the winter of Siberia. The American and Asian stages will be the longest, both almost a month. A permanent base of a hundred people of different nationalities will complete the journey.

The March is because we can end world hunger with 10% of what is spent on arms. Imagine how life would be if 30-50% of the arms budget went toward improving people’s lives instead of being used for destruction.

Bangladesh Development Partnership Centre (BDPC) has been an endorser of the Global March and has planned to organize events at Satkhira, Jessore and Gazipur in support of the March. These pictures represent the March organized at Jessore in Bangladesh on 20 October 2009.