At the end of December 2016, a group of almost 400 individuals from different nationalities began marching on foot from Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport towards Aleppo, in what is known as the “Civil March for Aleppo,” a concept that could only be described as a Donquixotian adventure.

In the years prior, hundreds of thousands of Syrians had taken the opposite route, fleeing Syria to escape the brutality of the Assad regime—a regime that killed, bombed, and even deployed chemical weapons against civilians who, in 2011, took to the streets chanting, “The people want the fall of the regime”.

The Civil March for Aleppo was also an act of solidarity following the massive wave of refugees fleeing Syria towards Europe in 2015— a movement described by Amnesty International as a “crisis.” During this period, over one million refugees arrived in Europe, with Germany hosting the largest number.

The march was organized by Polish journalist and activist  Anna Alboth, who resides in Berlin. The aim of the march was to walk the opposite route taken by refugees, as a gesture of solidarity and protest against  the war in Syria.

The March’s Manifesto reads: “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. “That’s just the way it is” – we’ve been told. But we refuse to take it anymore. We’ve just withdrawn our consent. We’re ready to deny powerlessness.”

Along the way, more than four thousand individuals from different nationalities—including Syrians—joined the march throughout the “refugee route.” Over the course of 232 days, the march crossed 10 b countries, covering nearly 2,800 km before ultimately reaching Syria’s border with Lebanon on August 14, 2017.

The Civil March for Aleppo had a profound impact on the international community, highlighting the efforts of people from around the world to support Syrians fleeing their country. This commitment was recognized in 2018, when the march was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. The  nomination was dedicated “to all of you, civilians around the world, who are doing or trying to do something for other civilians: this is a recognition that goes to you all. In our eyes, you are all nominated.”

And on December 8, Assad Fled

The Syrian regime’s rapid fall on December 8 sent shockwaves across the world. This shock was not felt by Syrians alone—journalists, activists, and policymakers from all over were astonished by the fragility of the regime and the speed at which it crumbled. 

The Assad regime’s Syria, also known locally as “The Citadel of Silence,” crumbled in barely 10 days, as the Syrian national army collapsed, leaving Assad isolated and alone. He ultimately fled to Russia as a “humanitarian refugee,” sparking irony among Syrians, who mockingly dubbed him “the last Syrian refugee.”

The liberation of prisoners by the armed opposition, led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS),  coincided with the release of millions of documents from Assad’s notorious intelligence branches, where surveillance at varying levels of efficiency was practiced in a bureaucratic, Kafkaesque style.

One could say that every Syrian had a file in these intelligence branches. However, through our investigative work at Daraj, we discovered that Syrians were not the only ones being “archived” and monitored—citizens from other Arab countries, Europe, Canada, and the USA were also under surveillance. 

This extensive monitoring effort, carried out by respective “stations” in Syrian embassies and consulates around the world, targeted any individual who challenged the regime’s narrative of “fighting terrorism.” According to the latter narrative, Syrians who fled the country were labeled as ‘victims of terrorism’— not victims of the regime’s barrel bombs and brutal repression.

This narrative aimed to convince the world that the events in Syria were part of a “global conspiracy,” reinforced by threats from the late Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem. His warnings could be summed up in his infamous words: “We will erase Europe from the map.”

One of the names mentioned in a report from Branch 279 of the General Intelligence is Anna Alboth, a Polish journalist residing in Berlin and the organizer of the Civil March for Aleppo. In this report, Anna and those who participated in the march  were described as “part of the instigating media framework that aims to shift public opinion against the Syrian and Russian governments… blaming both governments for what is happening in Syria to cover up for the terrorists and the countries supporting and funding them and their crimes in Syria”.

The English translation of the report watered down the cliché and banal language in which the accusations were originally written. For instance, the march was described as being organized “under the pretext of solidarity with Aleppo,” as if Aleppo were some kind of paradise at the time. It completely ignored the fact that the city was under relentless attack by the Quds Force, personally led by Iranian General Qassem Soleimani (1957-2020).

“A Sense of Satisfaction”

We reached out to Anna with our findings, beginning with a simple question: how did it feel to find her name in a report from the Syrian General Intelligence Agency? Anna responded, ”I have to admit—it gave me a certain sense of satisfaction. If there are documents referencing my Civil March for Aleppo, it means that it pinched somebody at least a little.”

In her response to us, she also described the preparations that went into the march: “I started the march in 2016, during the siege of Aleppo, because I didn’t agree with the war happening in Syria. I wanted to act against the regime and in support of all the civilians suffering.”

At the time, Anna was aware that the march was one of the largest international campaigns for Syria. Some even suggested that “it was the biggest initiative led by a non-Syrian,” though Anna had no way to verify that claim. However, she adds, “hearing that we disrupted the status quo and made them take notice was gratifying.”

The Syrian intelligence’s report also claimed that the march’s aim was not only to shed light on the path refugees take to arrive in Europe, but also to “pressure the Russian government.” In response to that claim, Anna said:  “The marchers aimed to send a powerful message to the world: opposition to war, violence, siege, and mass killings. While fully aware we lacked the power to halt the conflict directly, we sought to make [Syrians’] voices heard by governments — particularly those profiting from the war through arms sales or complicit in fuelling the conflict. We knew we couldn’t stop the war, but we wanted our families, our countries, neighbouring nations, and those actively involved in the conflict to feel our dissent and pressure.”

“For many of us ordinary citizens, protest is the most immediate way to express dissatisfaction. Elections offer a platform for change, but they demand patience. This march, however, was about urgency,” she added. 

Anna believes that the Syrian war played a significant role in European elections. “Politicians will not care about issues unless their voters do. And voters will not care if they aren’t informed. Our goal was simple yet determined: to draw attention back to Syria, reminding the global community of the ongoing atrocities. We sought to ensure that the regime and all other parties involved felt neither unchecked impunity nor anonymity — but rather the weight of judgment, scrutiny, and unrelenting pressure.”

Why Brussels, not Berlin ?

The Civil March for Aleppo began in Berlin, yet the document was sourced by a “source” in Brussels—a detail that caught our attention while examining the report. We posed this question to Anna, who responded : “The team that started the march was highly international. Syrians supporting our work were also spread across various locations, including Germany, Austria, and Belgium. The march was a public, officially registered demonstration, so the German authorities, as well as the authorities of the nine countries we passed through, were informed. Perhaps the Brussels office was more active or less lazy than the Berlin one—who knows?”

 On Terrorism

The march was accused of covering up the “crimes of the terrorists in Syria” —a claim often used by the regime, which gained traction in Europe, especially after Russia aligned itself with Assad under the pretext of “fighting terrorism.” Anna elaborates, saying: “I’ve grown used to being called a ‘terrorist’ or ‘spy’ myself during the march—you can find those claims online. According to rumors, I’ve been a British spy, an Iranian spy, ISIS, pro-Assad—you name it. At first, I cared and worried about these accusations. But over time, I realized it didn’t matter what I said or how I tried to explain myself. These labels are only meant to undermine our strength. So I learned to keep going and stay true to what I believe in.”

A Conflict at the March 

As Syrians, we’ve grown to always be paranoid about “everything” and “everyone.” Therefore, we had to ask Anna if she had noticed anything “strange” or “suspicious” during the march or the organizing process that had preceded it. “There were many questionable incidents,” she answered. “Some people joined us out of nowhere and stirred up serious conflicts. Others contacted our partners or potential marchers to discourage them from joining. There were even fake news campaigns targeting me and the march.”

“We also faced several provocations. For instance, someone joined us carrying a peace flag, only to suddenly pull out a regime flag just as dozens of media outlets were taking photos. These conflicts and provocations only fueled further misunderstandings and disputes. As a result, many people left the march. There were times I was convinced we wouldn’t make it to the end. I often wondered whether some of these incidents were deliberate provocations. Who knows, maybe more intelligence documents will surface one day, and we’ll learn the truth.”

A Success That Was Destined to Fail

Similar anti-regime marches and events in Europe had sometimes faced backlash from regime supporters. There were times where clashes between the “two pirates” — regime supporters and anti-regime protestors— took place. We asked whether there were any security threats or suspicions of vandalism or violence during the march, to which she responded: “This march seemed destined for failure from the very beginning. Each day, random people joined us, spending days or even weeks together in a confined space. Among them were not only activists, pacifists, and human rights defenders, but also individuals wanted by police within the European Union, drug addicts, and young people fleeing from home. There were countless conflicts, but somehow, enough curiosity [in the march] and peace prevailed to keep the group together until the end.”

”Throughout the journey, various parties involved in the Syrian war reached out, offering their “protection” —these included the Syrian regime, Russians, Turks, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Free Syrian Army. I always politely declined.”

Anna also shared an anecdote concerning a “strong” group of people in Berlin who focused on and were heavily involved in Syrian affairs. This group—funnily led by non-Syrian individuals. didn’t believe in Anna’s good intentions.“They accused me of cooperating with the regime. They said I wasn’t publicly vocal enough against Assad and criticized my decision not to allow them to carry Free Syrian Army flags. The latter was basically the only rule that the entire core-team [of the march] agreed to: that all political symbols and flags were forbidden during months of walking together; that we walk against the war and in support of all the citizens in Syria.”

Anna elaborated further: “That same group even organized a boycott campaign that seriously and negatively affected the march: people were leaving and there was less trust in the overall march. They also contacted people in different countries. It was easy to target me— a non-Syrian— by calling the march colonial and accusing me of not listening to the voices of those we were supposed to support. But this wasn’t true. Throughout the entire march, many Syrians joined us—walking alongside us, supporting from afar, and even organizing film screenings or educational meetings. The march itself was quite clearly against the war and anti-Assad. Some of the people from that group, who had initially criticized me, later reached out to apologize for the harm they had caused us. But to be honest, I do not blame them. I am lucky and privileged enough to not have endured the experience they had to go through.”

On this topic, Anna also added: “I guess they didn’t have a space in themselves to believe me or agree with me. The good thing about civil society is that there is space for everyone. Some can launch aggressive campaigns, some can organize protests at embassies, some can fight online, and some can walk for peace. It would just be great if there is more respect for each other’s ways of doing things. At the end of the day, I know we all wanted the same thing: for the regime to fall and for peace and freedom in Syria. I exchanged hugs with some of them on December 8, during the celebrations in Berlin.”

Welcome to Syria!

We ironically asked Anna if the Syrian embassy tried to interfere with the march or caused any additional obstacles. Her answer was a bit ironic: “We received offers from the Syrian regime to enter Syria and peacefully walk to Aleppo under their protection! I may be blonde and perhaps look naive, but I was genuinely offended that they thought I would fall for such a thing. Any form of cooperation with the regime would have gone against everything I had been working for on behalf of Syria and its people for years.”

”Even though some of our marchers were determined to reach Aleppo, accepting a regime visa at that time would have been a betrayal of my principles. We ultimately completed the march after eight and a half months, ending it at the Lebanese-Syrian border alongside hundreds of Syrian refugees from Aleppo— the people this march was created for.”