It was 1992…
Some volunteers and conscientious objectors from the Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII Association in Rimini, moved by the war in Yugoslavia that raged a few hundred kilometers on the other side of the Adriatic sea, have reached refugee camps in Croatia with the aim of experiencing nonviolence within the armed conflict.
By dwelling in conflict, they found out that international civilians could enter the wars.
Then they began to stand by the war victims realizing that in the last decades the people most affected by violent conflicts are children, women, the disabled, the elderly i.e. the civilians who are defenseless and cannot run away.
Soon they have come to understand…
…that a permanent international presence was needed by the victims on both sides. The war, experienced from inside, no longer appeared in black and white but it revealed shades of gray that the mass medias usually hide.
They discovered how the power of love, truth and nonviolence could demolish the mechanism of hatred and destruction.
In this way…
…Operazione Colomba, the Nonviolent Peace Corps of the Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII Association, was born. Its intervention has been characterized by a simple and neutral behaviour in sharing life with war victims - women, children, abandoned elderly, the disabled, refugees... Its volunteers started operating simultaneously on different sides of the conflict and on several levels, supporting the daily needs of the people, but also promoting meetings with local and international institutions. In those years, Operazione Colomba reunited many families divided by the war in Yugoslavia, protected ethnic minorities and recreated spaces for a peaceful coexistence.
Previous projects
Since 1995, Operazione Colomba has experienced unarmed civilian protection in many other armed conflicts in the world: Croatia – Bosnia and Herzegovina – Yugoslavia (1992 – 1997), Albania (1997), Sierra Leone (1997), Kosovo – Albania – Macedonia (1998 – 2000), East Timor – Indonesia (1999), Chiapas – Mexico (1998 – 2002), Chechnya – Russia (2000 – 2001), Democratic Republic of the Congo (2001 and 2013), Gaza Strip – Palestine (2002 – 2003), Darfur – Sudan (2008), Kossovo (2003-2010), North Uganda (2005 – 2008), Georgia (2008 – 2009), Castel Volturno - Italy (2009-2010), Greece (2012), on the migrant rout in Macedonia and Serbia (2015), Albania (2010-2019).
Now Operazione Colomba has been operating in Palestine-Israel since 2002, Colombia since 2009, Lebanon alongside Syrian refugees since 2013, Greece on migrant routes since 2020, Chile with the Mapuche since 2021 and Ukraine since 2022.
OPERAZIONE COLOMBA
