A group of Italian intellectuals decided to organize a barefoot march so as to show their solidarity to immigrants and refugees.

Hundreds of people will march barefoot on September 11, starting from the Lido, in Santa Maria Elisabetta Square, all the way to the heart of the Venice International Film Festival.

“Tens of thousands people will walk barefoot to show that we are all alike, exposed to the same risks and unpredictable situations of life, unprotected. We all need help” the Italian organisation “Cronache di ordinario Razzismo” stressed.

The ‘March of Barefoot Men and Women’ will be held in sixty cities of Italy, from Florence to Milan and from Naples to Rome.

The initiative is also supported by Amnesty International, Médecins Sans Frontières, Catholic voluntary organizations and Italian unions.

The ‘March of Barefoot Women and Men’ is calling for changes in current migration policies in Europe and worldwide through:

1. Safe Humanitarian corridors for victims of wars, catastrophes and dictatorships.

2. Respectful and adequate welcome to all refugees and asylum seekers.

3. Closure and dismantling of all the centres of detention for migrants.

4. Creation of a unique and standardised European asylum model, an improved version of the Dublin Regulation.