1. ‘Peace’ in the Balkans – Conference by J.-A. Dérens

2. Ukrainians under Russian missiles and bombs:
Report by our Vice-President who has been to Ukraine

3. ‘Bike for climate’ around Lac du Der on 28 and 29 September

Dear members,

This Newsletter provides information on the situation in the Balkans, which were ravaged between 1992 and 1995 by the Balkan Wars. The situation has improved since then, but there is still no real peace, because the underlying conflicts are still there and could explode, for example between Kosovo and Serbia, or in Bosnia-Herzegovina between the Srepska Republic and the Bosnian and Croatian communities.

The summaries of the Salon du Livre 2024 conference with our guest, Jean-Arnault Dérens, and the video of the entire conference on YouTube provide an up-to-date analysis of the situation of the peoples of the Balkans.

=> Jean-Arnault Dérens: “The Balkans, a marginalised periphery of the European Union? Old unresolved conflicts and new players”

In July, our Vice-President Natalya visited some of the projects for victims of the war that we support in Ukraine. Unfortunately, the situation for the Ukrainians remains very difficult and a ceasefire, or even peace with Russia, is still impossible. Russia continues, with impunity, to kill its own soldiers and Ukrainian civilians and soldiers defending their country. You can read the report on the trip below.

=> 8 July 2024 – Ivano-Frankivsk Shelter

=> 9 July 2024 : Misto dobra

=> 15 July 2024

=> 15 and 16 July 2024 : Concentration camp “Izolyaziya” in Donetsk

=> 17 July 2024 – Vorzel Hospital

=> 30 August 2024 – Vorzel Hospital Therapy Room

After the Second World War, peace was built within the European Economic Community through a common economic policy. This was based, among other things, on the exploitation of fossil fuels, mainly coal, oil and gas. The transition to renewable energies, which has been envisaged since the start of the new millennium, requires us to abandon the exploitation of fossil fuels in the medium term. The aim is to avoid the disasters predicted by all the current studies on climate change. However, the major oil-exporting countries, such as Russia and the Gulf States, are refusing to make the transition to an ecological economy. Wars (in Ukraine, Gaza and elsewhere) are therefore (also) becoming a means of preventing this transition. Since 2022, we have seen how ecological projects, movements and parties have struggled to gain a foothold or have been thwarted. Governments are stopping or putting the brakes on ecological transitions that aim to replace the causes of air pollution with CO2, the gas primarily responsible for climate change.

We’re organising our next ‘Bike for climate – bike for peace’ event around France’s largest artificial lake, Lac du Der, on the border of the Marne and Haute-Marne départements. Come and experience the benefits of cycling from the morning of Saturday 28 September to the afternoon of Sunday 29 September. On the evening of the 28th there will be a discussion on the theme of ‘fundamental ecology’.

You are all cordially invited to join us. We will be carpooling. Please let us know in advance by email ([email protected]) or by calling us on +352 621 280 850 or by text message.

=> Ad Pacem Bike Tour 7 (28.09.)

=> Ad Pacem Bike Tour 7 (29.09.)

Best regards,

Claude Pantaleoni
Chairman Ad Pacem servandam

90 shipments of aid to Ukraine

Dear members of Ad Pacem,

This newsletter gives an overview of our aid to the victims in Ukraine of the Russian military aggression which, since 22 February 2022, has put the east and south of the country (20% of Ukrainian territory) to fire and blood.

In the first few weeks, we were inundated with spontaneous aid from members and neighbours who were sending supplies (medicines, clothes, blankets, linen, etc.) that Ukrainians, fleeing with their children in the face of the advancing barbarism, might need. In April and May 2022, refugees arrived on our doorstep and we tried to accommodate them.

Many of the donations we received throughout 2022 paid for all our shipments to the hospitals in Stryj, Kharkiv, Kramatorsk and Vorzel (psychiatric clinic for traumatised civilians and soldiers) and to the internal refugee centres in Dnipro, Pidgorodne, Berezhane and Chernovitz in Ukraine. Some of this money was sent directly by Western Union to trusted development workers who bought equipment, medicines and food on the spot.

Some of the donations were used to fund emergency operations for injured civilians and refugees who could not pay for them themselves.

From the outset, our approach has been to be transparent, with photos of our aid taken when it was sent and when it was received. For each item of aid, you will find on the website the date, the place where it was sent and received, the content of the aid sent and, in most cases, the people who were helped and/or who received it. This is also the case when money has been sent: the photos document the purchases made and distributed to those in need.

To date, ninety items have been sent to Ukraine.

See the direct link: Russia’s war against Ukraine

All the proceeds from the sale of the Ad Pacem 2023 calendar have been used to fund a field hospital that a dozen doctors decided to set up behind the Ukrainian front lines. It enables them to intervene quickly with seriously injured soldiers. We bought them sleeping bags, inflatable mattresses, bullet-proof waistcoats, medical equipment, medicines, dressings, etc.

A doctor and a nurse from this team wrote to us saying that they had been wounded by Russian bullets when they went out to recover wounded soldiers. From their hospitals Oleg (December 2023) and Oleksander (January 2024) texted us that it was thanks to the bullet-proof waistcoats we had bought them that their lives were saved. A ray of light in this horrible war!

I would like to thank all our members who, through their subscriptions and donations, are making it possible to help the victims of the war in Ukraine.

Special thanks go to our vice-president Natalya Pantaleoni, who organises all this aid.

Claude Pantaleoni

Chairman

Bike for climate (cycle paths around Arlon) – ‘From flame to light’ (show in Verdun)

Dear members,

Peace lacks visibility in our lives and in our societies!

It is war and violence of all kinds, with their images of the destruction of human lives, cultures, environments and the Other who is different, that continually occupy our daily lives on the many information networks.

What is missing are the initiatives and actions that enable us to be, or become, people who live and spread a spirit of peace.

We are offering our members, and anyone else who is interested, outings that teach this spirit of peace.

15 June: bike for climate – bike for peace

On Saturday 15 June 2024, starting at 9.30am, we’ll be meeting at the free car park of Clairefontaine Abbey (81, rue du Cloître, 67000 Arlon), which was once a Dominican convent before being handed over to the Fathers of the Congregation of the Sacred Heart.

Most of the cycle tour will take place on cycle paths around the town of Arlon (B). We’ll be back at Clairefontaine Abbey by 5pm.

Ad Pacem Bike Tour 6

You are all cordially invited to join us. We travel by car pool. Let us know in advance by email ([email protected]) or by calling us on 00352 621 280850 or by text message.

28 June: Verdun ‘From Flame to Light’

This is one of Europe’s biggest shows on the 1914-18 war, with 250 actors, 1,000 spotlights and 2 hectares of stage space, giving you a visual and audio immersion into the heart of the battle and life in the trenches.

You can find out more about the show on the website:

https://spectacle-verdun.com/

The show starts in the dark of night (between 10.30pm and 11pm). We are organising a car pool from Esch-sur-Alzette (L) (around 8pm) and should arrive around 9.30pm to take the stage. The show lasts 1h30. You should expect to leave the stands at around 00:30. The journey from Esch-sur-Alzette to Verdun takes about 1 hour 20 minutes.

We can organise admission for groups at a preferential rate:

Adult admission €15 (instead of €24 at the individual rate);

Entry for young people (aged 7 to 15) €10 (instead of €16).

Contact: Natalya Pantaleoni (00352 621280850;

e-mail: [email protected])

We look forward to meeting you,

Claude Pantaleoni

7th General Meeting – Bike for climate – Outing to Verdun

Dear friends, dear members,

The Board of our association “Pour la Paix et contre la Guerre – Ad pacem servandam” called its members to the 7th General Meeting, which was held on 23 March 2024. You can consult the report of the GM by clicking on the following link:
=> Report on our 7th General Meeting 2024

Bike for climate – bike for peace

This is the third year that Ad Pacem has organised this peaceful initiative on two wheels. Cycling is good for individual health and reminds us of the many advantages of a policy that promotes cycling as part of our daily mobility (cycle paths in and around our towns, cycle parking facilities, etc.). Some of the wars currently being waged (notably in Ukraine, Sudan and Syria) are wars in which the aggressors appropriate energy resources to consolidate their dictatorial powers. Added to this is climate change, which calls into question our erroneous travel habits.
These arguments, combined with the pleasure of seeing you again, mean that we are delighted to invite you to our 5th cycle tour, which will take place on Saturday 18 May 2024. The tour will start at 9am in front of the church in Elvange, Luxembourg, where you can park for free all day. We plan to return to the same place at around 5pm.
The route, of around forty kilometres, will take us mainly along cycle paths in Luxembourg and Saarland.
The programme includes a number of interesting visits: the European Museum in Schengen, the Roman villa at Borg, and the Roman mosaic at Nennig, the latter two being among the largest and best preserved north of the Alps. We will also pass by the Remerschen nature reserve and the Remich esplanade, all set in the heart of the Moselle landscape and the surrounding vineyards.
All visits are free of charge for participants, as they are paid for by the association. Please bring your own provisions for lunch, in the form of a packed lunch.
To take part, please confirm your attendance by e-mail to [email protected] before 15 May.
You can find out more about the route by clicking on the following link:
=> Ad Pacem Bike Tour n. 5

VERDUN: “Des Flammes à la Lumière” show

Ad Pacem also invites you to take part in its outing to the “Des Flammes à la Lumière” show, which recalls the First World War battle at Verdun, on Friday 28 June 2024 (from dusk until around midnight).
It’s one of Europe’s biggest shows on the 1914-18 War. 250 actors, 1,000 spotlights and 2 hectares of stage space will immerse you in the sounds and sights of combat and life in the trenches.
For more information on the show, visit the following website:
=> https://spectacle-verdun.com/
We will organise the purchase of tickets. If you are interested in seeing this unique show, let us know before 25 May by emailing [email protected].
To make travelling easier, we are organising a car pool. If you are coming with your own car, let us know please if you have room to take other people with you.
The departure time from Esch-sur-Alzette will be communicated to you a few days before.

Best peace regards,

Claude Pantaleoni
Chairman

Peace above all

Dear friends,

As in all wars, the war between Israel and Hamas is mainly killing innocent civilians. Once again, we are witnessing the powerlessness of the world’s leaders to stop it or impose a ceasefire.
But as long as the Israeli and Palestinian leaders do not join hands to live in peace in two neighbouring states, recognising each other, the region will remain an area of conflict.
Our association supports any initiative that stops the war and leads to lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Publication: Ad Pacem 2024 calendar

Our new Ad Pacem calendar for 2024 has been available for a few days now. To produce it, this summer we travelled between Verdun and Reims, along the Western Front of the First World War. More specifically, we visited the sites of the great battles of the Meuse, Champagne, and Marne. And we compare this front to the Russian-Ukrainian front, which has been bogged down and stagnant for months. QR codes and a leaflet inside the calendar provide additional information and photos.

Proceeds from the sale of the calendar will go to help the psychiatric hospital in Vorzel, north of Kyiv, which our Vice-President visited last July. Director Tetyana Ponomarenko explained to her how the hospital was ransacked by Russian soldiers in March-April 2022. Today, the hospital is mainly short of medicines to treat the soldiers and Ukrainian civilians traumatised by the war, who are constantly flocking there.
You can order our Ad Pacem 2024 calendar by paying €14 into our account LU28 0099 7800 0064 0276 (CCRALULL), clearly specifying your full name and postal address.

Thank you

I would like to thank all our members who responded to our appeal for donations in Newsletter 27 to organise the purchase of essential medicines for the psychiatric clinic in Vorzel. These were handed over to the Director on 14 November 2023.
=> 14 November 2023. On 30 October 2023, the Vorzel psychiatric hospital in Ukraine received the medicines purchased thanks to donations received following our appeal in Newsletter 27. The hospital obtained antidepressants, neuroleptics, anticonvulsants, hynoptics and anxiolytics.

Best wishes for peace!

Claude Pantaleoni
Chairman

War in Ukraine – Appeal for donations

Dear friends,

During the first months of 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, we made several appeals, via our Newsletter, to help Ukrainian refugees inside their country and those arriving here.
You were generous enough to bring us sheets, blankets, clothes, shoes, food and medicines, which we sent to Ukraine in successive consignments to our development workers, who distributed them to those in need.
Many of you have made donations by bank transfer, with which we have purchased in Ukraine throughout the year what the refugees in the various reception centres and the wounded soldiers in the hospitals in Kharkiv and Kramatorsk needed, with whom we remain in contact.

The “Russia’s war against Ukraine” section of our website brings together all our direct aid actions. You can find out where, when and by whom this aid has been received.
=> Russia’s war against Ukraine

Psychologically traumatised people –
the forgotten victims of this war

Today, we are coming back to you with this URGENT APPEAL to help a psychiatric clinic in Vorzel, north of Kyiv, which our vice-president Natalya Pantaleoni visited at the end of June – beginning of July 2023.
This hospital, which is overloaded with civilian and military trauma patients, can no longer accommodate any more, although patients continue to arrive in large numbers.
There are not enough qualified staff or adequate medicines, as the Ukrainian government is mainly supporting military offensives and the physically injured.

What’s more, the clinic in Vorzel was ravaged and badly damaged by Russian soldiers who occupied it in March-April 2022. To date, it has not been possible to repair the damage due to a lack of funds.
Our vice-president’s interview with the director Tetyana Ponomarenko explains everything.
=> Interview

You can help by making a donation to our bank account
IBAN LU28 0099 7800 0064 0276 (CCRALULL)
of our association “Pour la Paix et contre la Guerre asbl”
with the mention “Help Vorzel”

or by using => Payconiq (only Benelux)

All our actions are documented and can be seen on our website.

If you have any medical equipment (crutches, walkers, medical corsets, wheelchairs, etc.) that you no longer need, we can collect it and send it to hospitals in Kharkiv and Kramatorsk.
Contact us by email at [email protected].

On behalf of the war victims and traumatised patients at Vorzel hospital,
many thanks!

Claude Pantaleoni
Chairman

Dear friends,

The longer the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine goes on, and the more Russia’s rulers continue to proclaim that they are waging a justified war, the more important it becomes to unmask their rhetoric and false motives. This is why the committee of “Ad Pacem servandam – For Peace and Against War” has organised several conferences in 2022 and 2023 given by specialists who are familiar with Europe and the Ukrainian, Russian and (post)Soviet worlds.

Our two guests at the Salon du Livre et des Cultures in Luxembourg-City in 2022 and 2023 were Jacques FAURE and Manfred SAPPER respectively. The former is a French diplomat who was also ambassador to Kyiv, and the latter has been the director of Osteuropa, the oldest Eastern European journal founded in Berlin in 1925, since 2002.

Their lectures can now be accessed on our website via the following links:
Jacques FAURE: What peaceful policy for Europe in the face of Russian military aggression against Ukraine?
Manfred SAPPER: Test Case Ukraine – Russia’s War, the West and the Paths to Peace
By clicking on the “The whole conference” link, you can discover the transcript of the entire conference. Clicking on “Summary” will take you to a text summarising the main points.
You can also listen to and watch the full lecture on YouTube:
Jacques FAURE : Quelle politique pacifique de l’Europe face à l’agression militaire russe contre l’Ukraine ? (YouTube)
Manfred SAPPER: Testfall Ukraine – Russlands Krieg, der Westen und die Wege zum Frieden (YouTube)

The truths you will read or hear are well-founded and will help you to understand this war, the European dimension of which increases every day.

If you have any questions about these two conferences, please contact our committee at [email protected].

Wishing for a just peace for Ukraine,

Claude Pantaleoni
Chairman

Dear friends,

Visiting museums, exhibitions and places of remembrance of past wars is one of the activities of our Ad Pacem association. Because of the Covid period and our commitment to Ukrainian refugees in 2022, following the Russian war of aggression, we have temporarily suspended these activities.

Bastogne War Museum

On Saturday 17 June, we invite you to visit the Bastogne War Museum.
The guided tour will start at the Museum at 9am and finish, for the first part, at around 12.30pm. Afterwards, there will be an opportunity to visit the Museum bookshop and have a coffee at the Bistrot de la Paix. Afterwards, we’ll have a picnic with our packed lunches in an area of the museum, with one drink per person. At around 1.30pm, we’ll continue with a second half-hour outing a few kilometres from the museum.
At around 2.30pm we’ll start our return journey home.
Admission will cost €20 for adults, and our association will pay the entrance fees for young people under 16.
For those who would like to carpool, please let us know by 15 June on [email protected] if you are one of us, have a car or would like to be driven to Bastogne.
Our secretary will contact you to organise car pooling from the various meeting points.

Bike for climate – bike for peace

I’d like to take this opportunity to announce our next Bike for climate event on Saturday 15 July from 10am to around 5pm on the cycle paths of southern Luxembourg.
Cycling is good for your health, for the climate and for peace!
So don’t hesitate to save the date and join us!
You can already register by emailing [email protected]. We’ll be sending you more information about the tour itself by email in early July.

Peace greetings!

Claude Pantaleoni
Chairman

Dear friends, dear members of Ad Pacem,

The rediscovery of cycling symbolises the ecological and energetic alternatives that men and women must (re)discover for their own well-being and that of future generations. The cycle paths created or rehabilitated in recent years are there to help us change, at least in part, our habits of locomotion. In addition, we can (re)discover the nature of our countryside and forests and the well-being of unpolluted air.

Our Ad Pacem committee invites you to pedal together
on Saturday 20 May from 9.30 am to about 5 pm
on a looped route that we have chosen,
starting from the car park of the train station in Bettembourg.
You can discover the route by clicking on the following link: Ad Pacem Bike Tour 4.

There is the possibility to arrive by train or to leave the car on the car park during the whole day. Each participant will bring a packed lunch. A list of tips will be sent to participants two days before the event. You can notify us of your participation by e-mail at [email protected].

Cycling is good for your health, for the climate and for peace!
So don’t hesitate to join us!

Please also remember the date of Saturday 17 June for our visit to the Bastogne War Museum, where we will have a guided tour in the morning.
More information will follow in a future Newsletter.

Greetings of peace!

Claude Pantaleoni
President of the asbl
“For Peace and Against War”

Dear friends, dear members of Ad Pacem,

Throughout the year 2022 the activities of our association were strongly conditioned by the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Our help went to Ukrainian refugees who first came to the big cities of western Ukraine and then to families who came to our Region to find refuge. In the second half of the year, the bombardment of cities by Russian missiles and drones again accentuated these population movements. Throughout the year we have been supporting the hospitals in Kramatorsk and Kharkiv with material and medicine, as well as a team of doctors who are helping in a small field hospital behind the Ukrainian front in the Kharkiv region. We are now helping these doctors mainly with the proceeds from the sale of this year’s calendar.
As the front has now “stabilised” in the south-east and south of Ukraine, there is less movement of people, although the number of wounded and dead soldiers on the Ukrainian side (Russia does not give any information about its dead or wounded soldiers) is in the hundreds every day.

On 22 March 2023 we held our 6th General Assembly. You can read the minutes by clicking on the following link: Minutes of our 6th General Assembly 2023

In the coming months we will resume activities that we started in 2018 and 2019, and that we had to drop during the pandemic years.
On Saturday 29 April from 9.15 a.m. until about 5 p.m. we will organise a “Bike for future – bike for peace” day on the cycle paths in the south of Luxembourg. On the link Ad Pacem Bike Tour you can discover the route. This day is open to all our members and interested friends. You can communicate your participation at [email protected].

Finally, we are organising an outing to learn about the history of the wars through a visit to the Bastogne War Museum where we will be able to relive some of the highlights of the Battle of the Bulge. This will be on Saturday 17 June, from 8.30 a.m. (departure in Esch/Alzette) until the return around 4 p.m. Those who are interested can already save this date. You will have more information and the possibility to register in a future Newsletter.

I bid you a good reception of this Newsletter 23,
with my best wishes for more peace,

Claude Pantaleoni
President of the asbl
“For Peace and Against War”

We thank all those who have supported us in our peace and anti-war activities during 2022. Many thanks for the many donations and contributions to help the refugees both in our country and in Ukraine.

If you visit our website, the section Russia’s war against Ukraine informs you about our aid and interventions for peace and against war since the Russian military aggression against Ukraine.

The new section Bosnia and Herzegovina – our support specifies to whom the profit from the sale of the 2022 calendar was destined.

Membership fees are our only resource to finance our activities. You can continue to support us in 2023 thanks to your contribution of 15€ per year (5€ for students).
=> IBAN: LU28 0099 7800 0064 0276 (CCRALULL)

Finally, we would like to inform you that you still have the possibility to buy our calendar “Ad Pacem 2023”, the profit of which will go this time to support a team of young doctors from the Kharkiv hospital operating in field hospitals near the war front.
You can buy our calendar at the Diderich bookshop in Esch-sur-Alzette, at the Weltbuttek Esch and the Weltbuttek Luxembourg.
Alternatively, to order, just send us an email ([email protected]) with your contact details.

To all of you, we wish a Happy New Year 2023 with less war and more Peace!

Claude Pantaleoni
President