CMI to observe 26-hour moment of silence to honour war distresses

The Crisis Management Initiative (CMI)- Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation will hold a 26-hour long moment of silence in Helsinki from Tuesday afternoon to honor people who have lost their homes due to a conflict, said the CMI in a press release.

The CMI, an organization works to prevent and resolve conflicts through dialogue and mediation founded by the former President Martti Ahtisaari will begin the moment of silence on Finland’s Independence Day and the total number of seconds in 26 hours will symbolize the 103 million people, who have been displaced by war, violence persecution and human right violations.

Each second of the silence represents 1,100 people forced to flee their homes – the same number of seats as the Kallio Church.

"During the 26-hour period of silence, we will turn our thoughts to those who have had to leave their homes,” explained Janne Taalas, CEO of CMI.

“At the same time, we want to make a concrete action to remind people of the art of listening, which is key to building peace. Finland’s Independence Day is a fitting time for this period of silence, because eight decades ago hundreds of thousands of Finns were also displaced by war,” Taalas added.

The moment of silence will begin on Tuesday at 3:30pm and end on Wednesday at 5:30 pm.

The people will be able to visit the church for the period of silence during the church's regular opening hours.

A group of volunteers will take part in the silence and be there also at night, when the church is closed to the public.

Everyone around the world can join the moment of silence from home via a Facebook live stream.

At the church, during the moment of silence the people can visit CMI’s exhibition called "Keys for Peace”.

The exhibition presents keys and their owners from conflict areas around the world: Ukraine, Mali, Bosnia, Burundi, Afghanistan, Palestine, Libya and ceded Karelia in Finland.

One of the stories in the exhibition is that of a boy, Martti Ahtisaari, who would later become the President of Finland and a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.