Richters holds a photo of refugee children in front of his team’s campervan, which over 150 have signed Greg Richters

Richters holds a photo of refugee children in front of his team’s campervan, which over 150 have signed Greg Richters

Grig Richters, who co-founded asteroid day and directs films for Films United, set out on 27 October in a bid to take over a million steps in solidarity with people displaced by war.

His goal: to urge EU leaders to grant asylum to the over 1,000 unaccompanied minors trapped in refugee camps all over Europe.

“Most of these children fled war and poverty. Some of them fled after their parents were murdered or because their parents tried to send them to “safety”. The reality is brutal,” Richters writes on his website, adding that some children then suffer worse upon arrival in Europe, facing rape and poverty.

Richter, who is accompanied in his epic hike by a support team in a camper van, writes: “Please give these children asylum so they can live a life in peace and dignity. They are the most vulnerable.”

The campaigner’s odyssey will take him up through northern France to Lille then Belgium where he will pass through Brussels, Leuven and Liège before going on to Aachen in Germany, where he will walk via Cologne, Dortmund and Wolfsburg before his anticipated arrival in Berlin on 1 December.

Posting on his blog on 29 October when he was 60 miles into the walk, Richters wrote: “I’m very optimistic, especially after only having walked for two days - out of 30 - that if we all keep spreading the message and if we all keep talking about the children that we can make a real difference. My voice alone is not going to be heard but put all of our voices together and we can save those children before Christmas day.”

People can support Richters by signing his petition for action in helping unaccompanied minors, which is addressed to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and/or donating to the “I March For You” initiative.