Around 4,000 people in Netherlands march 25 miles to support refugees

ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands

Nearly 4,000 people in the Netherlands marched around 40 kilometers (25 miles) to support refugees on Sunday.

Participants collected over $1.2 million as part of the Night of Refugees event organized for the 13th time this year by the Netherlands-based Refugee Foundation.

The march started at midnight (2200GMT Saturday) in the cities of Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Nijmegen, Den Haag and Tilburg and ended around 9 a.m. local time (0700GMT Sunday).

The 40-km walk aimed to draw attention to the long distances that refugees have traveled in hopes of finding a new life.

Tineke de Vries, who came to Rotterdam for the march, told Anadolu Agency that he participated in the march to support the refugees, albeit a little, financially and morally.

"The refugee problem is growing and this is a great drama for humanity. We see terrible images on television. Now this problem has (also) started in Ukraine,” he said.

Pauline Timmerman, who participated in the march for the first time, said: "It was a long road, but I'm happy to be able to come to the end. I walked for refugees, it gave a different meaning to the fact that it was night. It was a different experience to start at night and gradually become morning."

Helena Perfors, who participated in the walk for the second time, said: “I walked to support refugees both in solidarity and financially. I collected €2,500 (over $2,600)."

* Writing by Gozde Bayar in Ankara.