“The Third World War fought in fragments.” This is how the sum of ongoing conflicts has been described—the highest number ever recorded since the end of World War II.
There are currently 56 situations of armed conflict, involving 92 countries. They have led to the displacement of over 100 million people, and in 2024 the number of casualties reached a tragic record: more than 230,000 lives lost.
It is this discouraging tally that led us to revisit an image we created thirty-two years ago to mark the Peaceful May Day in Sarajevo, a city that became a symbol of the war in the former Yugoslavia. The image was commissioned by the European Trade Union Confederation, which, with the support of the United Nations, had organized the event.
The meaning of the celebration is as simple as it is profound: peace and work are inseparable values.
The image depicts a bricklayer’s trowel in the act of sealing the crack of a bombed wall, while at the same time giving shape to a dove. The symbol of peace thus becomes a symbol of reconstruction—and therefore of work.
Happy 1 May!