Today marks the 83rd anniversary of the bombing of the town of Gernika by the fascist forces of the dictator Francisco Franco, the first time in modern history that civilians were deliberately targeted in an act of war, the majority of whom were women and children. The use of power and violence that was rained down on Gernika was soon exponentially increased by the Nazis. The unprecedented scale of the massacre in Gernika was only met by that of the total disregard of many leaders – and also by the scale of the courage of people from the town and a few around the world determined to make the truth prevail: that unlike what the dictator Franco had told the world -- that the Basques perpetuated the bombing themselves -- it had been carried out by Nazi and Italian fascist warplanes at Franco’s request. Today, much like the 1930’s and 1940’s, we are going through an unprecedented time of great difficult. Just as in Gernika, the scale of the humanitarian crisis has only been met by the irresponsible disregard of certain world leaders – and by the extraordinary courage of countless people around the globe. After the bombing, the town of Gernika was empty and silent but not defeated. Today, all our cities are empty and silent but not defeated. At The Guernica Group we remained resolute that, just as the strength of the people of Gernika showed after the bombing, this time of emptiness and silence will be a period of reflection and the gestation of innovative paths for courageous people around the world to pursue justice.