On a map of the world using the Brookings index of weak states, the epicentre is self-evidently sub-Saharan Africa, particularly around Congo, with blobs of red in Iraq, Afghanistan and Myanmar.
It is the first convoy to be organized jointly by the Iranian Red Crescent and the UNHCR since the withdrawal of aid agencies from Afghanistan in September.
Alan Comar, a 29-year-old resident of Washington who worked as a U.S. contractor in Afghanistan, clutched his girlfriend as they gazed across the red, white and blue crowd.