Beliveau with his trolley in Jalpaiguri on Wednesday. Picture by Biplab Basak

Siliguri, April 2: Jean Beliveau is not a die-hard fan of Bob Dylan. But he seems to be the “man” that Dylan sang of in “How many roads must a man walk down before you can call him a man”.

Fifty-two-year-old Beliveau, a former employee of an ad agency in Montreal, Canada, has been walking for the past eight years to disseminate the message: “peace and non-violence for children of the world”.

Trotting across 51 countries and traversing around 50,000km, the Canadian arrived in Jalpaiguri from Nepal today. “I took up walking to impart the message of non-violence following the UN declaration to observe 2001-2010 as the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of the World,” he said while walking briskly with a three-wheeled trolley towards the district collectorate.

“I have visited Latin America, Middle East and Asia and the US. I am yet to go to China, Australia and a number of other countries. I expect to end my journey in 2012 and visit 70 countries by walking 75,000km in 12 years,” Beliveau added.

He had starting from Montreal on August 18, 2000, his birthday. Since then he has changed 36 pairs of shoes. “I think I will need some more. Initially I started with some savings that I had but now the people of the countries I visit help me,” the Canadian said.

The three-wheeled stroller accompanying Beliveau carries his food, garments, a first-aid kit, a tent and a sleeping bag.

At every place where he stops, Beliveau meets schoolchildren, telling them to spread the message of “peace and non-violence”.

“In several places, I initially faced a communication problem but soon somebody would turn up as an interpreter,” Beliveau said. His wife Luce, son Thomas and daughter Elisa Jane, meet him once a year.

“On my birthday, which is also the anniversary of the walk, they fly to the place where I am at that moment,” he said.

The Canadian globetrotter, who was contemplating visiting Tibet through Arunachal Pradesh, changed his plans after the Chinese crackdown led to a flare-up in Lhasa. “I will go to Kathmandu in Nepal instead and take a flight to China,” he said.