Orbiting 4 Peace

Coloreando Guerras

2011-02-02T14:48:00.008-05:00

Desde Los Angeles hasta donde quieras: Seguimos Coloreando Guerras

¿De qué Color es la Guerra?

¿Verde militar? ¿Verde amazónico de riqueza natural? Azul marino de melancolía? ¿Rojo Zapatista con negro de luto? ¿Color Cuba Libre con Verde de Embargo? ¿Blanco KuKlaxKlan?

¿Es transparente como el color de lxs desaparecidxs? ¿Azul avioneta? ¿Gris bombardeo? ¿Del mismo amarillo que tiene la mirada del chico que te dice que su futuro estará asegurado en una escuela militar? ¿De que color se mancha el blanco cuando disparan mentes inocentes?

¿De qué color piensas la guerra?

Nadie esta excluidx de conocer (o reconocer) la palabra “guerra”. A diario se escucha por doquier: en la calle (guerra), en los medios de comunicación (guerra), en tu esquina (guerra), y hasta en las trincheras de tu propia conciencia social (guerra). Y ya sea porque “hay guerra en X lugar” o porque no hay paz en sitio “Y” siempre escuchamos la información de las cifras correspondientes a la guerra ya sean locales o globales. Recuerdo que mi primer conocimiento de esta palabra fue por la guerra de las pandillas en Los Ángeles, California en los años 80`s cuando las gangas de la Calle 18 (18st) se tiraban bala con los cholos de Mara Salvatrucha (MS). Después conocí la guerra de las razas: todos contra todxs porque todas las personas reducidas a la categoría de “minoría étnica” éramos diferentes a los anglos. Las razas se dividían cada vez más y fragmentaban la integración cultural con balas y odio, xenofobia y discriminación. Los Afro-Americanos contra los Latino-Americanos y los Salvadoreños contra los Mexicanos y los Afros contra los Asiáticos, y los Anglos contra todxs nosotrxs. Y mientras eso se generaba en mi contexto social, recuerdo haber escuchado por primera vez el nombre de Nelson Mandela y su lucha contra el sistema de Apartheid en Sudáfrica. Las razas se dividían en Los Ángeles y también en Johannesburgo y mientras unos justificaban que el darwinismo social era la ciencia del racismo, otrxs luchaban por generar respeto y tolerancia hacia la diversidad humana.

Desde entonces comprendí que la identidad también es un motivo para generar guerras y que aunque el color de la piel es algo que no se elige propiamente, sigue siendo una característica para categorizar y posteriormente atacar a las personas. La propia historia de la esclavitud y colonización nos muestra que heredamos una sociedad que desde hace siglos había aceptado esos parámetros biológicos para justificar maltrataos. Sera por complacencia e ignorancia que aún no nos hemos desecho de esa mentalidad encapsulada en odio y codicia.

Memorias de la Brutalidad

Yo estaba en 5to grado de primaria en California, EE.UU cuando sucedió aquel incidente que marco para siempre mi concepto del racismo. Fue en el 1992 cuando cuatro policías blancos, miembros de la Policía Departamental de Los Ángeles (LAPD por sus siglas de ingles), fueron absueltos por un jurado después de haber violentado brutalmente contra Rodney King, un afro-americano que fue perseguido por sobrepasarse el límite de velocidad para conducir en la autopista. Este hecho hizo más notorio el nombre del South Central Los Ángeles que ya era conocido por la violencia que surgía en sus ghettos. El indulto otorgado a los agresores genero disturbios por numerables barrios en el interior de Los Ángeles. Estos hechos fueron mejor conocidos como los “L.A. Riots”, “Los Disturbios” y “Las Quemazones” dado que cada centro comercial y tiendas de pequeños empresarios, chóchales, y mercados por toda la ciudad se encendían en llamas. La gente salió a la calle y saqueo tiendas, quebró vitrinas, robo y sacudió el coraje generado después de racionar que el racismo era una guerra del estado contra nosotrxs lxs que vivíamos en los barrios donde la violencia y la discriminación eran [y son] el estatus quo. Ya existían las frustraciones sociales, ya existía la pobreza y el crimen, ya existía el odio y la brutalidad policiaca y la brutalidad desembocado en Rodney King fue la gran gota que derramo el vaso en las calles. Fue la primera vez que vi tan cerca y parados sobre los muros y techos de los edificios al súper armado ejército nacional; habían declarado crisis de seguridad para los angelinos. Estábamos en zona de guerra y había toque de queda a consecuencia de la forma en la que la gente desprendió con coraje su impotencia frente al racismo institucionalizado.

Opciones para la juventud en Vogue: ¿Arma Ilegal o Ejercito Patrocinado?

Hay que preguntarnos ¿por qué nuestra sociedad permite que la juventud tome un arma para defenderse como opción de vida? Lo digo porque he visto como mis vecinxs y compañerxs empezaron cargando navajas y pica hielos para defender su territorio. Quienes lograban sobrevivir la violencia urbana seguían arriesgando su libertad por defender su “clica” su “ganga” y a sus “homies” pandilleros. Y ahora como adulta he visto como mis amigos que lograron escaparse de las pandillas y terminar la preparatoria (o “high school”) se pasaron a formar la fila en un batallón. Era el mismo resultado: O tomas la violencia en la calle y la diriges en contra de los que están a tu alrededor o la aprendes en el batallón y la diriges en contra de quien te digan que es el enemigo del Estado. Solo que esta segunda opción la legitima, justifica, reconoce, y necesita el Estado y el capital financiero. Entonces ¿cuál es tu opción como joven? O cargas un arma robada para matar los de tu mismo entorno o te inscribes como soldado y te disfrazas con un uniforme prestado convencido de que estas defendiendo la seguridad de una patria—la misma patria que nunca te ofreció una mejor vida en las calles. ¿Que sigue pasando en nuestros vecindarios, nuestras ciudades, nuestro país, el continente, y nuestro planeta que la juventud sea forzada a optar por la violencia como único rito ceremonial para llegar a la adultez?

¿Militarizar nuestra mente en nombre de cuál defensa?

Defender la vida a muerte es un oxímoron que a diario lo tenemos que vivir. Defendemos la patria con un ejército que sigue recibiendo entrenamiento por EE.UU en el Instituto del Hemisferio Occidental para la Cooperación en Seguridad (anteriormente conocido como Escuela de las Américas). Su mayor fama se la ha conseguido por tener entre sus graduados a los mejores asesinos, quienes son entrenados para combatir e dirigir las guerras en nuestros países latinoamericanos. Y mientras nuestrxs hermanxs, nuestros compañeros, nuestrxs vecinxs y nuestrxs secuaces son enviados a las filas del combate, el desempleo crece, disminuyen el número de estudiantes en las universidades, aumenta el hambre y disminuye la seguridad de civiles. Hay que destacar que quienes toman las decisiones para las estrategias guerreristas en reuniones diplomáticas de altos rangos jamás enviarían a sus propios hijos a realizar una operación de combate militar! En Estados Unidos lxs personas identificadas como parte de una minoría racial (aunque ya no son minorías étnicas como se supone), conforman la primera línea de fuego en combate. Estos individuos se distinguen porque tienen rostros mestizos, mulatos, y llevan el apellido de nuestra gente. Se van para Iraq y a Afganistán sin poder comprender lo que es “defender una democracia” porque a los 18 años nunca aprendieron bien la historia ni la ciencia política de su propia sociedad. Esto se da en un contexto en donde reina la discriminación, donde no existen opciones para una educación (es demasiado costosa,) y en donde un joven no-anglo que termina la preparatoria (High School) tal vez resulte trabajando en un Mc. Donald’s si no es que se suma a la fila del U.S.Army. Entonces no es difícil convencer a la juventud de que vayan a sacar la adrenalina con permiso para matar. ¿Estaremos describiendo a Los Ángeles, EEUU? ¿O Medellín, CO? ¿O Ciudad Juárez, MX? No es sorprendente que los jóvenes--creyendo que la guerra es su única opción económica—terminan prefiriendo irse a ser falsos héroes para una patria hipócrita. Obviamente esto es mucho más efectivo cuando se utilizan métodos psicológicos para convencerles y enseñarles como odiar y perpetuar la violencia. Pero yo sigo creyendo que detrás de cualquier cara dura de quienes violentan contra otros, existe simultáneamente una conciencia que desea ser librada del dolor y coraje aprendido.

¿Y cómo es posible que en México se esté fomentando una guerra generada por la situación política-económica y que se presente ante nuestra sociedad como una “lucha contra el narcotráfico? Hay que cuestionar ¿que (y quienes) dicta/n los precios del narcotráfico y quien maneja el precio del mercado para el consumo de los narcóticos exportados? Es obvio que el tráfico de drogas beneficia a muchas personas de alto poder y no es posible que el mismo estado se auto-fusile ¿O sí? ¿Quién pone los cuerpos y quien pone las balas y quien sufre las consecuencias? ¿Desde qué lado de la frontera México/EEUU con sus 3,169 kms (1,969 millas) de barreras de alta tecnología se colocan los variables necesarios para la importación de armas ilegales a México? Quien ha permitido que tengamos como resultado 38,000 muertos en los últimos 4 años? En México, según un país democrático, las cifras de muertos ya han superado las cifras de lxs desaparecidxs durante la dictadura en Argentina!

¿Por qué los índices del desempleo en EEUU no mejoran si es un país con suficientes recursos para poder darle 410 millones de dólares a México gracias a los acuerdos del Plan Mérida? “Más armas, mas balas, mas militares en la sociedad” son las letras pequeñas que la gente no lee cuando firma acuerdos que resultan en asesinatos legalizados por los gobiernos. ¿Por qué las instituciones de educación pública en EEUU han aumentado un 150% el costo de inscripción mientras se gastan millones en armamento para la Defensa Nacional (v e aquí para ver un contador del gasto militar estadounidense)? ¿Por qué cada año se construyen más cárceles que universidades? ¿Por qué ni México ni Estados Unidos utilizan esos millones para promover opciones para la juventud, programas para una educación gratuita, para un sistema de salud digno que permitan crear una sociedad más critica que promueva el conocimiento socio-político y cultural de? ¿Por qué EEUU no libra guerras en su propio territorio teniendo en cuenta todas las guerras en las que directamente ha apoyado y/o participado: WW1, WW2, Vietnam, Pearl Harbor, Corea del Norte, Panamá, Cuba, Colombia, México etc. ¿Por qué sus estrategias son de exportar guerras al mal llamado “tercer mundo” o en donde “están los terroristas” y así lograr militarizar a otros países? ¿Por qué se exportan hombres para la guerra en donde se ubican intereses del petróleo, minerales, y riquezas de recursos naturales? ¿Cuantas Bases Militares de EEUU hay alrededor del mundo (Mapa de bases militares )? ¿Cómo se justifica esto?

¿De qué color es la guerra contra la paz y la defensa de libertad, justicia y dignidad?

La guerra no solo es roja de sangre, también hay guerras negras como el luto, y en muchas otras ocasiones es invisible y se transforma conforme al nombre que se le otorgue para subliminarla. Esta última década ya nos hemos adaptado a que “guerra” también es “defender el territorio” o “que la lucha contra el terrorismo” la libra el gobierno a pie de letra para poder “combatir al enemigo de la patria”. Al igual, como dice el dicho, al buen entendedor pocas palabras. Lo que me ha quedado claro es que la guerra es creada en contextos que permiten que un ataque sea la defensa propia y que la vanguardia sea la razón que justifica la violencia en contra quien/es no piensa/n o son como se quiere que piense/n.

Pero la palabra guerra no solo se define en los barrios urbanos, también se nutre en las selvas, campos, montañas, cerros, esquinas, sótanos clandestinos, plazas, templos y precipicios inimaginables. Y es por eso que las mismas sociedades también crean su contraparte de resistencias ya sean armadas o pacificas; muestra de esto son los centenares de movimientos sociales que han optado por declarar su guerra en contra el status quo. Sin embargo, creo que para generar un cambio profundo en esta sociedad guerrerista en la que nos hemos formado es necesario analizar las estrategias y re-pensar de qué manera se puede contribuir para generar caminos nuevos. Se necesita transformar nuestro mundo a un mundo en donde la guerra no tenga que ser un requisito para la paz. Deberíamos de pensar en cómo generar las condiciones para que cada uno de nosotrxs opte por brindar el máximo respeto hacia la vida sin tener que morir por ella.

Hay que ver y aprender de nuestras experiencias y cuestionar los acontecimientos detrás de las historias y hechos que nos han conducido al actual estado de la humanidad. Por ejemplo, en

Colombia se sigue librando una guerra de casi media década en donde hoy en día se ha generado un contexto multi-facetico de violencia estatal, social y de luchas pacificas de resistencia civil. En todo ámbito social se ha escuchado el grito a favor de la paz y sin embargo, ¿Cómo es posible que comunidades en resistencia que optan por la no-violencia sean perpetuamente atacadas por querer vivir una vida pacifica? ¿Cómo es posible que el mismo ejercito sea quien ejecuta a inocentes civiles en nombre de una misma patria que usurpa el significado de la paz? Tal es el caso de muchas comunidades que se han organizado para defender la vida! (véase Comunidad de Paz de San José de Apartado)

¿Qué significa vivir en un mundo en donde todxs sufrimos por la guerra?

Todas y todos conocemos la palabra “guerra”, y así no estés directamente participando en una zona de combate pandillero, militar, o política, las consecuencias las vivimos todxs. No solo quienes toman las armas son quienes están en la guerra; No solo las FARC o los miembros del Ejército en Colombia viven la guerra, no solo lxs Indígenas de México el EZLN, y los paramilitares viven con la guerra, no solo los narcos y sicarios son quienes generan la guerra, no solo los chiitas y sunitas Iraquís mueren por la guerra, no solo a lxs campesinos de Afganistán les afecta la guerra, no solo son las madres de los hijos enviados a combatir a quienes les duele la guerra - también incluye a quienes luchan sus propias guerras por la paz.. y así todas las personas en el mundo somos unidas y separadas por un defecto común: la perniciosa guerra.

-Mayra-Sofía Moreno

myra2m@gmail.com

Articulo sobre la Comunidad de Paz de San Jose de Apartado

2011-02-01T13:18:00.000-05:00

San José de Apartadó, Comunidad de Paz: La libertad como instinto de sobrevivencia

Raúl Zibechi

El infierno y el paraíso se confunden, transitan por el borde del abismo que los convierte en su contrario: la guerra atroz con la comunidad de paz; la desesperación con la esperanza; la vida y la muerte danzan un trance inverosímil. Es Colombia. Donde campesinos hartos de guerra se refugian en la paz para seguir viviendo. Una visita a la comunidad de la mano de un fotógrafo solidario.

“La comunidad de paz de San José de Apartadó, junto a otras inspiradas en la misma visión, es una destacada demostración de coraje, resiliencia y dedicación a los elevados valores de paz y justicia, en un entorno de brutalidad y destrucción. No hay mejor símbolo de lucha no violenta y de esperanza, en un mundo torturado por la violencia y la represión”, escribió Noam Chomsky al fotógrafo uruguayo Agustín Fernández Gabard cuando éste regresó de Colombia donde pasó un mes en una región arrasada por la violencia.

“Tenía varios motivos para ir. Se trata de gente que sostiene una propuesta alternativa desde hace catorce años en medio de un conflicto con tanta muerte”, explica el fotógrafo de 28 años. “La existencia de la comunidad de paz complejiza el conflicto, ya que por un lado hablan de ‘narcoguerrilla’ y por el otro de ‘revolución’, y la gente allí tiene claro que hay cosas comunes en todos los bandos, todos son violentos, todos viven del tráfico. Hay familias que tienen un miembro en las FARC y otro en el ejército o los paramilitares, y eso hace mucho más complejas las relaciones humanas. Y está el caso de Samir, un ex guerrillero de las FARC ahora desmovilizado, que trabaja para el ejército. Cuando era guerrillero acusaba a la comunidad de colaborar con el ejército y ahora que es militar los acusa de apoyar a la guerrilla. Es la esquizofrenia que provoca la guerra”[1].

En el mismo momento que Chomsky escribía su admiración por la comunidad de paz, los paramilitares amenazan y asesinan. El 30 de noviembre en la vereda Playa Larga los paramilitares manifestaron que la comunidad debía salir de la zona o la exterminarían. El 21 de noviembre fue asesinada Yuly Pérez Durango y dijeron que el que no se sometiera a sus reglas seria asesinado. Los paramilitares hacen presencia permanente en las veredas colindantes incluidas varias de la Comunidad de Paz con la complacencia de la fuerza publica[2].

La experiencia insólita de la Comunidad de Paz San José de Apartadó, se ha convertido en un referente ineludible tanto para los pacifistas como para quienes han hecho de la ética la razón de ser de su activismo político. Son apenas 1.500 personas que viven en seis veredas o comunidades campesinas, rodeadas de militares, paramilitares y guerrilleros. En estos catorce años los actores armados asesinaron a 180 comuneros, el 12 por ciento de los miembros de la comunidad de paz. Cada familia cargó con varios féretros a sus espaldas.

Aferrarse a la tierra

“Primero se funda la comunidad en San José, con campesinos provenientes de varias veredas. Luego de la masacre del 21 de febrero de 2005 se retiran y fundan San Josecito”, explica Agustín. En esa fecha fueron asesinadas ocho personas, el líder histórico Luis Eduardo Guerra, su esposa y el hijo de once años. Ese mismo día asesinaron a otro dirigente, Alfonso Tuberquia, su esposa, una hija de seis años y un niño de 18 meses. Todos a garrotazos. La masacre se produjo días después que el presidente Álvaro Uribe asegurara por cadena nacional que los líderes de San José de Apartadó estaban vinculados a las FARC.

En las investigaciones la Fiscalía vinculó a 84 militares con la masacre, atribuida a las paramilitares Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC). En febrero de 2005 la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos exigió la protección del Estado a la comunidad de Apartadó y pidió que se revelaran los nombres de los militares que participaron en la masacre. En 2008 el capitán del ejército Guillermo Armando Gordillo reconoció la participación de los militares en el hecho, según informó en ese momento el diario El Tiempo[3].

“La policía montó un enorme cuartel en San José, más grande que el propio pueblo”, dice Agustín. El gigantesco cuartel fue una decisión del presidente Álvaro Uribe que ordenó a la policía instalarse dentro del pueblo, lo que forzó a la comunidad a desplazarse un kilómetro y fundar San Josecito, abandonando todo lo que habían construido en casi una década.

El municipio de Apartadó (‘río de los plátanos’ en lengua indígena), al norte del departamento de Antioquia cerca de la frontera con Panamá, tiene unos 150 mil habitantes y se fue poblando a raíz de la persecución política que sufrieron los liberales desde 1948 tras el asesinato del líder Jorge Eliécer Gaitán. Quizá por eso confluyeron afrodescendientes, indígenas y “paisas” (por paisano, como se conoce a los nacidos en Antioquia) hacia esta planicie caribeña. Extensas plantaciones de banano y cacao se confunden con los verdes de la selva.

A doce kilómetros de la capital departamental, Apartadó, se fue erigiendo un pequeño poblado llamado San José, donde llegaban desplazados de diferentes veredas. Se trata de una zona estratégica que es la puerta de la Serranía del Abibe, un corredor hacia los departamentos de Córdoba, Chocó y Antioquia, que luchan por controlar los diversos bandos armados. San José tuvo tres mil habitantes antes que la guerra, las amenazas y los asesinatos masivos forzaran a la mitad de la población a desplazarse a las zonas urbanas abandonando las tierras que codician los armados.

En la década de 1980 apareció la Unión Patriótica, vinculada al Partido Comunista, a través de la cual los campesinos consiguieron “la construcción de escuelas, puestos de salud, hubo profesores, promotores para las veredas, mejoramiento de caminos vecinales”, como enseña la cartilla de la comunidad. Sin embargo, “la autoridad en la región la ejercía la guerrilla y cometía abusos, asesinatos y pasaba por encima de la autonomía de los campesinos”. El ejército, por su parte, “entraba a golpear a una población a la que consideraban como ayudantes de la guerrilla”[4].

Hacia marzo de 1997 comenzó un proceso impulsado por activistas ligados a la iglesia que permitió que campesinos de 17 veredas formaran la Comunidad de Paz, como dicen ellos “en una zona desamparada por el Estado”. Fue la reacción a dos masacres, en setiembre de 1996 y febrero de 1997, que vaciaron el casco urbano de San José.

La segunda masacre, en 1997, la cometieron ex guerrilleros del EPL, reinsertados por el proceso de paz, que convocaron a todos los pobladores a la plaza, los amenazaron y luego “amarraron a varias personas quienes un día después aparecieron muertas en la carretera que conduce a Apartadó”. Los paramilitares se hicieron con el control. En la carretera instalaron retenes, “revisaban los documentos lista en mano y al que aparecía lo asesinaban”. Les dieron un plazo de tres días para que abandonaran sus tierras, mientras helicópteros vigilaban sus desplazamientos. “Los que pudimos salir nos ubicamos en el caserío de San José y desde allí comenzamos a resistir”, relatan en la historia “oficial” de la comunidad[5].

La Diócesis de Apartadó propuso la realización de talleres para que los campesinos se declararan neutrales. Unos 500 firmaron el acuerdo en 1997 y poco a poco se fueron sumando otros campesinos de diversas veredas que no querían vagabundear como desplazados ni vivir de la caridad estatal. Los primeros pasos fueron más que duros: por la noche, los pocos que no habían abandonado sus casas subían al monte para dormir. Retornaron a sus comunidades en pequeños grupos, como las 50 familias que retornaron en marzo de 1998 a la vereda de La Unión. Trabajaban en pequeños grupos de siete a diez campesinos para sentirse protegidos, pero en pocos meses se juntaban hasta cien vecinos en las faenas del campo.

Fusil o toga

“El domingo 4 de abril de 1999, a las 23 horas, diez hombres fuertemente armados, entre los cuales había reconocidos paramilitares que actuaban en la zona, ingresaron al caserío de San José, se pasearon por sus calles insultando a todos los pobladores y luego llegaron a la casa de Aníbal Jiménez, miembro del Consejo Interno de la comunidad de paz, educador, artista y autor del himno de la comunidad, y lo ejecutaron frente a sus niños pequeños”.

Este es un fragmento del libro Fusil o toga, toga y fusil, escrito por el sacerdote jesuita Javier Giraldo, que describe 13 años de crímenes contra la comunidad de paz de San José de Apartadó (Antioquia). Según Giraldo, destacado defensor de derechos humanos, su motivación para documentar estos hechos fue la impunidad. “No es sino leer cualquier página del libro para ver los atropellos que se cometen semanalmente contra esta comunidad: masacres, ejecuciones extrajudiciales, desapariciones forzadas, abusos sexuales, quemas de viviendas, bombardeos, desplazamientos masivos, robo de ganados, destrucción de cultivos”, cuenta el padre Giraldo[6].

La comunidad de paz de San José de Apartadó fue una sugerencia del arzobispo de Cali, monseñor Isaías Duarte Cancino. Giraldo narra que monseñor Duarte les planteó a los habitantes de la zona que, “para que no se desplazaran más campesinos ni perdieran sus tierras, ya que era una zona de guerra, se declararan comunidad de paz y reivindicaran los derechos de la población civil en medio de un conflicto armado”. Para el jesuita, la causa de la violencia contra la comunidad de San José es su decisión de mantenerse al margen del conflicto. “Pretendo que el país se dé cuenta de esto y busque una solución. Por eso les entregamos el texto a magistrados, periodistas y congresistas, ya que uno ve que Colombia no conoce estos hechos”, dice[7].

Los dineros recolectados por la venta de los ejemplares del libro serán destinados a la construcción del Parque Monumento a la Memoria de las Víctimas de la Comunidad de Paz de San José de Apartadó.

La vida cotidiana

“Selva y montaña, mucha humedad, siempre la ropa pegoteada, barro y más barro, todo el tiempo estás subiendo y bajando”, recuerda Agustín entrecerrando los ojos. “Llueve todos los días, crecen los arroyos y no dan paso y la comunicación se vuelve un problema. Apartadó es una ciudad llena de paramilitares desde la que salen las chivas hasta San José”.

“Les escribí con la propuesta de hacerles un curso de fotografía digital que les puede servir para mejorar la página web de la comunidad, porque apenas hay registros gráficos sobre todo lo que hicieron y lo que les pasó estos años. Les llevé máquinas de fotos para que tuvieran con qué trabajar y estuve allí un mes”, explica Agustín.

La comunidad se rige por una serie de principios que se resumen en una Declaración y un Reglamento Interno: no participar directa ni indirectamente en las hostilidades, no portar armas ni explosivos, no brindar apoyo a las partes en conflicto, abstenerse de acudir a alguna de los actores armados para solucionar problemas internos, personales o familiares y comprometerse a participar en los trabajaos comunitarios[8].

La vida cotidiana está regulada por un Consejo Interno integrado por siete miembros elegidos por la asamblea de la comunidad, un miembro de una ONG nacional y otro de la Diócesis de Apartadó. Funcionan más de 55 grupos de trabajo que les permitieron construir escuelas y conseguir maestros, realizar cultivos comunitarios para sostener el comedor y la guardería, donde comen gratuitamente todos los niños de la comunidad. Las cosechas en tierras comunales las reparten entre las familias y lo que sobra lo usan para comprar herramientas y alimentos.

Gracias al trabajo comunitario construyeron y mantienen los caminos, hicieron cuatro peceras, levantaron cinco galpones, reactivaron los cultivos de cacao y plátano, los frutales como producción alternativa para elaborar mermeladas y pulpas. Generaron proyectos comunitarios como mejoramientos de vivienda, trilladoras de arroz, de maíz, de caña, molinos de caña y acueductos. Todo este empeño les ha permitido superar bloqueos de los paramilitares aliados a los militares de hasta tres meses, en los que no pueden salir de sus veredas.

“Cada ocho días tenemos reuniones y cada quince días trabajo de formación”. El Centro de Formación Aníbal Jiménez (asesinado en 1999) que construyeron en San José, y luego debieron abandonar por la presión armada, tenía dos pisos y albergaba a 50 estudiantes. “Antes del desplazamiento de abril de 2005, en el Centro había 27 estudiantes de bachillerato, 25 mujeres en modistería que se capacitaban tres veces a la semana, 55 coordinadores se reunían allí cada semana a discutir soluciones para la comunidad”, relata con orgullo la cartilla de la comunidad de paz[9].

Además erigieron el centro de salud, la bodega comunitaria, el parque, todos obras fruto de los debates en espacios de formación y reflexión. Un grupo de 50 mujeres crearon galpones de gallinas ponedoras y de engorde y cultivan huertas cerca de sus casas. Los jóvenes pusieron en pie una radio comunitaria. Desde 2006 buscan un lugar de formación teórico y práctico, con la idea de compartir saberes como quería Guerra, el dirigente asesinado en la última masacre, a la que han dado en llamar Universidad Campesina, que nació vinculada a la Red de Comunidades en Resistencia, un grupo de comunidades negras, indígenas y campesinas que también rechazan la guerra.

Pese a todo lo que hicieron, creen que el gran logro de la Comunidad de Paz fue el retorno a la tierra, algo que consiguieron sin el apoyo del Estado, “para ganarle más espacio a la guerra y para enfrentar a los actores armados en la veredas”. Con los años y el dolor, fueron aprendiendo que el principal objetivo de la guerra, mucho más que derrotar al supuesto enemigo, es hacerse con la tierra de los campesinos, el verdadero botín del conflicto. En veinte años paramilitares, ganaderos y empresarios se apropiaron de más de cinco millones de hectáreas campesinas.

“El taller era para que aprendieran a manejar las cámaras. El consejo eligió a las personas que participaron. Primero les di una charla sobre cómo funciona la cámara y luego les propuse que hicieran fotos. De noche nos juntábamos en alguna casa para ver encuadre y el análisis de las imágenes para que aprendieran a editar fotos”, explica Agustín. Por su parte, la Universidad tuvo su primer período de intercambio de saberes en la Comunidad de Paz de San José de Apartadó, en la vereda Arenas Altas, en agosto de 2004. El proyecto que funciona mejor es el banco de semillas orgánicas.

Macondo, siempre Macondo

Son muy pobres, dice Agustín, pero comen bien porque nunca perdieron el contacto con la tierra. “Estás todo el tiempo con botas de goma chapoteando por el barro, y esas mismas botas con el tiempo las recortan y se convierten en sandalias”, una cultura del trabajo manual capaz de transformarlo todo.

“Los jueves es el día de trabajo comunitario, en el que participan desde los niños hasta los ancianos. Cortan caña, cosechan, recogen cacao y lo ponen a secar. La organización interna se basa en asambleas por veredas y un consejo interno, pero por encima de todo está la asamblea general de todas las veredas”, dice Agustín destacando la alegría que emana en todo lo que hacen. “El único momento en que los ves tensos es cuando tienen que ir a la ciudad, por el peligro que representa el camino donde hubo mucho asesinatos. Si te toca un retén de paramilitares es sentencia de muerte”, asegura.

El permanente acompañamiento de misiones internacionales, europeas y estadounidenes, no ha disminuido la violencia contra la comunidad de paz. Pero la zona está otra vez militarizada. “Me dijeron los campesinos que los paramilitares secuestraron a un estanciero para negociárselo a la guerrilla. Lo intercambian por dinero o droga. ¡¡Increíble!!”. No sólo: también le hablaron de un teniente del ejército que le compra cocaína a la guerrilla, lo que no impide que un rato después sigan combatiendo. Siempre se dijo que en Colombia la realidad supera la ficción.

“Para mí lo más difícil fue entender que después que te masacran a toda tu familia no busques venganza metiéndote en la guerrilla o en los paramilitares. Quedar por fuera de la guerra en esa situación me parece una lógica, muy a contracorriente de todo lo que conozco. Sobre todo cuando cada familia tiene uno o más muertos. No percibí resentimiento ni rabia”, dice Agustín.

“Hay amargura, mucha, aunque hablan con cierta naturalidad de sus muertos y de las atrocidades, como el caso de Doña Brígida que le mataron a la hija de 15 años. Otros me dijeron que habían visto a los paramilitares descuartizar a un chico y jugar al fútbol con la cabeza. ¿Cómo sigue la vida después de eso?”.

- ¿Qué es lo que mantiene a la comunidad unida, qué es lo que los hace aguantar y seguir adelante?

- La verdad, no tengo idea (piensa un rato). Tal vez sea ese “instinto hacia la libertad” del que habla Chomsky. Él dice que “si asumes que no hay esperanza, garantizas que no habrá esperanza. Si asumes que hay un instinto hacia la libertad, que hay oportunidades para cambiar las cosas, entonces hay una posibilidad de que puedas contribuir para hacer un mundo mejor. Esa es tu alternativa”.

Recursos

“Caminos de Resistencia”, Comunidad de Paz/Oxfam, Bogotá.

Comunidad de Paz San José de Apartadó, sitio web www.cdpsanjose.org

Javier Giraldo, “Fusil o toga, toga y fusil”, CINEP, Bogotá, 2010.

“Justicia y Paz”, revista de derechos humanos, comisión Intercongregacional de Justicia y Paz, Bogotá, No. 8, abril-junio de 1998.

Entrevista con Agustín Fernández Gabard, Montevideo, 17 de noviembre de 2010.

Notas:

[1] Entrevista a Agustín Fernández Gabard, Montevideo, 18 de noviembre de 2010.

[2] Comunicado de la Comunidad de Paz, 2 de diciembre de 2010 en http://cdpsanjose.org

[3] Diario El Tiempo, Bogotá, 17 de marzo de 2008.

[4] “Caminos de Resistencia” y revista “Justicia y Paz”.

[5] “Caminos de Resistencia”, ob. cit.

[6] En CINEP (Centro de Investigación y Educación Popular), Bogotá, www.cinep.org.co 7 de julio de 2010.

[7] Idem.

[8] Ambos textos pueden consultarse en la página web de la Comunidad de Paz (http://cdpsanjose.org).

[9] En http://cdpsanjose.org

- Raúl Zibechi es analista internacional del semanario Brecha de Montevideo, docente e investigador sobre movimientos sociales en la Multiversidad Franciscana de América Latina, y asesor a varios grupos sociales. Escribe cada mes para el Programa de las Américas (www.cipamericas.org/es). Redacción: Laura Carlsen

Fuente: CIP Americas Program: http://www.cipamericas.org/

http://alainet.org/active/43700

MY VISIT to the PEACE COMMUNITY OF SAN JOSE DE APARTADO 2010

2010-11-01T12:37:00.001-05:00

Visit to the CDP: Memories and Voices

The Chivero Station

Apartado welcomed me with its burning heat and city sounds mixed with the aroma of bananas stacked in bundles to inevitably absorb the sun`s heat and color. The Calle Principal looked different as new businesses have opened, but the old Postal Office still stands in its original spot and the BBVA is still packed outside with long lines of costumers on the same highly transited corner. Although I was still a Chivero ride away, I already I felt closer to my final destination: The Comunidad de Paz. And yet, it felt as if time was running slow, imitating the same pace with which the campesinos go about their daily labor in the open green fields of the surrounding mountains. The city seemed to have a particular order despite the random people yelling, “A la orden, A la orden!”, mixed with,“Minutos, minutos” since together they fused a melody that included the spurts of the honking cars. But such an atmosphere does seem natural for this region if one imagines that a place and its people respond to the history of its creation. If the city is filled with sounds, the terminal is just a by-product of the city´s default state. To me, the all familiar Terminal de Transporte is a reduced micro-version of the city where anything can happen--where someone´s watching your movements as a foreigner in the region--and all of the sensation that is generated in such a tense environment that camouflages behind friendly smiles and individuals working. To my surprise people are now allowed to enter the Terminal from the side gate where the transportation vehicles exit from (this was prohibited when I was in the team). The Chivero to San Jose is still stationed in the same corner and they are still loaded with more people and items than you can imagine. My eyes were trying to notice everything, especially any familiar faces in the midst of all the sounds of buses honking and men yelling “Chigorodo, Turbo, Mutata, vamos salen ya, Chigorodo…” This cacophonous seemed to bring to life the strong fish odor coming from the dozen stands that were all aligned right on the sidewalk adjacent to the Chivero Stop; thankfully, such smell overpowered whatever strong body sweat odor I was emanating on my own at this early hour in the morning.

I got on the Chivero with the FOR SJA team and immediately noticed some of the members of the CDP who were sitting inside! I was so excited and they, of course, were eager to find out if I was here with FOR or not since they said I looked different without the baby blue letters on my torso! As far as we all know, the Chivero is not the safest place for in depth conversations so we started joking and sharing small talk, including the inevitable jokes about the girlfriends and boyfriends that FOR members “secretly” have in Apartado (often times they joke about the Forista´s overnight stays in Hotel Tayrona or the cheaper neighbor). As I expected, the road was still the same rocky, muddy, and inconsistent path all the way to San Josecito. However, what did change was the addition of two more military check-points along the way. The Chivero was stopped three times (in one check-point the driver was not asked to stop). It still makes me feel uncomfortable to observe how the Military men portray a macho attitude with their impenetrable straight faces, highlighted by the conspicuous adornment of their mighty weapons along their waistline, and their trained solid voice when they ask folks for “La Cedula”.

San Josecito de la Dignidiad: La Holandita

La Holandita has also changed and grown in just a year and a half since I last visited! The first house that I looked for was Doña Diosa`s and I was sad to find out that the family who lived there had all moved out. It was not until that afternoon that I was able to get to her new house and finally enjoy her hug followed by her fantastic tintico! There are some families that have moved out to the surrounding veredas, and some families have accommodated themselves in other houses as nature has succeeded in increasing the number of family sizes! The kids immediately recognized the arrival of someone else and came out running to see who it was! I met so many new babies and noticed how the ones that I remembered as the “little ones” now had wider jaws and larger eyes; nonetheless they had retained their innocent curiosity. But it was undeniable that they had gotten older. In a matter of minutes the international house had kids busting in and out and swinging on the hammocks as comfortable and as freely as their legs and arms allowed them to (I mean four at a time in each of the two hammocks hanging by their extremities in all acrobatic possibilities).

The CDP has also continued building on new projects. They have recently finished a sugar cane mill and are in the process of constructing a combination of Chapel/Museo de la Memoria, which is going to be right next to the Kiosko, in the grassy area that is at the center of the community. Luckily enough for foreigners who come and visit, the restaurant still opens during lunch hour, but according to the ladies that manage it, it has been a slow season.

And some of the members of the Holandita have a Pescaderia which is really a man-made pond with fish they raise for consumption during Semana Santa! And well, what is the man who got out of business after Comcel placed an antenna and displaced his minutero station suppose to do for a living?

All in all, In San Josecito I was greeted by the smiles, the hugs, the questions about my travels and the repetitive constant one “Hasta cuando se queda?” followed by, “Y Camila cuando viene, y que sabe de Chris?”

La Union and the Visita Marathon

Walking towards San Jose, Martin (the newest FOR SJA team-member) pointed out the enormous Police Post located on the top hill that can be seen from a distance. I remember that an old shanty post was there my first year with FOR but it seems that the military has prioritized its funding and were quite extravagant with their architecture for a campo zone. It looks like it could be a Polo Club Resort and I just wondered how much this affects the dynamic of a place where a Police Post is more important than the community´s school or even the roads when it comes to prioritizing investments and development in the region. But then again this doesn’t surprise me given U.S foreign policy when it comes to leading military strategies and investments in Colombia. After all, who trains the Colombian Military, police and Strategists?

The hike from La Holandita to La Union seemed shorter than what I remember but I attribute this to my eagerness to arrive and see the familias! I went up with two of the current FOR team members: Marion and Martin. I must confess I was a bit nervous wondering how out of shape I would be for the hike up and the crossings of the quebradas. But, luckily it had not rained much and the path was dry and the river crossings were no major setback. As expected, we all stopped at the Casa de los Bolis and said hello to the family and chatted until we cooled-off. After much laughter I got the inevitable interrogation “ …Y Sarita, Y Amanda, y los otros voluntarios, y Pablo, Y la otra mona que se me olvido su nombre, y X, y Y, y Z, y el otro muchacho ¿Cuándo vienen?”...

En La Union!

After passing through the intimidating herd of cows that always make me nervous despite their silence (I think it is the way they look at passersbyers), my heart was racing with excitement and anticipation! When we finally opened the last gate on the way to La Union (or the first gate out of LU), I saw the kids playing in front of their houses. Ander is all grown up and handsome, and Sarita and the little sister they are so beautiful! And David and Juni, they all came and said hello and started telling me the kid chismes of the day. After the first half an hour I felt right at home. I was soon hugging people and laughing and excusing myself for being all sweaty and musty and I felt that I could get away with it because I had not hugged them in way too long!

After many short hellos I preceded towards the FOR house passing through the neighbors homes and smelling the agua panela boiling in their fogones. I must confess that I did not know how I was going to feel once I walked into the FOR house and to my surprise it felt as though I never left. After unloading my bag in the room (aka Bat-House, or kitchen house), I then went to the other more rustic and campo style house to see the huerta, to breathe the fresh air and walk on the wooden floors with all of its familiar creaks and fissures. The house looked really nice and I felt that I was time traveling for a while. I could easily recall so many hours sitting in the plastic chairs with my teammates reading and analyzing petitions, Semana articles, and the training manual. It was easy to bring back to life so many memories as there are pictures on the doors and on the walls that have survived time and mold.

It was not until I came back to the kitchen-house that I noticed how much it has improved! The team has done a great job at modifying it, painting and making it more welcoming! They even have a library organized in the second room where all of the bat poop used to fall both freely and mercilessly.

Since my first day in La Union I did not stop visiting folks, eating arepas, hearing about the workdays, about their illnesses and about their sorrows and worries, as their voices continued to express strength and determination as they did the first time I ever heard their stories in 2007. And I realized that there is no other story that has been told more times, as repeatedly and as compulsively than the infamous snake sancocho that was made and shared with some CDP members. Still it makes us laugh to hear about who “knew” it was snake stew and who “was fooled” into eating, who vomited, and who got pist-off. Of course it has helped that many of the FOR volunteers have been vegetarian since the Snake Stew experience but there are always those comments from CDP members stating “You are eating rabbit food! You eat the pasto just like the cows!”.

There were many shared moments in which I felt that the privilege I had was not comparable to anything else in the world, especially when I would sit in their kitchens and listen to their jokes and see how much love they expressed in every cup of milk, tinto, or agua panela that was offered to me. I noticed that they cared to know about my life as they asked me about my family and worried about the fact that I had not gone to visit my own country since leaving Colombia. I felt fortunate to have had the opportunity to come back to remind them that I too worry about their well-being and express in my own voice the recognition of their courage and the value of their convictions. I wanted to come back to personally witness that they were still standing despite the fact that the issues, the threats, and the complications continue to create moments of crisis followed by the inevitable waves of fear in their hearts. I did not attempt to speak for all Volunteers; however, I did state that anyone who has worked with the CDP knows that it is an unforgettable experience thanks to the greatness of their heart and the courage seen in how they have consistently paved their way defending life: Vivir con Dignidad. I realized having a utopist perspective on a peace movement will lead to disappointment but having respect and a notion of everything that entails creating a peace movement in the middle of a war zone merits admiration and lifelong respect. There is so much one learns from sharing and living in the CDP because we become keen to observing how on a daily basis and in what may seem like small steps, they have accomplished HUGE objectives.

Sharing with the FOR TEAM:

My visit to the CDP was also pleasant and possible thanks to the support I received from the current team members: Isaac, Mario, and Martin. They openly shared their current space/home with me and I confess that I totally exploited their kitchen and found myself welcoming visitors (except for Zoila who is the only CDP member who comes in as a true anarchist, uses the kitchen and serves herself a cup of coffee at any given moment she pleases) and freely making pots of tinto every night. They allowed me to interrupt them with my sporadic story-telling and never ending departures and arrivals from house to house.

When I was in the SJA we had visits (Gilberto and Pablo) and temporary volunteer service from a few ex-volunteers (Sara W. and Danny) and that is when I realized how important it is for us to keep the Memoria de FOR updated. There are stories to share, gaps to fill in regarding family ties and accompaniment experiences that help to analyze and understand the history of the CDP. After this visit to the CDP I realized that most of this is shared through dialogue. The Reality is that with so many of us leaving after 12-18 months of work large quantities of information also leaves with us. At best we can preserve some of those valuable experiences through conversations that never get written down (as it would be crazy and impossible to do so). As a visiting ex-volunteer I was able to appreciate how enriching is for the current team when an Ex volunteer comes back and shares lived experiences, reflections, and offers comments and perspectives that could have also been developed “outside of context”.

I believe that there is a FOR-volunteer bond that is a default given the context of our work and the reality that comes with wearing the BLUE FOR SHIRT that becomes your new skin for months in the field. Although we all have our unique experiences and our own opinions, we still use the same points of references to describe our feelings as foreigners who seek to create lasting trusting relationships with others. The difficulties and the challenges vary from team to team, yet we all know what “last minute petitions created for analysis and security” and what “changing plans five minutes after you just took off your boots” means when you thought you were going to read the stack of emails you have not read but instead prepare your pack for the next accompaniment. And all of this without mentioning the ups and downs of high tension moments and encounters with aggressive authorities who look at you like the “imbecil util.”

In summary, I feel very fortunate to have been able to visit the CDP once again and to continue to learn and share with the FOR team.

It would be INCREDIBLE to be able to have a FOR Ex-volunteer Reunion in Colombia soon!

Internationa's Womyn's Day March in Medellin

2009-03-10T17:01:00.005-05:00

International Womyn’s Day inspired events and marches all over the world. In the city of Medellin in Antioquia, Colombia, a march was organized to honor this day. Womyn of all sectors, social stratus, and ages joined to express, voice out, and speak out against issues that affect them directly.

FOR was asked by the RED-Juvenil de Medellin, one of our partner organizations that works with non-violence against the militarization of their society, to accompany and observe this event.

The march was scheduled to start around 9am in Barrio Aranjuez. When we arrived there were various groups representing female organizations gathered on the street corners. We noticed the vibrant colors of all the womyn gathered: some dressed in costumes, others wearing bright shirts, fairies with slogans on their wings, and artist with various instruments. The diversity was noticeable and it was obvious that the march was going to be vibrant, its energetic crowd heard, and with many social issues identified and highlighted in a way that also celebrated the day dedicated to their gender.

At around 10am the crowd was already larger and the members of the RED-Juvenil got dispersed to join the various activities that would be taking place. Some grabbed their instruments and joined the music groups, others joined the jugglers and dancers, and some were in charge of stamping the walls with stickers with information about Womyn’s rights.

We noticed immediately that all the patrolling forces were womyn! We thought that it was important to notice that even in the police forces they were recognizing International Womyn’s Day. We formally introduced ourselves to the Commanding Chief of the Police unit present in the march and explained our role as human rights observers. We expressed our concern for the security of the people we accompany and the civilians population in general.

As routine, we were asked to walk close to the beginning of the march. We always place ourselves on the periphery of the march as to not be confused and/or perceived as being participants. This confusion can result in the immediate deportation of internationals as it is against the law for foreigners to be active participants in anything that seems like a political event in Colombian. Also, more security is always needed in the front of marches due to the risk of having confrontations with the police and/or with interruptions or incidents that might create an obstacle for the march to continue its course. Nonetheless, participants throughout the march always fear being documented by civilian-dressed police and or undercover agents of Colombia’s intelligent agency known as the DAS. The danger here is that march participants become targets and pictures and videos taken of them are arbitrarily used to by the authorities to place judicial charges on them with accusations of being terrorist, rebels, guerilla collaborators. There is also a history of violence that is still practiced where subjects are identified, pictures are taken of them, and they later appear assassinated and or are classified as disappeared.

All along the way more and more people joined the march and we could hear loud voices on megaphones stating:

“Ni del estado, Ni de la iglesia, mi cuerpo es de mi pertinencia”
(Not the state’s not the church’s, my body is my ownership)

“Mujeres marchamos contra la violencia!” (Womyn march against violence!).

Various activities were taking place in different places of the march that extended itself to at least five blocks long. There were kids dancing traditional Colombian music in the front, musicians in the middle, clowns and fairies throughout the crowd, student activists dressed in black chanting slogans, and all in all, anywhere you observe you saw movement, color, and heard voices of various strengths and tones.

The march ended in the Parque de los Deseos in the east side of the city’s center at around 1:00pm. Luckily, the march ended without any major incidents that put at-risk the participants of the march.

FOR was glad to observe an event where non-violent activist participate collectively not only to speak out against those issues that still affect more than half of the world’s population but to also celebrate the energy and fundamental roles that incredible womyn continue to play throughout societies worldwide.
Please watch video put together by the ACA's Communication Area:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6dkee0QgZM

National Organizing Conference on Foreign Military Bases

2009-01-30T10:54:00.001-05:00

National Organizing Conference on Foreign Military Bases

American University, Washington, D.C.
February 27-March 2, 2009

Many of us have a new sense of hope as we think about new possibilities in the Obama years. We also understand that if we and the world are to get the changes we need, we need to learn more and step up our organizing. This certainly applies to U.S. and international efforts to close the foreign military bases that make wars from Afghanistan and Iraq to Colombia and the Philippines possible, oppress "host" nations and communities, and divert our tax dollars from addressing essential human needs.

The Project on Military Bases, a coalition of fifteen national and community-based organizations, including FOR, has organized "Security With Empire: National Organizing Conference on Military Bases", which will be held at American University, February 27- March 2. We will also be joined by leading anti-bases activists from Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and Europe. The conference will provide a unique opportunity to learn about the dangers, "abuses and usurpations" that come with foreign military deployments, and to join in the process of organizing to win the closure and withdrawal of these bases. Together we will:

* Share information about U.S. military bases and resistance
* Develop strategies and expand the U.S. anti-bases movement
* Raise the visibility of the U.S. and international anti-bases movements
* Apply pressure on Congress to close and reduce the number of foreign bases

Speakers will include leading U.S. peace activists, scholar (including FOR’s John Lindsay-Poland), and activist allies from the Czech Republic, Ecuador, Germany, Guam, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Okinawa, and South Africa. Twenty workshops will help participants to explore issues and campaigns more deeply and to develop new strategies.

Registration for the weekend is just $30. For detailed information and to register, click here. Please consider joining us.
email: johnlp@igc.org for more information.

YOUTH DELEGATION in COLOMBIA 2009

2008-12-19T12:27:00.001-05:00

Wherever you're at, youth are being forced to fight these wars we have nothing to do with. Youth in Colombia face more pressure, but there's plenty of pressure here, psychological pressure. The delegation to Colombia changed my views personally -- about how I want to interact with people besides politically, about how to bring their ways of organizing here, bring being a human being back to your community and starting that change in your own home and family. If there's anything we need in the US, it's the need to start organizing on that personal level."
- Escenthio Marigny, Youth Arts and Action Delegation '08 participant

Youth Arts and Action Delegation, March 27 – April 6, 2009

This spring 2009 the Fellowship of Reconciliation Colombia program will take a delegation of youth organizers and allies to collaborate with dynamic youth-led organizations working for the rights of Conscientious Objectors and advocating for anti-militarism in Colombia. The participants will continue to expand the network of youth in the US and Colombia who are seeking creative ways to resist militarism. This delegation will also be the focus of a documentary film produced by two participants through the Dar Papaya Project. This organizers exchange builds on the first youth arts and action delegation in March of 2008 and the fall 2008 Drop Beats Not Bombs hip-hop, speaking and workshop tour. For more information, please contact Liza Smith at 510.763.1403 or liza@igc.org or www.forcolombia.org/youthdelegation, applications are due by February 1st, 2009.

Colombian State Agencies Violating FOR's Privacy

2008-12-18T09:38:00.000-05:00

"Speak Truth to Power" takes on a new dimension when you realize you are under surveillance! That is exactly the position we at FOR find ourselves in once again. In 2005, we informed FOR supporters that more than 10,000 pages of FBI files had been released to us, documenting decades of surveillance of the organization. Now, we have just learned that for two full years - since December 2006 - our Latin America program has been targeted and monitored by state agents. Specifically, the e-mail messages intercepted include FOR communication in the US and with Colombia!

This covert action is a direct violation of our right to privacy as a humanitarian activist organization. FOR's e-mail account was among more than 150 e-mail accounts of human rights organizations, journalists, academics, and labor organizations that were targeted. We've also learned that the Colombian military paid for computer hard drives "of interest to intelligence" agencies. The June 2007 break-in and stealing of FOR's Bogotá office computers containing sensitive files on our work with members of Colombian peace communities may have been a direct result of this state-sanctioned surveillance.

FOR is meeting this attack on civil rights by calling on U.S. and Colombian officials for a full investigation, sanctioning of officials responsible, and the erasure of intercepts. Join us in exposing this militaristic intervention. Click here to write to the State Department's chief for human rights concerns.

We also hope you will take this opportunity to show the Colombian and U.S. regimes that you support democracy, privacy, and self-determination by making a donation reaffirming your commitment to FOR. We need your help. Whatever your gift, it is a sign of your commitment to justice. We say again: we will not be silenced!

Peace,

Mark C. Johnson
Executive Director
Fellowship of Reconciliation

PS: Important news for those 70 years of age or older. Congress passed the IRA Charitable rollover which allows you to make a gift from your IRA without penalty or tax liability. For more information, contact bwinston@forusa.org or jmiller@forusa.org.

MEDELLIN: Youth Promoting alternatives to a history of violence

2008-12-10T14:36:00.006-05:00

Continuous Past
The city of Medellin, which at one point identified as the murder capital of the world has a population of 2,300 (not counting the displaced people). It has a total of 16 districts (known as Comunas) that divide 250 barrios in the outskirts of the city. Medellin was and became infamous for being the epicenter of drug trafficking and for being the home of powerful dealers such as Pablo Escobar and more recently for hosting the Office of Envigado (group of drug cartels that have strong territorial power). Such a history has carried out and extended itself to Medellin's present, creating a dynamic of complex social issues. It is worth mentioning that the current president of Colombia, Alvaro Uribe is from Medellin and that his popularity rate had a first peak when he was governor of Antioquia (1995-97) when he promoted the CONVIVIR (groups of armed civil society members, mostly peasants in Antioquia).

Uribe was new in the Casa de Nariño (Presidential Palace) in 2002 when between October 16-18 a military operation executed by the IV Brigade commanded by General Montoya entered into the Comuna 13 (General Montoya recently quit his post as head of the Military of Colombia due to the scandals surrounding the Colombian Military for the extra-judicial killings). This operation is identified as Operation Orion and its military objective was to regain control of a territory that was disputed by the left-wing guerrillas FARC, ELN, the right-wing AUC, and the State. What was not equated (or rather, in spite of) the military objective did not discriminate between the thousands of civilians that stood in the middle of a battleground. It is now remembered as one of the most tragic incidents an urban setting has experienced where authorities placed civil society in the middle of a military operation that manifested itself as a literal warzone. Three days of bombs, shootings, and fear resulted in almost a dozen dead, including a child, 38 injured, 8-11 persons disappeared, 358 detained, and a posterior displacement of hundreds. Six years later, there has not been a single person held responsible for such actions and the death of the innocent residents of the Comuna 13.

Medellin is also a city where thousands of displaced people have accumulated over the years (starting 1985) attempting to find a haven from the violence experienced in their homes located in the rural sectors surrounding the Valley of Aburra and extending as far north to the states of Choco, Northern Antioquia, and Cordoba. The history of drug cartels, the expanded urban violence in the context of a continuing armed-conflict, and the social conditions particular to city-life makes Medellin a setting full of contrasts and extremes. Medellin struggles to hold on to a façade of a modern city of high fashion and beauty queens alongside the developing touristy attractions while the fermentation of a history of violence with barrels of poverty does not cease to exist. This year alone, the media has documented the increasing number of homicides (including a member of the women’s organization Ruta Pacifica and the continuing threats to social organizations (including the RED-Juvenil).

The reality is that Medellin is full of contrasts that offer the opportunity for viewers, residents, visitors, and authorities to “see what they want to see”. The infrastructure developments and the conditions in the barrios that simultaneously exist with the increasing militarization of the society allows the government to “prove” that the city is a safer place while the displaced people continue to grow in numbers. Nonetheless, Medellin is still growing with the number of displaced people who continue to expand the horizons of the Barrios along the slope of the mountains that surround a chaotic city that somehow still manages to breed hope even in its most remote corners.

Youth and Nonviolence
Our partner organization, The Youth Network of Medellin (RED-Juvenil de Medellin) is composed of young people that seek to transform the social conditions that promote violence, discrimination, and militarization of its society.
“Medellin is a chaotic city and we see homelessness, hunger, violence, paramilitaries, criminals and youth all mixed up in one setting. We have to struggle on a daily basis to move away from perpetrating the mechanisms that promote this kind of society,” says a member of the RED-Juvenil.

Many members of the RED-Juvenil come from the Barrios and/or currently have family members who are still suffering from the violence and negligence that dominates those sectors. The conditions seen and experience by residents in some of Medellin’s notorious barrios are high levels of violence, drug consumption and distribution, and the degrading housing conditions, encapsulated with an overall poverty and absence of state authorities. Additionally, the residents of these areas are marginalized and excluded from receiving attention and public services for this population rendered as invisible more than ignored. This combination of realities results in illegal armed groups having the authority to control sectors of the population and demand from the residents compliance, obedience, and support for their illegal activities, including forced recruitment into their groups and pave the way for another generation born into violence.

Over the past decade the RED-Juvenil has focused on developing different outreach strategies to be able to create, promote, and sustain alternative spaces for young people to find and cultivate new visions and activities to their existing social conditions. Through active participation, public events, workshops, alternative grassroots organizing classes, and informative publications, the RED seeks to incorporate youth from across the city, including residents of the various Barrios.

Opening spaces in the Barrios
This past Saturday the RED-Juvenil organized an event in Barrio Pedegral in the district known as Castilla as part of the activities that the RED-Juvenil organized for the Human Rights Weeks in Medellin (held from December 1st-12).

The RED is seeking to support the use of space for social organizing and to work with local youth to collaborate with joint activities as they strengthen a kind of solidarity that will effectively bridge steps towards a movement that is more inclusive, both socially and geographically, of the marginalized population.

“There are some organized groups that reside in this Barrio that focus their work on art projects and cultural activities. We want to support them and offer them the opportunity to also explore alternative views to our society that promote non-violence and conscientious objection,” explained Aleja from the RED-Juvenil.

The youth in this Barrio expressed their need to have more options on their day to day and to become exposed to other projects and activities. “I want to do other things but it is not easy here because we have a lot of violence and some groups here threaten you if you do not want to join them,” says a local youth.

As part of their non-violence commitment the RED wants to expose youth in these Barrios with options that can contrast what seems to be their only options in their violent surroundings. Saturday’s event was their first big activity that the RED-Juvenil organizes in the Barrio Pedregal with the participation and support of the local youth.

The event had a combination of dance presentations, various bands with different genres (hip-hop, reggae, punk-rock, alternative, and chirimia). There were about 150 participants and many passersbyers stopped throughout the day to observe and enjoy the live music.

The RED-Juvenil also had a silk-screen workshop and gave out free samples to the youth with different designs and images that promoted conscientious objection and non-violence.

“We first had to come and check-out the scene because we are putting ourselves at risk by just showing up in a Barrio where we do not normally have activities or presence. But we had the support of the local youth and that is why we decided to move forward with the event,” says a member of the Red-Juvenil.

The Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) was invited to come and observe this event witness firsthand the first public event in the Barrio. The presence of an international organization that works with Human Rights is important to members of the RED because they feel that there is a kind of political protection rendered. “It is important to highlight that without the presence of Internationals, we feel that we are more vulnerable to threats and actions against our work,” says a member of the RED-Juvenil. FOR seeks to visibilize and recognize those approaches that work to make less invisible the situation in the Barrios and that promote peaceful alternatives to resist violence and crime.

The RED-Juvenil has been working and continues to work in a context that has a limited space for youth whose goals are to step away from the militarize society and violence in their surroundings. What is important to recognize is that they want to work with other youth and together change the conditions that will affect the next generation of Colombians.

TAKE ACTION! PEACE COMMUNITY OF SAN JOSE NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT

2008-11-12T15:40:00.000-05:00

THREATS TO THE PEACE COMMUNITY OF SAN JOSE DE APARTADO CONTINUE. PLEASE TAKE ACTION!!

Paramilitary forces are making increasingly violent threats against members of the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó and other peasant families in the area, with no apparent action by the Colombian government. Immediate action is needed by US Ambassador William Brownfield to leverage Washington's enormous influence and prevent further violence against the community and area's civilian population.

On the morning of November 7, in the Playa Larga vereda (settlement) of San José, some 50 rifle-wielding paramilitaries in camouflage gear and identifying armbands detained resident Jairo Berrio Arango, according to a community statement. He was forced to undress as the gunmen held a rifle to his head and threatened to kill him on the spot. When his father arrived on the scene and pleaded with them, they said they wouldn't kill him now-but that they had six San José community members targeted for death, and that they should flee immediately to avoid being killed. They said the army was cooperating with them. On November 7, five families fled the vereda of La Esperanza, where Berrio Arango's family is from, and local sources reported to FOR that between nine and 30 families had displaced from La Esperanza and Playa Larga as of November 10.

On November 1, the Peace Community's legal representative, Jesús Emilio Tuberquia, was threatened at gunpoint at an Internet café in the town of Apartadó, the local municipal seat,the community reported. Two known paramilitaries surrounded him at the café, while one held a pistol to his head and said, "I'm going to kill you." He pushed the man's arm away, fled into the café and was able to flee unharmed, though the gunmen grabbed his bag, which had fallen in the scuffle.

Background: Paramilitary Resurgence in Northwestern Colombia

Young men fanned out through the towns along what is known as the "banana axis" of Urabá on the evening of October 14, telling local businesses to shut down the following day. The men distributed leaflets announcing the continuation of the "anti-subversive struggle" in light of "the guerrillas' advance" and what the group described the government's non-fulfillment of promises made in the paramilitary demobilization. Spray-painted graffiti with the initials of the group- AGC, Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia were seen on various shops and city walls. The action shut down public transport, retail businesses and banana plantations throughout the region. Many students didn't go to school, and some humanitarian groups suspended visits to communities.

Armed forces chief General Freddy Padilla dismissed concerns about the strike, saying curiously that it was not a paramilitary rearmament, but an act of terrorism, implying that paramilitaries do not practice terrorism. Seventeenth Brigade commander General Héctor Peña Porras claimed there was no armed strike, because no one was armed, but reliable sources informed FOR that armed men were present in neighborhoods between Apartadó and San José.

President Alvaro Uribe, with support from the United States, insists that paramilitaries no longer exist in Colombia. But for the San José Peace Community, the paramilitary action was simply the announcement of an already-existing reality. The Peace Community has for months been reporting the presence of increasingly large groups of armed men in the area, who apparently belong to non-demobilized groups. On October 30, paramilitaries threatened to kill six members of the Community and to commit another massacre in the area if members of the community did not leave the area. The Community declared that on 29 September "more than 100 paramilitaries arrived in the area of La Unión armed with assault weapons, bearing AUC armbands and presented themselves as Self-Defense Forces" and proceeded to threaten Peace Community members, saying that they had over "200 paramilitaries were present in the Playa Larga area, 20 minutes from la Esperanza, detaining two farmers (…) and accusing them of being guerrillas." On 14 and 15 August, 60 presumed paramilitaries, originating from the Nueva Antioquia area, dressed in camouflage combat gear and carrying assault weapons, were present in the areas of Playa Larga and la Esperanza. The Peace Community reports that in La Esperanza these armed men arrived at houses of Peace Community members and threatened them if they refused to collaborate in ridding the area of guerrillas. One source reports that paramilitaries in the area are also using armbands with FCU, for the Urabá Central Front.

On August 31, fighting took place between the insurgency and presumed paramilitaries in Playa Larga, close to the settlement of La Esperanza . Several reports indicate the existence of a paramilitary base in Nueva Antioquia where the army and police exercise strict control of all those entering the settlement and whilst inside Nueva Antioquia, "The paramilitaries (…) control the food, charge taxes on the products the small farmers bring there to sell, all this in full public view of the army and police."

How does this state of affairs occur in such an extremely militarized area? What allows the alleged paramilitary base in Nueva Antioquia to exist in close proximity to Army and police checkpoints?

Please write to United States Ambassador William Brownfield, and request that he urge the Colombian government to:

Recognize and denounce the problem of paramilitary remobilization throughout Urabá.
Suspend all military and police officers who reportedly have turned a blind eye to the paramilitary groups, their presence and threats; and
Aggressively pursue arrest and prosecution of all members of illegal armed groups operating in the region, and government officials who have facilitated their actions.

Take two minutes to send a lettter! Please click here now.

For further information: www.forcolombia.org and http://cdpsanjose.org

Youth Network of Medellin Marches for Human Rights

2008-11-04T15:33:00.003-05:00

March & Carnival for Human Rights in Medellin

The month of October was dedicated to carry out the various activities as part of the Social Forum in Medellin. There were many workshops, activities, and presentations that focused on social issues particular to youth, public services, security and crime, social conditions for local residents, displaced people, and many other topics that merited the attention of social organizations and civil society. The Youth Network of Medellin (RED-Juvenil de Medellin) participated and put together some of the activities of the Forum. They specifically asked FOR to observe one of the most visible activities that took place in the city center: The March & Carnival for Human Rights.
On the 30th of October, everyone was gathered at around 9:00am ready to start the carnival. The crowd was colorful, excited, vibrant and loud voices of familiar faces, friends, relatives, and activists echoed with the city noise in the background. There were people of all ages with entire families gathered to march for all the rights they believe should be demanded publicly and loudly. I was highly impressed by all the energy and smiles that were shared and expressed by all the participants. I was also surprised to see the talented six-year-olds in costumes wearing the 6ft long leg sticks that gave the march the kind of colors and visuals you usually get in a circus. “Get the camera!” “Did you see his costume?” “What are the police saying?” “When are we going to start marching?” where some of the comments I heard while I searched for the Youth Network’s Security team to get information before the Carnival would being marching.

Waiting to Start
I noticed that there was a strong presence of policemen/women at the front of the crowd talking to the various organizers. They were debating the plan of action. The organizers wanted to proceed with the route they originally planned: pass through the Police’s Command Station and have a public presentation in front of their command station. The police wanted otherwise. The state security refused to accept the continuation of the march if it meant that the citizens would pass by their command station and wanted the organizers to offer an alternative route. The Police also added “if the march proceeds as planned and passes through the command station, we will have to call the riot police (ESMAD)”. This was a moment of tension. The organizers knew that if the ESMAD showed up, it would generate violence and that it would be a catalyst for chaos. A member of the Youth Network explained that “There have been many incidents in which the riot police uses strong violence against the participants and activists, inclusively last week students at the university were brutalized by them.”
After more long minutes of dialogue between the organizers and the police a consensus was reached: the Carnival would change its route and avoid passing through the police station. “We don’t want to be susceptible to acts of violence and we want to make sure that these kind of public actions don’t lose their focus so we will rather have a peaceful march and be flexible,” said one of the Youth Network’s members.

And they marched…
And around 10:00am the carnival began! The indigenous community that was participating gathered and initiated the march with an honoring ceremony and asked that everyone respect mother Earth and each other. Then the music began to play and there was no way this crowd could be ignored by the passersbyers. There were people with the megaphone speaking out against the social injustices they have to endure the threats made against human rights defenders, social organizers, and union workers. The threats, they said, “also come directly from the State and the authorities.” The children were at the front of the march with their costumes dancing while a live marching band followed. I was observing from the front of the crowd on the periphery were there was more presence of the police units. According to the Organized Community Network (ROC in Spanish) members, it is usually in the front of the march where more observation is needed in order to keep the crowd organized and to respond to emergencies. Being in the front also allowed the organizers to talk to the authorities in case of anybody tried preventing the carnival from continuing its course.

The Human Rights March was indeed a carnival. The crowd had three different kinds of live music playing, including the Youth Network’s Chrimia Band. There were an estimated 700-800 participants and many people dressed in costumes, with make-up and/or chanting a slogan. Some of the more visible costumes were a Caracol (Colombian mainstream media channel) news reporter with exaggerated breasts and a sign that read “Nothing wrong happens here”, a statue of liberty with the face of a skeleton and stickers with Exxon, McDonalds, and Coca Cola, and a soldier with a gun that would pass around intimidating people.
Themes that were highlighted during the march were: the disadvantages behind the privatization of public services, the mainstream media’s lack of interest in addressing social issues, womyn’s rights, displaced people’s conditions, the university student’s right to express themselves, indigenous peoples right to their land, and the right to have cultural celebrations in public spaces.
“We want to make sure that in Medellin, people are not stopped from expressing themselves because of the fear for their life. We want to make these public actions a kind of doorway so that people can celebrate their right to express themselves freely and collectively. That is why we are calling it a carnival, because we want to be loud, be excited, and still address those issues that we have to face everyday when our human rights are not respected. We don’t want to be afraid to express ourselves,” says a member of the Youth Arts Network who has been part of the organization for over six years.

Hot Sancocho for Everyone
During the entire four hours of the march the crowd did not cease to be loud and active. The participants who were performing dances and playing live music continued to do so until the end of the march, which was around 2:00pm. Luckily no major incidents happened although many people said they had identified policemen dressed as civilians. This is worrisome for most participants, as they expressed that undercover policemen take pictures of them and uses that information to intimidate and frame them for crimes. Some participants also mentioned cases in which the undercover policemen would provoke a fight or dispute as a strategy to end a march and/or activity and arrest people.
After those hours under the extremely hot day everyone was hungry and thirsty and with partially melted make-up on their faces. The carnival ended in front of a union worker’s organization where four huge (about 3 ½ ft tall) pots of boiling Sancocho (a kind of stew with traditional Colombian vegetables and meat) were waiting for everyone.

It was definitely a wonderful experience to see the non-violent initiatives that take place in a context where activist and those who challenge the status quo continue to be victims of threats and violence. The best part was witnessing how fear is transformed into a carnival and for organizations such as the Youth Network of Medellin to be able to dance and sing as they ask for their human rights to be respected.

Extraditions of Paramilitaries

2008-10-01T14:54:00.001-05:00

Extradition: Shipping Out the Truth

Hebert Veloza (aka H.H.), one of the most infamous paramilitary leaders and a key witness in at least three massacres in the San José Peace Community, is currently waiting to be extradited to the United States. He is the next on the list of paramilitary leaders that will have to face charges – and probably serve sentences - in the United States for drug trafficking, production, and/or money laundering.

Nonetheless, with the extradition of these paramilitary leaders, their commitment to Colombian society is on hold, as they will leave unfinished business that was introduced through the Justice and Peace Law of 2005, the law regulating the paramilitaries’ demobilization. Their extradition interrupts the public declarations that these paramilitary leaders are required to fulfill through confessions of all the crimes and violations against humanity that they are responsible for and simultaneously serve prison sentences. In an interview with the daily El Espectador regarding the Justice and Peace Process and his much discussed extradition, H.H declared that he has only shared “50% of the truth” about the crimes that terrorized several regions in the country. When asked, “And the other 50% of the truth will leave for the United States?” his response was, “Well, as soon as I am extradited, yes.”

On May 14, the US Department of Justice and the Colombian government successfully completed the extradition of 14 top paramilitary chiefs, fifteen with “Salvatore Mancuso,” who was extradited weeks before them. It is important to understand who are these individuals: they are key players in the Colombian conflict. The men constitute almost the whole leadership of the AUC, which was the paramilitaries’ command structure, responsible for terrorizing an entire country, and actively promoted, organized and executed crimes against humanity on scales larger than that of any drug trafficking shipment made to the U.S.

While the notorious: Salvatore Mancuso, Diego Fernando Murillo, Rodrigo Tovar Pupo, Francisco Javier Zuluaga, Guillermo Pérez Alzate, Martín Peñaranda Osorio, Manuel Enrique Torregrosa, Henán Giraldo Serna, Edwin Mauricio Gómez, Diego Alberto Ruiz, Juan Carlos Sierra, Nodier Giraldo Giraldo, and Eduardo Enrique Vengoechea are being prosecuted in New York, Texas, Washington D.C., and Florida, there are victims waiting for justice and reparation throughout the Colombian countryside, particularly in the states of Antioquia, Valle del Cauca, Cesar, Arauca, Nariño, Córdoba and the entire region of Urabá.

Colombian Government and US Embassy
President Uribe said that a primary reason for approving the extradition of the 15 paramilitaries was that these leaders continued to commit crimes while in prison and that, in order to put an end to that, they lost the protection against extradition granted to them by the Justice and Peace Law. The same day the paramilitaries were extradited, President Uribe explained at a press conference that the decision to extradite the paramilitary chiefs was because “…Some of them continued to commit crimes after their incorporation to the Justice and Peace Law, others failed to adequately cooperate with the justice system and all of them failed to give reparations to the victims, since they have not returned the goods and wealth in their possession and/or have been stalling the reparation process.”

But we should ask, why didn’t the paramilitaries lose ALL the benefits granted to them by Law 975 of 2005 (i.e. maximum eight years in prison)? Why did they only lose their immunity against extradition to the United States? Instead of controlling the continuous illegal activities of these paramilitary leaders and punishing them for violating the agreements made through the negotiation process, why does the Colombian government agree to extradite them and leave as “unfinished business” the judicial process in their own country?

According to a high-ranking official in the Human Rights Unit of the Attorney General’s Office who met with the FOR delegation in August, these paramilitaries were not collaborating with the unit’s prosecutors. The commanders “refused to speak to the prosecutors from the Human Rights Unit, and we would continuously get excuses such as: X paramilitary is sleeping, Y is busy, and Z is currently and temporarily not available.

“They did not want to share information with our unit because they were not receiving any benefits, and it was not in their interest to speak the truth about the atrocities because with us, they would have to serve sentences that exceed the eight years that they are given through the Justice and Peace Law. The only prosecutors they were interested in talking to were from the Justice and Peace Unit, because they had an obligation to do so if they wanted to ‘prove’ that they were telling the truth for the victims,” explained the official.

Telling the truth was a condition for their benefits. But they understood that they would obtain no gains by taking part in the investigations carried out by the Attorney General’s Human Rights Unit, since this is an entirely separate process criminalizing them. Under the Justice and Peace Law, they are not required to cooperate with prosecutors other than the Justice and Peace prosecutors established by Law 975 as a result of negotiations between paramilitaries and the State. If the paramilitaries were only speaking with prosecutors from the Justice an Peace Unit because they wanted to receive the benefits, and thus were only confessing the bare minimum of information regarding the crimes and atrocities for which they are responsible, it is obvious that the Colombian system has not served the victims who are still waiting to hear the complete truth about what happened to their loved ones.

If Colombian human rights groups and activists – and the president himself - believe that the Justice and Peace Law has been a failure thus far, why not allow for the time and necessary reforms to be implemented so that the victims feel that justice was served? Why extradite the paramilitaries to the United States, and completely ignore the fact that Colombian society is still waiting for justice, instead of extraditing the paramilitaries after they pay their dues to society?

U.S. Ambassador to Colombia, William Brownfield, specified in a press conference on the same day the paramilitaries were extradited that these men were facing charges for possession of illicit drugs and drug trafficking, money laundering and related offenses and material support of terrorism (not for directing and promoting terrorism). He added, “Of course, the legal system in the U.S. cannot give Colombian prosecutors more access to those 14 or 15 men than they would have in Colombia. Those men will have their defense attorneys in the U.S. and their own legal rights in the U.S., but our commitment is to facilitate access to the extradited men.”

“The prosecutors in the Justice Department will share their evidence and information with Colombia’s prosecutors,” the ambassador said, “allowing them the opportunity to examine, analyze, and decide on how they wish to proceed in accordance with the Justice and Peace Law.” Brownfield added, “That being said, what we cannot do, of course, is change the free will and the attitude of these fourteen or fifteen persons who have been extradited… They have rights, such as the right to access to the evidence against them, the right to respond to the accusations against them, the right to respond, or not respond, to questions and the right to allow, or not allow access to them.” This access really translates to arranging virtual hearings through the use of technology. Nonetheless, the only hearing that any of the chiefs requested involved Mancuso, but it has been cancelled three consecutive times in recent weeks. According to the State Department, the petition from the Supreme Court in Colombia requesting the virtual hearing was not given with enough notice to properly arrange for it, and from Colombia, the Interior Ministry a nnounced that it was cancelled because they don’t have the funds to allocate to the virtual hearing.

However, it is clear that the information that the 15 extradited paramilitaries will share in the U.S. courts will consist mostly of drug trafficking activity, because they are not obligated to talk about their penal cases in the Colombian justice system. Moreover, the Fifth Amendment protects their right to remain silent in order not to self-incriminate. These paramilitary leaders have to right to “voluntarily” share information and continue collaborating with the Colombian justice system, but why would they willingly tell a US judge that they are responsible for murders in Colombia and have this information influence the verdict in the U.S? Already, the paramilitaries’ attorneys have rejected some requests from Colombia to interview the commanders.

An option for the current situation might be something the Spanish Judge Baltazar Garzon mentioned during his visit to the Urabá region in late August. Garzon was witnessing the exhumation of a mass grave along with the Attorney General of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno. “There have been cases,” he said, “in which the U.S. returned extradited criminals to Spain so that they finish their respective sentences.” This could be applied to Colombian paramilitaries who could be temporarily returned to Colombia to finish what was left as “in process” under the Justice and Peace process.

If governments with such global influence as the United States fail to postpone the extradition of these criminals until Colombia prosecutes its own criminals for crimes against its own citizens, what kind of standards are we setting for international justice? How many pounds of cocaine that have entered the United States equal the number of persons disappeared in Colombia?

These two issues are not separate as the paramilitaries used their drug trafficking money to fund their illegal organization. We cannot continue to perpetrate imperialistic ideologies that prioritize the U.S. legal agenda by accepting that these paramilitary chiefs serve sentences in the United States for drug trafficking before they finish their judicial cases in Colombia and are prosecuted for their crimes against society. They should be prosecuted for their drug trafficking activity, but who says that this has priority over massive human rights violations? Why was their extradition imperative? The crimes and violations they committed require a long reparation process in Colombia. Drug trafficking is also a crime in Colombia, which has a court and judges that should be capable of prosecuting them in their own territory. It is now clear who calls the shots in the political sphere between Colombia and the United States and who is left behind the scenes rendered as invisible elements, powerless and as redundant victims of an unjust society.

Concerns and Human Rights Organizations
International and Colombian human rights organizations are concerned about the lack of guarantees for continuing a “real” process that will grant the victims the truth that is long overdue. They fear that now that the paramilitaries have been shipped to the United States, there will be no justice for them in Colombia—or elsewhere. They believe that the crimes committed against their loved ones will no longer have a place on the president’s agenda.

According to Jesuit priest and human rights defender, Father Javier Giraldo, the extradition was a way for the Colombian government to do damage control, since some of the paramilitaries were incriminating high-ranking officials in government and military positions (such as the case of the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó) and because of the para-political scandals that were getting too close to Uribe’s highly protected nucleus.

If criminals were able to negotiate a peace process with the Colombian government that results in a guarantee that, despite the hundreds of atrocities and human rights violations, they will only serve eight years in prison; if after such negotiations these criminals still continued to coordinate and authorize violations from their prison cells, and if they are given the privilege to confess whatever they think is “sufficient” and all this is called ‘justice and peace,’ my question then is: What kind of peace and justice are the victims obtaining?

Under US law, the extradited paramilitaries are not obliged in any way to testify or to serve a sentence for any crimes committed, besides those being prosecuted by the United States. How would people in the United States respond if it were the other way around? What if U.S citizens responsible for massive human rights violations, for killing and disappearing innocent people, for failing to respect a peace process, were extradited elsewhere (you pick a place) before completing their trial and sentence and justice was served for the victims? Would this be considered justice and reparation for the U.S. public and society?

At the Berkeley School of Law, a group of law students under the leadership of Roxanna Altholz is advocating on behalf of Colombian victims of paramilitaries in the US justice system. “The United States should not conduct these prosecutions for drug trafficking at the expense of the investigations for murder,” says Altholz. Her group wants to ensure that the murder prosecutions against the paramilitary leaders are not paralyzed as a result of the drug trafficking charges in the United States.

It is our responsibility as US citizens to question the actions of the State Department and the policies, petitions, and negotiations, and interferences made in countries such as Colombia. Extraditing a large group of key leaders in a group that terrorized and committed massive human rights violations before they can serve and actively participate and finish a peace process and offer real options for a reparation process on behalf of their victims should not be reduced to being an extradition of drug dealers and traffickers. These criminals are now in US territory, but should they really be there, instead of confessing their crimes in their homeland?

Member of Women's Pacifist organization Murdered in Medellin

2008-09-29T11:53:00.004-05:00

FOR stands in solidarity with the LA RUTA PACIFICA DE LAS MUJERES (Pacifist Road of Women). We recognize the great significance behind the assassination of leaders who promote non-violence and reject the deaths, threats, and intimidation tactics that are heavly rooted in the continous Colombian internal conflict. Please see below for information on the assasination of a member of the Ruta Pacifica along with her loved ones.

Translated version from IFOR-WPP:

The social movement of feminist-pacifist women demands respect for the life and the dignity of women

La Ruta Pacifica de Las Mujeres- or the Pacific Road of Women- rejects the murder of one of their members in Medellin.

It was a paradox. While La Ruta Pacifica was launching the book ‘violences against women in a society in war’ in Medellín, one of its members- Olga Marina Vergara- was murdered, together with her son, daughter-in-law and grandson- a child of five years old.

Bogotá, 25 of September 2008. - In circumstances that proof the ignominy of violence and the degradation of society, Olga Marina Vergara, member of the Pacific Routeof the Women was assassinated in Medellín. This feminist and pacifist leader known for her work with women in the ancient capital was murdered together with her son, daughter-in-law and grandson in her own house in the section of Prado - East Center, Wednesday 24 of September.

‘These deaths and this massacre are inadmissible. The Pacific Route of the Women, a political feminist project working for the visibilization of the effects of the war on the lives of women, rejects categorically these events, which demonstrate once again the degradation of the war and society. The conditions and circumstances, in which they happened, are of extreme gravity. It is therefore that we insist towards the authorities that they investigate and determine the motives for what happened’, indicated Marina Gallego Zapata, National Coordinator of the Pacific Route of the Women.

Also, the Coordinator of the movement emphasized that the Pacific Route of the Women continues and persists in their struggle so that the subject of violence against the women does not just appear in public agendas as circumstantial news. ‘Our interest is to establish an ethical and political commitment to finish with impunity and the social allowance towards violence that is committed against women, the more in the situation of conflict that our country is facing’.

To reject the murder of Olga Marina Vergara and three of her family members, social feminist organizations of the country (part of the Pacific Route) unite. These organizations work together for a negotiated transmission of the armed conflict in Colombia and for the visibilization of the effects of the war on the lives of women.

These same organizations express their solidarity and support to the family of Olga Marina Vargara.

Spanish Version:
LA RUTA PACIFICA DE LAS MUJERES RECHAZA EL ASESINATO DE UNA DE SUS INTEGRANTES EN MEDELLIN

Paradójicamente, mientras La Ruta presentaba en Bogotá el libro 'Las violencias contra las mujeres en una sociedad en guerra', en Medellín una de sus integrantes fue masacrada junto a su hijo, nuera y nieto, un menor de cinco años de edad.

Bogotá, 25 de Septiembre de 2008. – En circunstancias que evidencian la ignominia de la violencia y la degradación de la sociedad, fue asesinada en Medellín la integrante de la Ruta Pacífica de las Mujeres, Olga Marina Vergara.

Esta líder feminista y pacifista, de amplia trayectoria en la capital antioqueña por su trabajo en favor de las mujeres, fue masacrada junto con su hijo, nuera y nieto en su propia casa en el sector de Prado – Centro este miércoles 24 de septiembre.

'Estas muertes y esta masacre son inadmisibles. Es así como la Ruta Pacífica de las Mujeres, propuesta política feminista que trabaja por la visibilización de los efectos de la guerra en la vida de las mujeres, rechaza categóricamente estos hechos, que demuestran una vez más la degradación de la guerra y de la sociedad, pues las condiciones y las circunstancias en las que ocurrieron, son de suma gravedad. Es asícomo instamos a las autoridades a investigar y determinar los móviles de lo sucedido', señaló Marina Gallego Zapata, coordinadora Nacional de la Ruta Pacífica de las Mujeres.

Asimismo, la Coordinadora del movimiento enfatizó que la Ruta Pacífica de las Mujeres continúa y persiste en la búsqueda para que el tema de las violencias contra las mujeres no se quede en agendas públicas de turno y como noticias circunstanciales. 'Nuestro interés es establecer un compromiso ético y político para terminar con la impunidad y la permisividad social acerca de las violencias que se ejerce contra las mujeres y más en la situación de conflicto que enfrenta nuestro país'.

A este rechazo por el asesinato de Olga Marina Vergara y tres miembros de su familia se unen las organizaciones sociales feministas del país que convergen en la Ruta Pacífica de las Mujeres, las cuales trabajan conjuntamente por la tramitación negociada del conflicto armado en Colombia y por la visibilización de los efectos de la guerra en la vida de las mujeres.

Estas mismas organizaciones expresan su solidaridad y acompañamiento a la familia de Olga Marina Vergara.

Por un hogar, un país, un planeta libre de miedos, guerras y violencias

RUTA PACIFICA DE LAS MUJERES - *ANTIOQUIA - (4)2844079. *BOGOTA – (1)2229172/76 *BOLIVAR - (5)6663992 * CAUCA - (2)8317939. *CHOCO - (4)6713804. *PUTUMAYO - (8)4274058. *RISARALDA - (6)3332042. *SANTANDER - (7)6477559. *VALLE DEL CAUCA - (2)8854656. *COORDINACION EJECUTIVA NACIONAL – (1) 2229145 / 46 Fax: (1) 2229170

Pagina web: www.rutapacifica.org.co / E-mail: comunicaciones@rutapacifica.org.co

Where is justice? Hundreds of Displaced People March in Medellin

2008-07-25T15:13:00.001-05:00

At 10am on Friday, July 18, a crowd of about 300 people composed of mothers, children, grandparents, uncles, and human rights defenders gathered to create a space in the streets and march with a unified voice. The individuals gathered because they wanted to voice out their dissatisfaction with the government and its existing policies that have consistently failed to provide for the almost 4 million displaced people in the country.

The crowd stood in one of Medellin’s street corners, listening to a representative of the Coordinación Metropolitana de Desplazados (Metropolitan Coordination for the Displaced) speak about the failure of law of 397 of 1997. This law was approved eleven years ago and stipulates in Article 3 that “the Colombian State has the responsibility to formulate and adopt policies and measures to prevent forced displacement and the responsibility to protect and provide a socio-economic consolidation and stabilization to those who have bee internally displaced due to violence“ (http://www.secretariasenado.gov.co/leyes/L0387_97.HTM). But, all those individuals present were there because they have seen very little evidence of the application of such law given that since its approval, the number of displaced people in Colombia has been on the rise.

The many faces, most of them with empty stomachs, started walking towards the city center and made their way across the crowed street on their way to the Plaza Botero. They chanted the words “Forced Displacement is a State Policy! “ The participants wanted to remind the Colombian State that they continue to be walking proof of the existing crisis in the country. Some of them live in the city of Medellin (which is supposed to be one of the main cities that have gone through great improvements since Uribe took office as president, in isolation from any of their basic rights. In actuality, Medellin is still a home to many victims of abuse and violence, including the control of the Paramilitary in the different sectors of the mountainous city. There are numerous slums on the outskirts of the city, the so-called Comunas, where people live in degrading conditions, with rooftops made up of scraps of aluminum, or broken pieces of wood. Hunger, thus, is the common denominator, plainly evident when you ride the metro cable cart and look down to the houses and wonder what happens inside those colorful squares on rainy days, or even worse what happens there day to day? Most of the displaced people have been forced to find shelters in cities such as Medellin and Bogota, and since most of them have roots as peasants in rural settings they lack the skills necessary to live in urban environments, where little opportunity exists for them in the job market.

At about noon, hundreds more joined the march, many who originated from the rural areas all across state of Antioquia. They came to march and remind the observers and the State that they are still displaced and hungry, and above all, disappointed with the lack of support and options for them to change their status and improve their quality of life. They are disappointed with the lack of judicial mechanisms have not succeeded in ensuring that their rights are not being violated and the lack of policies that in practical terms can guarantee adequate forms of reparation, reconciliation, and collective healing for the displaced.

It has been three years since the Justice and Peace Law of 2005 was passed and applied as a form of judicial way out for paramilitary demobilization. In the meantime those displaced because of the violence have been waiting for the victimizers to return the property and material goods--all that was lost through threats and violence.. Nonetheless, no real or effective form of reparation has been implemented . The victims of the violence that forced them to displace know that their relatives that were killed and buried in mass graves cannot be returned to them and that no form of reparation can bring back their dead; however, they at least expect to once again be able to live in their homes and receive guarantees to their life and safety. As of now, a shift in their current status seems like a distance possibility.

According to the Justice and Peace Division of the Attorney General’s office, only 793 millions of Colombian pesos have been turned in by the paramilitaries out of the almost 545,000 millions they committed themselves to return (http://www.terra.com.co/actualidad/articulo/html/acu13532.htm). Moreover, it seems quite ridiculous to even mention that they have only returned 10 vehicles, 5,166 livestock, and 99 houses that have been given to the State when we compare it to the almost 4 million hectares of land lost by the displaced population (without even mentioning the value of goods, property, and the family heritage, which is priceless). According to a study done by researches in the Andes University in Bogota, 94.% of the Colombian population lives under the poverty line and almost 75% of them are displaced (https://egresados.uniandes.edu.co/volver3/documentos/presentacion-ana-maria-ib.ppt).
As I stood there, a man about 50 years old man asked “Are you also displaced?“ He explained that he came from Argelia (in Antioquia) and that he and his family of three have been displaced for six years. They lost all their land, their livestock, and their crops. Now, they live in the outskirts of Medellin in conditions he described as “a cardboard box full of holes“.

The Asociasion Campesina de Antioquia (Peasant Association of Antioquia) invited FOR to observe the march as they find it important that the international community not ignore the internal crisis that defines the Colombian State. They want to make sure that the displaced people do not become more invisible than what they already are, given the current news of the government defeating the FARC and the release of the hostages, as they get lost in middle of the parapolitical scandals and the propaganda for Uribe´s next reelection. Displaced people are also a kind of hostage--a hostage that is held prisoner by poverty, by the chains manifested through the dangers they face day to day, by the illnesses and hunger chained to their bodies, and by the existing conflict that prevents them from safely returning to their land. They are held hostages in a society that does not make room for them to live a life with access to decent housing, healthcare, education, and sustenance.

Alongside FOR, stood Peace Brigades International and other non-governmental organizations. Nonetheless, the media coverage was practically non-existent, which only exemplifies the fact that such news are not a matter of importance to mainstream communication.

Please visit the video put together by the Communications Area of the Peasant Association of Antioquia (ACA): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNmCO_v63KA

2008 Anti-Military Concert

2008-05-29T23:11:00.002-05:00

Anti-Military Concert

The RED-Juvenil de Medellin (Youth Network), one of our partner organizations, has been working at the grassroots level through non-violence peace initiatives to resist military recruitment, defend human rights and promote active conscientious objection for the past seventeen years.

This May 17, the RED-Juvenil put together the 10th anniversary of the Anti-Military Annual Concert in Medellin, Antioquia. The concert is one of their biggest events of the year and it has gained much popularity over time. “The Anti-Military Concert is well known today,” says Kike, “because now we get calls and emails from lots of people who are anxious to know the date of the event”.

Particular Inconveniences
The concert was scheduled to start at noontime on Saturday and all the RED members were anxious to organize the stage in Parque Obrero, where the annual concert has taken place for the past nine years. With their red t-shirts stamped with the concert’s logo, the RED members headed down to the park anxious to unload the trucks with various instruments, equipment, and sound systems, and tarps. It was 11 in the morning and the adrenaline to start the much-anticipated teamwork was on the edge of their fingers. The RED had an hour to organize and set-up an entire stage, various tarps, and vending stands. They knew that they needed to work on fast-mode as time was running short. Nonetheless, there were other factors that delayed the initiation of the concert: there was another event taking place in the same park. By event, I mean the whole nine yards: tarps, stage, tables, an MC, lunch tables, cooks, and an audience. The park, essentially a public space, was double-booked and the RED was told that the other event would not end until around 2pm. What adds a dash of irony to the scenario is that Corporacion Democracia (Democracy Corporation), an NGO that works directly with demobilized paramilitaries who wish to reincorporate into civil society, organized the event. The Corporation’s event was organized in honor the demobilized paramilitaries’ mothers who have been displaced. Could this be more surreal? Let us re-examine the scenario: The RED, a group of young activist that resist taking part in any way to the armed forms of resistance and are against the use of violence as a means to achieve social change has a Anti-Military Concert scheduled the same day as an organization that, according to a member of the RED, “has managed to legalize much of their politics with demobilized paramilitaries which sheds light into the existing marginalized power that is still seen in the city.” On the one hand we have the anti-thesis of the RED’s values, both hosting an event, both on opposite sides of a spectrum. Then again, when I really think about it, it seems that this is a perfect example of the kind of situations that arise here in Colombia, where one day you hear that the President’s cousin is in jail for ties with paramilitaries and another day you hear that the President reached a popularity rate as high as 85%.
Kevin and I were representing FOR with our sky blue tops that stood out in the crowd of black and red shirts. We formally introduced ourselves to the representatives of the Corporacion Democracia and specified that we were International Human Rights Observes that supports the non-violent form of resistance that are organized by the Red-Juvenil. We described our role in the country and highlighted that it was our responsibility to inform the International Community and the relevant government officials in Colombia when violations against our partner organizations take place. We added that we would be observing and documenting the event.

After a couple of hours of tension, passive aggressive talks, and a high doses of patience, the RED and the Democracy Corporation reached consensus: The Red would start setting up their stage at 2pm and the Corporation would clear the park. Not surprising, what actually ended up happening is that the RED had to wait about three hours for technicians to dismantle the Corporation’s main stage that was blocking the RED’s. In other words, there was one huge stage set up in front of the other until around 6pm when technicians finally arrived and the audience was finally able to gather in front of the live band.

Music: Shared through messages of non-violence
Music and art are a common strategy used by the RED to get their message of non-violence and conscientious objection across in a way that attracts youth and society. The RED sees that in putting together their annual concert, they are exercising proactive ways that are innovative and that effectively promote their views on social change and resistance. Art and music allow for the creation of spaces that are more inclusive than not, and such spaces tend to be attractive because they are bold and loud. “We are all here [at the concert] because we believe in our right to be able to live in a society that does not promote the use of weapons and violence to achieve change and that the military structures are not a solution to our social problems,” says the RED member over the microphone to an audience of about 5,000 people.

The music came from a diversity of bands that ranged from hip-hop, to reggae, to hard metal and ska. All the bands, however, sang about social change, conscientious objection and the need for society to evolve in the absence of militarism. “Having different music genres in one concert is innovative here in Medellin where there exists a historical division between Rastas, punkers, and hip-hoppers in terms of identity and territory. What the RED has created is a space where there is tolerance for different taste and styles that allows for a space to be inclusive as neither groups can claim boundaries or territories. In the end, the common ground here is our view that as youth we all reject violent forms of resistance that fall into militaristic approaches,” explains *Rudy from the RED.

The RED believes that this year they had the largest audience present than in any previous year. Throughout the night the two nurses under the first-aid tent were on alert while the RED’s protective team circulated the periphery and maneuvered their bodies between the crowd handling and mediating between individuals who were causing trouble; and as a whole, the RED demonstrated their multi-talents and multi-tasking skills as their MC’s went from being on stage to selling drinks behind a stand, while others switched between being mediators to jugglers, and some traded drumsticks for walkie-talkies. The music, the crowd, and the event did not stop until around until 2:30 am. Afterwards, as exhausted as they were, the RED collectively picked-up trash, filled the trucks with their equipment, and congratulated each other for their commitment and effort in putting together such an important event.

“I am so tired can’t feel my feet,” says *Rita from the RED with voice that is almost gone, “but we are proud that besides the fact that we had inconveniences and tensions in the beginning, we know that the Anti-Military Concert was once again a success”.

*Pseudonym

Continuan los Robo de Informacion a organizaciones sociales

2008-05-15T20:57:00.003-05:00

LE ROBAN A AMOR: Una organización de Mujeres del Oriente Antioqueño

La Asociación de Mujeres del Oriente Antioqueño, mejor conocida como AMOR, es una organización que trabaja por mujeres de 23 municipios del Oriente Antioqueño. Nació hace catorce años en El Peñol y fue gradualmente creciendo en diferentes regiones del Oriente Antioqueño. Mujeres de diferentes experiencias trabajan para capacitar y acompañar en diferentes procesos que les permite asesorarse para defender sus derechos.

“El trabajo de amor esta orientado a fortalecer y propiciar las organizaciones de mujeres como actoras protagónicas del municipio y de la región mediante procesos de formación participación y articulación con otros\as actores\as,” explico una de sus representantes.
El mes pasado, AMOR con sede en el municipio de Marinilla, se unió a la lista de organizaciones que han sido victimas de hurto de información en Colombia. Los hechos ocurrieron el 23 de abril en horas de la noche. Según una representante de la organización, por la mañana del 24 encontró a su oficina en un desorden espantoso y con evidencia clara de que sus archivos y materiales habían sido manipulados y otros robados. “Todo estaba tirado en los escritorios y los gabinetes estaban abiertos,” dice la representante. Entre los objetos robados se encontraba un CPU con el disco duro y archivos de casos, y una cámara con fotos de casos que se manejan internamente.

La sede de AMOR se encuentra dentro de un edificio en un espacio que se comparte con otras instancias y organizaciones. La ubicación de la sede esta justamente en frente del comando de Policía. Sin embargo, todavía no hay testigos de los hechos, lo cual indica que los responsables del robo lo hacen con mucha agilidad.

Últimamente, los hurtos de información se han realizado a lo largo y ancho del país. Existen casos de organizaciones de un alto perfil como Alianza Iniciativa de Mujeres Colombianas por la Paz (IMP), Asamblea Permanente de la Sociedad Civil por la Paz (APSCP) , JustaPaz, Corporación Jurídica Yira Castro, y Coordinación Nacional de Desplazados (CND), y incluyendo a nosotros como FOR, quienes continuamos repudiando estos hechos y exigiendo una intervención del Estado para ponerle fin a este patrón de robos.

Es difícil cuantificar el valor que contiene los materiales robados y las consecuencias que esto pueda tener para la seguridad de las personas quienes ejercen su labor apoyando a las comunidades en sus diversos casos. Existe un alto riesgo de que la información sea manipulada lo cual pone en alarma a centenares de personas por su seguridad y integridad.
Los hurtos son una estrategia de quien? En donde se concentra el interés de obtener cierta información manejada por las organizaciones sociales? Porque los robos están estratégicamente concentrados en instancias que ejercen su labor dentro del tema de derechos humanos?

Por parte del Gobierno Nacional de Colombia no se ha evidenciado un respuesta contundente que se proponga reaccionar para solucionar y evitar la continuidad de estos hechos. Asta el momento no se han establecido garantías para que organizaciones sociales puedan ejercer su labor con el un respaldo político al nivel nacional. El 17 de octubre del año pasado el Presidente Álvaro Uribe le dijo a la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, “Aquí cada vez que las guerrillas y sus áulicos sienten que se les puede derrotar, el recurso al cual apelan es el recurso de violación de derechos humanos.” 1 ¿ Cuando se hará un pronunciamiento público rechazando estos los hurtos de información y agresiones en contra organizaciones sociales, eclesiales e internacionales?

Vale la pena preguntar porque es que la mayoría (por no ser absolutista) de las investigaciones sobre estos casos no avanzan? El próximo mes se cumple un año que varias organizaciones, incluyendo FOR, JustaPaz, Corporación Jurídica Yira Castro, APSCP, y la CND quienes en varias ocasiones presentaron sus caso ante Carlos Franco de la Oficina de Derechos Humanos de la Presidencia y colectivamente expresaron su preocupación por la seguridad de miles de personas y instituciones que trabajan con comunidades en riesgo. Adicionalmente, 36 congresistas de EU enviaron un carta expresando su preocupación por la vulnerabilidad de organizaciones sociales de ser el blanco de hurto de información. Sin embargo, el colectivo de victimas de robo de información siguen esperando algún resultado de las investigaciones aunque todo indica que lo mas probable es que estos casos queden en la impunidad y en las primeras etapas investigación dado que están demasiado lejos de su cierre.

Returning: The Constant Hope

2008-03-15T10:24:00.000-05:00

Retorno: the materializing of the individual and/or community member’s—who were forced to displace due to violence, threats, mega-projects, massacres, fear, etc.—wish to return to the home and/or land. A retorno is what most displaced people aspire, wish for, and hope to experience in the near future. But for most of them a retorno is a highly unlikely possibility. Those who wish to return have to face a series of complex factors that conglomerate to build a great wall of bureaucracy in front of their greatest desire. Thus, their most desired wish transforms into a battle of perseverance and hope- not giving up and hoping that somehow they can manage to return “home”. In some cases, however, barriers that prevent individuals extend beyond bureaucratic battles. There are many families that fear for their safety and although they wish to return to their land, the high levels of violence that forced them to abandon their homes to begin with, still remain as vivid memories in their mind. What they fear is a de´javu: the repetition of death, violence, and threats; they fear reliving the trauma of leaving their home behind again. Not limited to this, other displaced families have discovered that they no longer have a home to return to. These families face the dilemma of having to prove that they are the legitimate owners of their land. Their land that is now repopulated and/or has become private property belonging to some foreign corporation that is probably in the hands of paramilitary groups. In most cases, these corporations seek to produce single-crop farming in rural areas and manage to “legally” take ownership of the land that was left behind by civilians who hoped to one day return.

Not surprising though, it is economic factors that greatly encumber families from returning to their land. These displaced families seldom have employment or social welfare assistance to maintain self-sustainable lifestyles and live with the bare minimum amount of goods. Most displaced persons who had to abruptly abandon their homes were forced to leave behind their material goods, crops, animals, clothes, furniture, tools, machinery, etc. The complex situation that most displaced families are forced to endure is made up of a combination of all of the above mentioned conditions that stand to hinder them from returning home; a home that is not far from them in geographical measurements, yet is fundamentally and practically unreachable.

Aside from strong will, tolerance, and a strong mind, planning for a retorno requires extensive commitment, effort, and resources which are apart from social and governmental entities that are willing to fund and support such process. How will household heads sustain their families, feed them from scratch? Who will assist them with purchasing seeds, tools, and machinery necessary for agricultural production? Who will guarantee that they will be able to have food while they are waiting for their harvest? How will government forces guarantee that these returning families will not be forced to displace again? As one displaced person put it, “even if we get support to plant our seeds and grow our crops, it takes weeks and months before we can eat those goods; in the meantime who will feed us and what if we are forced to leave again after working hard to reestablish ourselves?”

The Retorno to Mulatos
I remember my first conversation about a retorno when I first started volunteering with FOR and came to the Peace Community in March of last year. The idea of a retorno was one of the reoccurring themes discussed as part of the physical accompaniment that we would be taking part in. The retorno to the hamlet (vereda) of Mulatos was a subject that had great significance for the members of the Peace Community. It was in Mulatos where in 2005 a massacre took place and 8 people were assassinated:
(see: http://isla.igc.org/Features/Colombia/MassacreFeb2005.html). One of the victims was Luis Eduardo Guerra, a highly recognized leader in the community. This unfortunate event brought much fear to the civilian population and families were forced to displace, fearing that they too would end up killed by the paramilitaries. For the Peace Community, the massacre denoted that the civilian population continued to be a military target and that it was unsafe for families to continue working and living in the more isolated settlements of San Jose. The Community also knew that many families had crops and property that could not be left for armed factors to make use of in their terrorizing rendezvous, so they never gave up the hope of one day being able to return to Mulatos.

This year, the Attorney General called for the investigation of 69 soldiers for their collaboration in the 2005 massacre Additionally, the captain of the Velez Battalion, Gordillo, is currently in jail facing accusations for participating in the massacre. The 17th Brigade, which has jurisdiction in the Urabá region of both Antioquia and Chocó, has a vast history of violence and has been excluded from receiving Plan Colombia funding due to the human rights violations attributed to their soldiers and Generals in the past such as General Rito de Alejo.
(see: http://isla.igc.org/Features/Colombia/MassacreFeb2005.html) What is astonishing is that it has taken the Colombian authorities and investigators almost three years to take action and incarcerate those accused of collaborating or directly participating in the 2005 massacre. The community, however, asks, “And what about all the hundreds of other cases of human rights violations that have not even been looked at?”

Last year, the community started planning a retorno to Mulatos. Nonetheless, as part of the government’s rural development and social assistance projects local city officials started promoting a retorno of their own. Last year local newspaper Urabá Hoy published that “2,000 persons were returning to Mulatos and that the state would be funding this return”. The truth is that this was a false statement. During their retorno campaign, officials bused into San Jose trucks full of people that were not from the San Jose region, took pictures of the multitude and published them in the local newspaper stating that all those families were going to be returning to San Jose and Mulatos. Nonetheless, at the end of the day—after the pictures were taken—the bus left San Jose and the 2,000 displaced persons were not seen again. Given this, the Peace Community did not want to support the state’s phony retorno or be perceived as if it were participating in the propaganda and false initiative. Instead of moving on with their plans, the Peace Community decided that it would be more appropriate to put their plans on hold.

A place called “home”
This last month, on the 21st of February, the Peace Community decided that they were ready to return to Mulatos. Seven families from the Peace Community were ready to once again make a living in the rich land of Mulatos. The Community decided that along with the retorno, they would also be commemorating the 2005 Massacre and honoring the memory of those who have been killed in their struggle to live in a context that seeks an alternative to the conflict in the region. Along with FOR and Peace Brigades International as physical accompaniers, delegates from Witness for Peace, Red-Italiana (Italian Support Group for Colombia), Tamera-a peace community in Portugal-, a Spanish journalist and Colombian researchers came to witness and offer their support to the Peace Community.

The mules and horses were loaded with the dozens of backpacks, hammocks, gallons of waters, and sacks full of rice, beans, and panela for the retorno. Community members had been planning this for many months and they were all excited to finally be able to materialize their goal of returning to Mulatos. For some of the campesinos (peasants, rural farmers), it was the first time they had returned in many years since some families displaced from the area in the 90’s due to the increasing levels of paramilitary violence in Urabá. For some of the youngsters it was the first time they were going to the much talked about Mulatos. It was nine in the morning and after putting on sun block, hats and rubber boots we all started to make our way up the mountain. The trail along the mountain path was a diverse and colorful one with people of all ages, sizes, and physical capacity. As some struggled to climb the steep mountains others suffered from unquenchable thirst, but all shared the same feeling of solidarity with the campesinos that did not break a sweat as they gracefully skipped stones and avoided mud paths. It was clear that their physical capacity is worthy of admiration, and the fact that they have to walk long distances in order to purchase goods or sell their crops is worthy of great respect. One after another, we continued up the mountain, across the river, the humid jungle-like tunnels of weeds and wild plants, the muddy terrain, the slippery downhill and the never-ending steepness of the Urabá Mountains. After eight hours we finally made it to Mulatos Medio, to the exact location where the bodies of Luis Eduardo, Beyanira, and the child were found. There was a small chapel built there in their honor. As people passed the chapel, it was hard not to think about the cruelty and injustice that ends up manifested in dismembered bodies and sends a force of fear upon communities. And it is admiration that one feels when witnessing a community that does not give up or surrender to the fear that is constantly at their doorstep.
The words of a Peace Community Member in memory of the 2005 Massacre:

“On this day, we sadly commemorate the third anniversary of the massacre of our community leader Luis Eduardo Guerra, his son Deiner Andres Guerra Tuberquia, and Beyanira Areiza along with an entire family that always lived in unity: Alfonso Bolivar Tuberquia, Sandra Milena Muños Posso, a six year-old and 18month-old baby. This incident deeply affected our entire community, in particularly the loss of the three children: Deiner, Natalia, and Santiago. Three fully innocent children. What were they guilty of?…Nothing at all. They were just children, just like the very word child connotes: innocent. Deep sadness is what we all felt. Luis Eduardo was one of the founding members of the Peace Community. He resisted until the end, always maintaining neutrality, and defending our peace processes. He was a warrior, strong worker, honest, responsible, fair, and honorable. His death was a huge loss for our community because he was fully committed to our peace process. He was, always sure of himself and he gave his life to struggle for our community. He died with his head up high, proud that he was offering his life without betraying his community and being a great example for us to follow to continue to struggle for our community. I wrote this in honor of his memory. -Kelly Johana Asprilla Garzon, 12 year-old Peace Community Member

That night there was a spectacular lunar eclipse. It was almost symbolic for the occasion: the moonlight darkens for a moment, and in slow motion, it once again claims a space for its light as it gracefully illuminates the night sky. That night, the Peace Community members were living a moment of light after being forced to leave their land—they were finally returning to Mulatos. Although the fear for their safety is not something that could easily leave their mind, for a moment it seemed that the primary sentiment was that of joy with a dab of nostalgia.

La Resbalosa
The next day we walked for a couple of hours up another steep mountain to visit La Resbalosa. It was here that the other five people were killed in the massacre. The Peace Community had a ceremony to honor them, actively practicing the act of nourishing the memory of those victims of crimes against humanity. Preserving these stories is a way in which the Peace Community seeks to resist impunity from reigning in their consciousness.
In La Resbalosa there was a somewhat abandoned structure that had a scent of humidity and dust. This place was once upon a time a school. Today, it stands mostly empty, except for the graffiti on the walls and doors with anti-guerilla commentary and aggressive language. One of the messages reads: “Turn yourself in, Sonnovabitch guerilla¨ and “AUC is here”. The Peace Community hopes to once again open the doors to a classroom setting and find funding to educate those children who live in the most remote rural areas.

Going Back
After the second night in Mulatos it was decided that we were going back to San Josesito and La Union. It had rained the previous afternoon, and hammocks and floor mats were wet, people were hungry, dehydrated, constipated, or with cramps and diarrhea. In those settings, it is only campesinos that have the physical condition to adapt to conditions of limited resources in rural settings, while the foreigners have to face a series of uncomfortable symptoms. More so, the accompaniment was cut short because of last minute adjustments to the schedule. After breakfast the large crowd parted and we started the hike back on the same path that only a couple of nights before was dry and “easier” to walk on.

The same hills were waiting for us except that the previously down hills were now up hills and vice-versa. The forest green continued to mesmerize the naked eye and brown mud did not cease to tug at our boots each step of the way. I kept on trying to see if I recognized key points that would indicate how much farther we had to go…
After six hours and a shade of darker brown, we finally arrived back to San Josesito. Although my feet were swollen and I had blisters between my toes, it is hard to measure the growth that comes after experiencing the materializing of people’s hopes and aspirations, to be able to see ideas and visions come to life in a collective manner, and to understand one step closer the meaning of resistance, struggle, respect, and solidarity.

A Comission of Solidarity

2008-01-25T10:25:00.000-05:00

Along with the holidays, December brought much tension to the region of Urabá. Traditionally the end of the year is always a period in which the violence in the region increases. Lately, the Peace Community has also been concerned about the widespread rearming of paramilitary groups in the region. As one Peace Community member said, “This strong presence of paramilitary groups brings much hostility in the zone, making peasants feel unsafe and threatened.”

In order to make more visible the solidarity with fellow campesinos in outlying villages where the presence of paramilitary groups is known to be stronger than state forces, the Peace Community organized a commission on the 18th of December to Nueva Antioquia. This is one of those villages known for having a strong paramilitary presence and where campesinos feel highly threatened and at-risk of displacement. In November and December, five civilians where killed despite the fact that both the army and the police have a permanent presence in the region. This village is located outside the urban limits of the coastal city of Turbo (about 30 minutes north of Apartado).

Members of the Peace Community asked FOR to accompany the commission of about 20 civilians. Peace Brigades International and two observers also accompanied the commission from MAPP-OEA (Mission to Support the Peace Process of the Organization of American States). Given that the MAPP-OEA has been leading a nation-wide project that is responsible for observing and documenting paramilitary demobilization and the rearming of these illegal groups, their presence was perfect for the occasion.

On Tuesday morning, fellow FOR peace team member Kevin and I got up really early to pack our bags with all the basic supplies needed for the long walk across the green mountains. We were warned that it was going to be a total of three days from La Union to Nueva Antioquia and back. So we packed our hammocks, water filter, change of clothes, snacks and put on our long socks and rubber boots. We left La Union around 11am with a large group of community members of all ages, the MAPP-OEA observers, and about eight horses and mules that were carrying food and supplies. The first two hours challenged my physical endurance since it was mostly uphill. The path was mostly dry but there were many small chunks of mud mixed with horse poop and water. We walked across cornfields, cacao trees, and through places where the humidity is trapped between the trees and plants that give shape to the isolated jungle.

We arrived dehydrated and hungry to La Esperanza around 6pm. Some members of the group organized themselves in a corner of the empty house that is used as a kitchen and prepared our very common rural Colombian dinner: white rice with tuna. Tired, cold, and in awe of the beautiful clear night sky we sat on the front porch to listen to Community members explain the next day’s plan of action and the concerns they had for their safety. We would leave at 8am for Nueva Antioquia the next morning. It was projected to be a four-hour walk with the blazing sun over our heads. The more I thought about the long walk that awaited us, the more anxious I got. I was unable to sleep because of the cold temperature and with all the dogs barking, I just kept turning side to side wondering if we were going to run into any illegal armed groups that operate in the area.

We got up early the next morning, had a cup of panela and immediately started the walk towards Nueva Antioquia. The goal was to get there early so that we could get back to La Esperanza with the sun still out. We had walked and sweated for a good three hours when we finally arrived at a point where we crossed the river to a settlement known as Playa Larga. As we were crossing, we noticed that there was a camouflaged uniform over a large rock with a vest and a small backpack. When we turned to our left we saw that there were two individuals standing over the river. One of them was bathing while the other one in full army-style uniform and holding an AK-47 in a way that seemed like he was keeping guard.

The MAPP-OEA observers approached the two unidentified men and after they introduced the reason for their presence in Colombia, asked the uniformed men who they were. According to the MAPP-OEA, the unidentified individuals responded that they were part of the 17th Brigade of the Colombian Army. Nonetheless, they were unable to indicate which battalion they were part of because “they forgot.” And the usual battalion patch on the sleeve of the uniform was oddly absent from their uniforms. This caused great suspicion in the Peace Community’s eyes: how is it that members of the 17th brigade cannot identify which battalion they are part of, and where was the required battalion patch on their sleeve? Why were these two men alone and not with a larger more visible troop of soldiers if they were indeed with the 17th Brigade? The Peace Community believes that these two men were part of the larger group of paramilitaries that are operating in Nueva Antioquia. Urabá continues to be a zone of constant conflict because of the presence of the FARC, the continuous drug trafficking that takes place, and the fact that the state forces are still trying to gain control over certain strategic territories. One can assume that troops would normally travel in large groups to increase their security because of the probability of conflict at any given time. This leads me to agree with the community's assessment; If these men are part of the illegal armed group of paramilitaries that according to the Peace Community operate and have a strong control in that zone, wouldn’t they feel forced to say that they were part of the 17th brigade to the MAPP-OEA?

In order to understand why the Peace Community feels it is important to make visible the threats posed to the civilian population by illegal armed groups, one must consider the context of Urabá, the history of paramilitary groups in the zone and the territorial power that campesinos say paramilitaries are gaining. These types of commissions, these visible acts of solidarity are one way in which the civilian population aims to prevent killings and displacements before they happen.

We made it back to La Esperanza that same afternoon right before sunset. The commission spoke with a few public officials who had offered very limited information, but we felt that it was still important for them to know that we as extranjeros (foreigners) were in the area. The next morning we headed back to La Union ever so tired but feeling relieved that everyone in the commission made it back safe through the ups and downs of the Urabá mountains.

October the Saturday

2007-10-21T01:27:00.000-05:00

ONLY if you feel: ONLY IF YOU FEEL:

My tongue… it beats fast…

Languages have all meanings
Understand
Wait
Listen
Sangreeeee
Songs tell us to think about forgiveness
But do we really know each other?
Knowing the other
Not the same
US
Again
Lost between knowledge and truth
Lies we digest
And again
We question
Truth
We begin with the self.
The self is in the process
of discovering
discovering
discovering

The purpose of its consciousness
And we think
And we feel
Fall in love.
Broken heart
A heart is healed
A heart feels
Dying as it bleeds lonely with only
A single bird
Bird
Bird

Singing a
Single song
One of a kind
Kind
Kind
Like that thought you never believed was yours
Yours
Yours
In the moment

Songs again, it begins with another person telling us what the best words are to describe the internal hells that we hope can soon become heavens

And we believe that a difference can be made
And it is
Created
No the same as always
But always a difference
Is made

Lives dedicated
Time fractured
Martyrs.
Martyrs
Mares

Counting lives
Forgiveness.
Forgotten
Again
Lets live.
Lets’ feel
Life is what we make of it, but Aristotle believed that we each had a purpose and a place.
The disorder is the default.
How I like that word
Guessing

What is yours?
Passions
Yeah, I’ve heard of that before.
And we believe again
In us.
Who are U?
Why?
Porque
Espera
Lies they tell you.
Truths we search
Love unconditionally.
Pain undeniable.
Meditationnnnnnnnn
And we yet believe that there is a Mars and a Pluto called a moon
You look at ours every 28 days.
Sangre….

Roja
Azul entre las venas
And you count the cycle if you are she in this horizon.
You
Î
Yo
That creation
That imperfection
It the perefection…I will survive….once I was afraid..I was petrified…
Thinking I could never live without you by my side….
You know I don’t know the words
Creatures.
fallling
We believe.
Love
You.
I.
W
E.
Amen
Sin religion
We are supposed to have a good time.
Messages
Live it.
Hey hold on a second.
Love first

And none of us are ever lasting
Forever
…,

WE ARE ALL GOING
You hear me?? ? ? ? ? ? ?

I hear YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU

A fountain from the heart……that’s the name of the poem that began with:
Its totally real

Synergy
Synergy
Synergy

A fountain from the heart….
I see you flying
I see your heartbeat.
That is what you look like
Because your heart is open right now

Please don’t’ be afraid to experience the truth that will penetrate what the system doesn’t let you access…

Search for it…
It has your name….
Crazy like perfection

I was more than that
I was more than that
I was more than that

Thousands of People Gathered in Arauca

2007-10-15T18:53:00.000-05:00

Suffering into Courage: Thousands of Campesinos Gather in Arauca to Give Testimony

Located on Colombia’s mid-eastern border with Venezuela, Arauca is known as one of the most volatile departments (or states) in the country. The presence of oil companies and illegal armed groups, and its location in a geographic region that is strategic for war purposes leads to it being one of the most militarized areas of the country. The high levels of violence coincide with extremely high rates of poverty, despite Arauca’s abundance of natural resources.

Thousands of people attended a large public hearing in Saravena, Arauca on September 27. That Thursday, individuals were invited to speak out against the crimes against humanity that they either experienced firsthand or witnessed. It was also an opportunity for individuals to actually document, with the assistance of lawyers, those experiences that would otherwise remain only in their memory, separate from any judicial process. In a country with staggering levels of impunity, having an official record of a human rights violation is the first step in trying to diminish the invisibility that engulfs such abuses.

Moreover, this public hearing guaranteed the presence of a diverse group of listeners, including the Argentinean Ambassador, a representative of the Organization of American States peace process monitoring team, international observers such as FOR, Peace Brigades International and International Peace Observatory, Colombian lawyers, and a significant presence of both military and police officers. But the largest audience was composed of campesinos and humble individuals who were ready to actively witness and give voice to those experiences that often have been suppressed by the fear that has penetrated deep into the social fabric of this country.

This space may be the first step of what could be a national process of truth and reparation for Colombia’s victims and survivors. “This public hearing,” said the Social Organizations of Arauca and the Joel Sierra Human Rights Foundation, “was made possible to give the victims and witnesses an opportunity to denounce the various kinds of human rights violations that are a product of strategies implemented by the State.” The strategies identified by these two organizations include: judicial processes that deny social leaders their freedom; the dirty war that is manipulated by the Army and disguised as paramilitary offenses; and extrajudicial executions of civilians carried out by the armed forces.

Senator Alexander Lopez, of the Democratic Independent Pole political party, is vice-president of the Senate’s Human Rights Commission. Lopez politely greeted the large audience and gave an introduction condemning all the human rights violations committed against civil society and encouraging everyone to sign up to publicly denounce acts of violence and terror. His tone underscored his support for every resident of Arauca and verbally recognized the audience for their courage - evident in the simple fact that they showed up to witness this event.

After his introduction, victims and families of victims lined up one-by-one behind a table and, with the assistance of lawyers, filled out the forms that would hold their stories. While some were in line waiting to sign their “denuncia,” others waited to go on stage and give their testimonies. Men and women from seven different municipalities went on stage and spoke for 6-12 minutes - each one about a different experience, but all showed the same level of conviction in their words.

In six hours of testimonies, 60 individuals verbally denounced a violation, 21 provided testimonies, and 118 made an official complaint in written form. The testimonies included allegations of violations committed by the guerillas, the paramilitaries, the national police and army, and many named the Colombian State responsible for systematically enabling the conditions that allow such abuses to occur.

This extraordinary event highlighted the transformation of suffering into courage. It allowed each person present to provide a testimony of how individuals—who at one point in their life felt threatened and feared for their safety—ultimately decided that it was time to share with the world those experiences that had changed them forever.

Bogotá: Back In

2007-09-18T16:12:00.003-05:00

The sleeping city girl is awakening

After an approximately ten hour bus ride with the AC on full blast that successfully managed to overpower any attempt my body made to comfortably and warmly sleep, my teammate Janice and I arrived at the bus station in Bogotá around 8:00am. We got on a taxi straight to the place that I will now be calling my new home. I unloaded my backpacks full of everything I own including dirty clothes, books, hand-made lamp, pictures, letters, and sandals.

Now, I sit here in front of a monitor in the office/apartment, in la capital de Colombia where approximately 12,000 NGO’s are registered and where over 600,000 displaced people have settled in after fleeing conditions of violence in their native home. I have a grim on my face and my eyes are holding back tears caused by the nostalgia that I am trying hard to ignore. I spent almost six months in the community and did not anticipate how much a rural setting can change your senses and your thresholds. I am feeling a mix of emotions having just arrived into a new space where I will spend the second half of my contract with FOR. More so, there is combination of sadness and feelings of attachments my mind and heart have to slowly let go of while attempting to successfully transfer into a new mode of operation. Mostly because I left a place that is so different from Bogotá and my mind is having a hard time letting go of the smells, the voices, the animal sounds and those faces that stayed in the Peace Community. And I decide to feed my emotions even more by playing a CD that has a few recordings that a young girl from the Peace Community made for me as my “good-bye” present, or as she liked to put it, “Para que no se olvide de mi, tenga esto como mi regalo de despedida” (so you won’t forget me, here is a present). Track 1 is has Chayanne’s most cheesy song and Track 2 is Enrique Iglesias on the background and her 17 year old voice perfectly out of tune overpowering the melody of the Spanish artist. I listened to it, holding back my laughter as I imagine her dancing and holding a fake microphone pretending she is on national T.V. singing to a large audience. The best part of the CD is the second to last track where she decided to improvise and sing about me living in La Unión and how I had to leave but that we will always remember each other. It was so cute and funny that I honestly don’t understand how I can feel so much joy and sadness at the same time.

Cold walls and privacy
I also started rearranging the room that was recently Camila’s(FOR teammate) and Juju’s (her baby boy) nest for the past few months. It felt strange to actually have so much space available for my body and few belongings. It seemed too empty so I did the usual move-in routine and placed some pictures on the wall, decided that a plant would keep me company and burned some sage and incense to fill the space between the walls with a familiar aroma. Not to having AJ’s room next to me and not being able to hear every single sound that penetrated the wooden walls back in La Union felt awkwardly silent. I was going to be able to get a sense of privacy again…and that felt sort of strange combined with a sharp dash of loneliness.

I was putting my clothes away thinking about the fact that they will soon lose the moldy smell they picked up in el campo. After staring at the closet, I realized that my faded jeans, stained green yoga pants, and worn out FOR shirts were not going to cut it for the kind of engagements I would be taking part in. I could no longer get away with wearing any pair of torn up blue jeans, the faded drawstring peach colored pants that go back to two or three past FOR volunteers, or my ripped-between-the-crotch brown cargo shorts that go way back to South Africa. The realization that I had few clothes made me automatically think about urban life and consumerism. All of a sudden I am living in a big city and have the necessity to go shopping. I now need to look presentable and somewhat formal-at least for the formal meetings at the U.S. embassy or with representatives of the Vice-President’s office on Human Rights. Right???? Norms…and norms… and the battle of having the autonomy to represent yourself as best identifies your perception on life vs. the obligation of having to express those qualities that gain you respect in a world that judges by superficial measures.

Whether I want to purchase new garments or not, I do need to get a hold of a thick sweatshirt or long sleeve warm shirts if I plan to keep my bones warm. Bogotá is actually colder than what I remember it being back when I was here in November and my body is certainly having a hard time adjusting after living in Urabá’s humidity where I was sweating every other day. The weather in Bogotá sort of reminds me of Santa Cruz with the cloudy days and the cool wind that all of a sudden changes into a clear sky with a sunny afternoon. However, it is not so much of a cold breeze from the ocean and is more like the coldness trapped in a museum with an incredible mountain view.

Although the window in the living room in our apartment sometimes gets some warm rays of sun, it is not enough to warm up the wooden floors and space around my desk. It makes me miss the back porch in La Unión where I often times laid on the hammock and enjoyed the view of the big white puffy clouds that reflected sunlight across the green hills. There were some amazing days when I would also catch a rainbow in the sky or two, and it would all of a sudden rain while the sun was burning hot. I wonder if I will still be called La Negrita (the dark skinned one) from FOR when I go back to visit the community. While I adjust to the lack of heat, I will continue spending the days in the office typing away with cold fingers and sipping on hot tea and coffee. I will once again fall asleep listening to the wailing police sirens echoing a large city, that like the piano and Beethoven’s "Quasi una fantasia", they are inseparable from the realm where they can express themselves deceivingly effortlessly.

A voice from Promisión

2007-09-15T15:10:00.000-05:00

“We already lost everything”

Looking Back: In 1997 and 1998, 38 families were forced to leave the vereda (settlement) of Promisión, which is a three to four hour walk from the municipality of Angelópolis in the southeast part of Antioquia Province. These families share an experience with the millions of Colombians who have been forced to displace due to the violence carried out by illegal armed groups across the country. In this case, the armed entities are said to have been paramilitaries, who were systematically causing fear in the population, depopulating the region and gaining control of what was believed to have been guerrilla territory. The civilian population faced death threats and were ordered to evacuate their homes with no hope of ever returning. Without any form of protection from the State or any means to safely demand their right to live in peace, the 38 families painfully left behind their property and the majority of their belongings. What had been their home for years - the place they had invested so much work in order to have profitable coffee trees, sugarcane crops, and fish tanks – suddenly was snatched from them.
The families faced much hardship after they fled. They had to start from scratch and did not have any resources or government support to facilitate the process of finding new homes and lives. They describe finding a place to settle with their bare minimum belongings as a living nightmare. The majority of the families displaced to Medellin, Colombia’s second-largest city and a three-hour bus-ride away. Those who had relatives in other places were forced to seek support with their families whose living situations were also limited in space and resources. Those who settled in Medellin found themselves living in barrios populares (shantytowns) where they faced other forms of violence and risks associated with poverty, as well as high levels of desperation due to unsafe and dangerous conditions. After being displaced and misplaced, suffering became inevitable. Those families with small children explain the awful ordeal of coping with illness, especially given that the adults were unemployed and there was no way to make ends meet or to obtain appropriate medication. “When Alejandro* was sick I had to stay in the hospital all day with him without food or water, then return home in the evenings and repeat the process for weeks until he was released. I couldn’t work and I had no money,” explained Ana Maria*. The harsh living situations they encountered exacerbated by new urban violence left little room for joy and tranquility. These conditions, along with the stress of having to adapt to a lifestyle that was foreign to the campesino way of life made a situation of desperation into a crisis with no hint of a solution.
These families were both physically and psychologically far from a place they could even begin to call “home”. As Mrs. Valdes* described, “The thought of returning back to our fincas was the only thing that offered me any kind of solace.” In 1999, some families decided that they could not continue to live under such conditions and that they would return to their beloved Promisión. With the support of the ACA (Peasant Association of Antioquia) and the International Red Cross, these families returned to their homes for the first time since they had left. Nonetheless, they were forced to displace again after only two months because of the assassination by paramilitaries of four campesinos.

Returning home: Eight years later, during the second half of 2006, 15 out of 38 families that fled decided that returning to Promisión was long overdue. They wanted to return with the support of the local government officials, including the Mayor of Angelópolis, Jaime Gomez, and in a way that would guarantee their rights as displaced people. The ACA has been supporting this process and making sure that Colombian legal requirements are implemented and respected. Thus far, the community has met several times with what is known as a Local Attention Committee for the Displaced Population (CLAIPD). Some of the relevant bodies that take part in these meetings include: Acción Social (provides state-funded food, supplies, and transportation), Mayor Gomez, Representatives of the National Police and IV Army Brigade, along with other government entities. These meetings are meant to provide a space where they can collectively assess and reach consensus about what is needed and required in order for displaced communities to return to their lands. This, of course, results in a complicated and bureaucratic process that takes a lot of time, patience, and will. Given the fact that the families were forced to leave their homes almost ten years ago and have since endured hardship, the process has reached a boiling point for many.

On September 7, FOR accompanied the ACA and 17 adults with their children to visit Promisión. For the vast majority of these adults, it was the first time since they displaced about ten years ago. They had been planning and organizing this visit since early this year, lining up food, supplies, and appropriate security measures. Finally on Friday morning, packed and ready to head towards their longed for fincas, the families arrived at the ACA eager to begin the day’s journey. Their goal was to be able to personally observe and assess the current condition of their houses and fields, and scope out the work that will need to be invested to improve those conditions. They also wanted to analyze the security situation and speak to residents in Angelópolis who could offer them information about risks associated with returning to Promisión.

We arrived in Angelópolis on Friday afternoon and every face glowed with the joy and excitement of finally finding themselves so close to their homes. The adults were eager and somewhat anxious to get on the next vehicle that could take them to the top of the mountain, only an hour and half walk from their fincas. However, they first had to speak to Mayor Goméz to ensure that he was aware of their presence and to officially let him know that they were going to visit their homes, despite the fact that they received an ominous letter from him the previous evening stating that the “The municipal administration did not commit itself to offering the minimal security measures” for them, and discouraging the return visit. The Mayor was nowhere to be found. So instead they went to the National Police station to officially introduce themselves and explain the reason for their visit. The commander in charge told the community that he found no reason why they couldn’t visit their homes, as there was no knowledge of any illegal armed groups in the region. With that said, the community got on the next vehicle wearing smiles that stretched from ear to ear.

After a long hike that combined up and downhills, mud, banana trees, and streams, we arrived at the finca where we would stay for the next six days. The house had two and a half bedrooms that were decorated with cobwebs, bats, old rusty tools, broken pieces of plastic, and lots and lots of dust. It was one of the few houses in a good enough condition for us to sleep and cook in. Everyone was so excited to be there that it did not matter that everyone would sleep on the floor with 12 blankets for 21 adults and eight children, that there was no electricity, that there were very limited amounts of rice and beans, and that there were many hungry mosquitoes ready have a feast.

That evening an important conversation took place. They all shared their joy and then moved on to another topic. They had previously been informed that there were some families who had settled on their property during the time the community was displaced. Colombia’s displaced populations are found all over the place, and while some flee to the barrios populares, others settle in vacant rural areas with hopes of starting again with the fertile land’s natural resources. This is exactly what some of these returning families found to be the case with their property: the home and land they left behind years ago was now inhabited by another family who had been cultivating crops there and now depended on it for a living. These new settlers, however, are also poor peasants who were forced to flee their own communities some years back by the same mechanisms of violence.

This added to the complexity of their situation. They not only have to worry about getting back to their lands legally and with the necessary support from the state, but they also feel the families who settled in their property need to be acknowledged and not forced to displace as it would only perpetuate the cycle of internal displacement of peasant communities in Colombia.

Beyond today: There are many questions circulating among community members. How long will it be before all the paperwork and funding gets processed? When will they be able to finally return home? Although in the last CLAID meeting on September 14 Acción Social committed itself to providing food for the returning families and funds for the reconstruction of their homes, there is still a long list of pending bureaucratic demands.

There is also the worry that the community might face threats or violence upon their return. But as Mrs. Goméz* said, “I already lost it all once and now there is nothing to be afraid of. We deserve to be back in our home and work our land. Fear is not something that is going to stop me”.

Some Thoughts on my experiences...

2007-07-26T12:25:00.000-05:00

This entry is mostly an update of what has been a wonderful, yet challenging experience for me. I have now entered my fourth month as a volunteer for FOR and I find it hard to believe that are other contexts outside of mine, where people live their lives ignoring the realities that trap so many lives into a narrow road with sharp rocks along the way. Why do humans feel that “other people’s” struggles are not their own, and reduce pandemics such as HIV/AIDS as being an “African problem”, and shove the immigration issue in the USA to being “a brown struggle” and subjugate the Middle-east as a terrorist haven, while labeling the World’s Drug issues as Colombia's? There is actually a collective impact that results from all of these and there is an US that can change the route that such problems take. Suffering, whether “ours” or “theirs” needs attention and action worldwide, as they are not isolated issues with a personal ID number on it. More so, I find it difficult to understand why struggles, like those here in Colombia get lost in the newspaper behind all the other news articles that describe the continuous War in Iraq and Afghanistan, about child labor in Vietnam and Philippines, about homicides in Johannesburg, about poverty in Mozambique and Malawi, and the long list of events and issues continues to multiply, probably parallel in numbers to the bank accounts of our current world leaders, CEO’s and celebrities. Why is it so many people feel that by reading their literature or reading a newspaper, they have done their contribution for the day as oppose to seeing it as the beginning of what they can do? I guess we should not be surprised that modern day humans, “the most civilized of the hominids” has still not figured out how to end poverty or to reach world peace in this 21st century.

This sorrow sometimes penetrates deep beneath my skin.

That expressed, my point was really to share a bit about my experiences here in La Unión which is a vereda/settlement of homes that form part the Peace Community of San José. There are so many things that a few months seemed new to me, and that have now become the usual. The sounds of the animals in the middle of the night, the blasting vallenato music, the soldiers along the path, and the tension that seems to travel in the air and that comes to tap my shoulders on any given day for this reason or that. The once hard to annunciate names of community members, leaders, other NGO's, governent figures, etc, that now slide easily off my tongue. And, ofcourse, the heavy conversations about the atrocities experienced by people here that have moved from feeling heavy on my shoulders to a safer place in my heart. There are also those life moments that come along as the year continues and we mark an X on already lived day. My 25th birthday was celebrated here (in La Unión) just last month (something I could have never imagined happening). There was love and joy all day and I knew that something like this would probably not repeat itself; at least, not in the same way, with the exact same people, and the same smiles and laughter that were shared because I was another year old.

While being here I have witnessed the difficulty that campesinos (farmers; agricultural workers) here face to be able to simultaneously heal from their yesterdays and continue with the process of the community building they started 10 years ago. I have enjoyed birthday celebrations and have seen people enjoy the dazzling colors of a sunset on a humid day. And, I have also seen the fear in people’s eyes when they hear the news of a recent threat, a death, and/or are told that the military is in proximity to their homes. I have seen how difficulties can easily transform into a crisis or become only an insignificant stone along the way. Overall, I have to say that I have personally grown during this short time and strongly believe that this change has taken place both personally and professionally.

What is easiest to speak of is my own growing process. I feel blessed in many ways to be here, living in a community that has opened its homes and hearts to my presence. I have so much respect for all the people here for staying on their land and continuing to live their lives in a way they feel should be rightfully respected. I agree with them. Civilians need not to be caught in the middle of the conflict as they have been forced to do since beginning of the most violent periods in this country. This understanding did not come to me solely from reading a book, or reading the history of this region, it mostly came to me through speaking to the people here and hearing their stories. There is a common experience that binds this community, that is, they all have personally suffered the loss of a loved one and have been forced to feel the fear that comes when one is in danger and when the possibilities of losing another family members is not a far off possibility. I do not presume to understand the depth of their experience, nor to speak for them, but while hearing them, I often remember that there is a permanent damage in their being, as no one can ever replaced those beings that they still long for.

It is difficult to hear the tragedies: people disappeared, murdered, framed, massacres, threats, intimidation, etc. Although such experiences are their reality and are some of the main reasons why FOR provides physical accompaniment to the community, there is also another reality that takes place here. I am amazed at the determination the community has to make the best out of their experiences and be able to live their lives as dignified campesinos. Their painful stories are not an everyday conversation. There is also gossip and jokes, small talk, laughter, music and dancing. They sit together in their neighbor’s homes and watch telenovelas and news and soccer. The kids love to go to the river and swim for hours, play with our puzzles, kick the hell out of our soccer ball; and, well, most of the time people are passing by with smiles on their face on their way to collect their harvest or carrying wood for the day care, enjoying a buñuelo (deep-fried dough ball with cheese) that they bought for 100 pesos (about 5 cents), or on their way to buy eggs from someone. What is unique here is that although their core values as a community and conviction to live in peace are solid, what is experienced as an ordinary life remains fragile because there are external forces that can easily interrupt their mundane days. This will be true for as long as the armed conflict and intimidation they face from legal and illegal forces continues.

I am often time at a loss for words here because of something someone said or because of the unexpected visits we get from someone brining us food or plantains or pastries. Their generosity is one of the most noticeable qualities. I find myself so perplexed at how the different lifestyles that children here share than those back home. I know that the little womyn here might not necessarily know how to use the newest ipod cell phone , but they can climb the 20ft high mango tree, or work with a machete to clean out the weeds on the path. I wonder what beholds their future. How the little kiddies who now play with our dominoes and puzzles will grow up and inevitably be forced to understand who she/he is in the context of this armed conflict. While it is difficult to have a full understanding of the complexity that surrounds this region, it is really simple to realize that over all circumstances, the basic human right to live violence-free, should always be respected.

How is it that humans have created a world where wars are no longer an option but a forced lifestyle? In these modern-day wars, I wonder whose security is being defended and from who? Is it the National, regional, or the personal/economical one?

I do not know that this has an answer, but I am sure that it is worth thinking about. Anyways, all in all, what I wanted to say in so many words is that I am grateful to be here where I have witnessed the strength and courage that human beings are capable of investing for a better world. I am also, inevitably saddened that there are some many reasons why the presence of international human rights observers continues to be on high demand here and in other places in the world.

Death and dying as we are living

2007-07-17T14:03:00.000-05:00

Morir es Vivir.

I heard a member of the Peace community say this. She further added: "I am not afraid of death, I have always known it will one day come, for me and for everybody." -June 23rd

What does death mean across the board? Dying and death, the dead and dying. The context, circumstances and conditions of this process vary; however, death is always death no matter how you put it. I do not want to dwell in a religious epilogue of the meaning of death; instead, I just had an urge to write about the recent experiences I’ve had with other’s dying. In particular as I am here in Colombia interacting with a community that has had too many experiences with death, often in the most brutal way that ends up adding more cases to the “unresolved files” that fuel the high level of impunity in the country.

Obviously there is a big difference between dying of a natural cause (i.e. old age), because of health reasons, and being killed/murdered. I understand these differences, nonetheless, I have a hard time separating the meaning of death and applying it to all scenarios. When I see the mourning process, the people that are left to tell the tale of the difunto (deceased) or when death is anticipated and people have a chance to talk about it and/or somehow prepare for it it seems like the living are left with the responsibility of explaining the meaning of so and so’s death. This April, only a month after being here in with Peace Community, I got news that my good friend Jessa had passed on to next world; she died after fighting cancer for almost a year. It was a death I was prepared for, mostly through Jessa’s own guidance as we openly spoke of her death and about how she was living with love all around during the entire process. Just a few weeks ago, I heard that my oldest aunt on my father’s side is currently battling cancer and that her treatment has been stopped as she is now facing the last stages of the illness. She is facing her death as it faces her through a chronic illness that has paved the way to deliver her to the end of her life.

But, here, I hear about another kind of death. It is bloody red and it really doesn’t have a fixed diagnosis. It blends with violence and it is paradoxically both blunt and invisible. There always seems to be more questions than answers and a murder can become the most important event to some individuals, while being rendered as insignificant by others.

On Monday, July 9^th during evening hours, a policeman identified as Hernán Lopéz Cardona was killed in San José by what is believed to have been a direct attack from members of the FARC. The attack took place on the police post that was established there in 2005, resulting with the Peace Community displacing, as it was clear that it was a risk to their safety since it would make the civilians the convenient buffer zone during combat.

Four days later, on Friday the 13th, we heard about the death of a civilian. He is identified as Dairo Torres and the Peace Community states that Dairo’s murder is the most recent example of how attacks against civilian Campesino/as continue to take place. The Peace Community has identified Dairo as one of their members and leaders. He was described as a member who attended their asembleas (large periodic meetings requiring participation of all members of the Peace Community), and who had been working in their agricultural project that functions through the organizing of work-groups.

The Peace Community explains that Dairo Torres was killed around noon by two men dressed as civilians. These individuals are said to have stopped the “chivero” (jeep used as public transportation) Dairo was boarded on when it was on its way to San José. These chiveros are available on an estimated hourly basis and provide relatively cheap transportation on the only road available for folks to get to/from San José and Apartadó. Further details of the event include that the chivero was stopped shortly after passing the police check-point (it is believed to be about a two-minute drive from this check-point). There were apparently no policemen on duty at that particular time. It is believed that the two armed individuals asked Dairo to get off the chivero and after Dairo refused to do so, he was shot at once, and was then forcibly removed from the vehicle. These unidentified men are said to have ordered the chivero driver continue on his way. Dairo’s body was found on the side of the road right where the chivero was stopped.

Moreover, they say that the same end results applies to the vast majority of cases like these: the perpetrator is never caught and the justice system fails to win another battle against impunity. Member of the Peace Community stated that the two men who killed Dairo are paramilitaries and that witnesses heard them identify themselves as being members of the Aguilas Negras (Black Eagles; paramilitary group that emerged after Uribe’s demobilization process for the paramilitaries was in effect, legally known as Ley de Justicia y Paz).

Why was Dairo Torres killed ? Why was his murder executed in plain daylight and in a way that provided witnesses? Who can prove that paramilitaries might be behind his death?

The Peace Community has now added two more deaths to the toll: “We have now lost 180 members of the Peace Community” were the words uttered by one of the Community leaders.

The local media has released articles stating that Dairo Torres was not a member of the Peace Community. Does his affiliation with the Peace Community determine how extra-judicial his killing was? Or does his independence from it make the individuals responsible for it a bit less heavy on the murder scale?

What is clear is that this last week resulted with two deaths and that those responsible have contributed to the already overloaded files of cases that sooner than later become bluntly invisible under the new cases that get stacked above them.

The fact is that the Peace Community continues to find motives to stay united as an alternative to the historical and present day violence, hoping that both legal and illegal groups/individuals who bear arms can fully respect the lives of civilians. This is the reality that continues to feed deaths to the long-lasting conflicto armado (aka guerra) in Colombia.

And I sit here, pondering about all the other kinds of deaths that go unnoticed, unheard of, either because they happen clandestinely, silently, or because there are no ears to listen...

For more information on recent events in the Community, including Dairo’s Death please read the comunicado released by FOR posted on my blog or visit the Peace Community´s Webpage

FOR statement: Paramilitaries Kill Member of Peace Community

2007-07-16T14:13:00.000-05:00

Paramilitaries Kill Leader of San José de Apartadó Peace Community

Paramilitary gunmen killed Dairo Torres, a leader of the San José de Apartadó Peace Community, on Friday, July 13, shortly after 12 noon, according to the community. Torres was a passenger on one of the jeeps that serve as the only public transport between the city of Apartadó and San José, when it was intercepted by two paramilitaries – the same men who detained the jeep the previous day and made threats against the Peace Community. The community said that gunmen told Torres to get off the jeep, which he did; they told the driver to continue, and then they killed Torres on the spot.

The killing occurred only two minutes from a police checkpoint, where earlier in the day witnesses saw the gunmen sitting and conversing with police.

Torres was a leader of the humanitarian zone of Alto Bonito, a hamlet of San José de Apartadó. He is the fourth San José humanitarian zone leader to be killed in the last 20 months. Humanitarian zones are sites established by the Peace Community where civilians can go in case of combat between the armed groups that are active in the area, and be respected under the norms of international humanitarian law.

The killing occurred just four days after an attack by FARC guerrillas on the police post in the town center of San José de Apartadó, which killed a policeman, Hernán López Cardona, and wounded another policeman. In April 2005, the Peace Community displaced to land a mile from the town center when the police post was installed, precisely because it would make the civilian population a military target for the FARC.

Extensive Colombian media reports of the FARC attack conflated the Peace Community – which has no presence near the police post – with the San José town center where the police are located. La Patria, in a July 12 tribute to the fallen policeman, wrote “San José de Apartadó, [is] a population denominated as a Peace Community. Nevertheless, the guerrillas patrol there and this was demonstrated by the attack.” El Tiempo also stated that the attack took place “in the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó.” None of the media reports mentioned that the Peace Community had displaced away from the town center when the police post was established, so as not to live with any armed group.

The day after the attack, according to the community, police told several people in San José that the attack had originated from the Peace Community’s settlement and that it would pay for it. On July 12, according to a community statement, paramilitary gunmen on the Apartadó-San José road identified themselves to public transport passengers as ‘Aguilas Negras’ (Black Eagles), and said “that SOB peace community would begin to pay very dearly.” ‘Aguilas Negras’ is the name used by a paramilitary group newly active in several parts of Colombia.

The Peace Community first announced the establishment of humanitarian zones in Alto Bonito and seven other hamlets in February 2005. Ten days later, two families, including Community leader Luis Eduardo Guerra, were massacred by men whom witnesses said were army soldiers. Army soldiers killed Arlen Salas, coordinator of the Arenas Altas humanitarian zone, in November 2005, in what it said was an accident; soldiers killed his successor, Edilberto Vásquez in January 2006, claiming he was a guerrilla killed in combat. Seven soldiers subsequently have been charged with his murder. Francisco Puertas, another humanitarian zone leader, was killed by a paramilitary gunman on May 13 of this year.

The shameless challenge to Washington’s purported values of human rights could not be more direct. The hundreds of violations, including more than 180 killings, against the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó, have been the subject of mandatory protective rulings by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and six collective letters from dozens of Members of Congress to Colombian officials and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. More than $70 million of U.S. military aid was suspended in 2005, in large part as a result of outrage over the massacre in San José in February 2005. Members of Congress have visited the Peace Community. FOR and many other NGOs have focused the attention of thousands of people to urge the Colombian government to put an end to the violence and impunity against this community.

If this is what happens to a community that Colombian and US officials say they are acting to protect, what is the fate of the many communities in Colombian conflict zones that are not the subject of so much human rights concern? After all this, why should the United States continue to support Colombia’s military and police forces when clear collaboration between state and paramilitary forces routinely results in the murder of members of this small and neutral peasant community?

Please take action!

Write an email or fax to the US Department of State, expressing sorrow for the killings of Hernán López Cardona and Dairo Torres, and urging:

That State Department officials make a public declaration expressing concern about reports of police collaboration in the assassination of Dairo Torres,
That State Department officials publicly support the establishment and honoring of humanitarian zones in areas of conflict as instruments for upholding the principle in international humanitarian law of protection of civilians from adversaries in armed conflict.

The Fellowship of Reconciliation believes that the United States should suspend assistance to the Colombian National Police until the reported links of its members to paramilitary groups or other illegal armed groups are fully investigated and prosecuted.

Contact:
Jonathan D. Farrar
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
Email: FarrarJD2@state.gov Fax: 202-647-5283

========================
Statements by Peace Community:
PARAMILITARES ASESINAN A DAIRO

Con dolor, rabia e impotencia hacemos esta constancia del asesinato de nuestro compañero, amigo y líder DAIRO TORRES.

Ayer 13 de julio a las 12:15 p.m., a cinco minutos de la salida de Apartadó en la carretera hacia San José, fue interceptado el vehículo de servicio público por dos paramilitares, los mismos que habían salido el jueves 12 de julio haciendo amenazas contra la comunidad. Pararon el vehículo los paramilitares y con armas cortas en las manos le dijeron a DAIRO que se bajará, DAIRO se bajó, luego los paramilitares le dijeron al chofer del carro que siguiera, y allí mismo asesinaron a DAIRO.

El asesinato ocurrió a menos de dos minutos del retén de la policía, pero el descaro no para allí, hacia las 9:10 a.m. se le habían visto a los dos paramilitares conversando y sentados con la policía en el retén que tienen en el Mangolo a la salida de Apartadó hacia San José. La complicidad es total, aquí sobran las palabras, los hechos son mas dicientes.

DAIRO era coordinador de la zona humanitaria de Alto Bonito (ubicada a cuatro horas de San Josesito), un líder que venía trabajando con la comunidad desde el 2004, un hombre íntegro, serio, responsable, un líder total que trabajaba incansablemente por las veredas. Participaba activamente en las asambleas de la comunidad, en sus reuniones, un artífice en el proceso de la comunidad.

Sabemos ya del cinismo y descaro del estado que dirán mentiras como lo hicieron con el asesinato de Francisco Puertas el 14 de mayo: fue delincuencia común, aquí no existen paramilitares, era un guerrillero, no era líder, no trabajaba con la comunidad, lo expulsaron de la comunidad, lo mataron en otro lado, etc, etc.

Es un crimen de los paramilitares en total complicidad con la policía, ya veníamos dejando constancia de estos hechos sin que ninguna institución del Estado actuara en absoluto, las amenazas de la policía no se dejaron esperar y sus mensajeros los paramilitares cumplieron órdenes bastante rápido.

Es un golpe brutal para la comunidad, para la zona, ya que DAIRO era un hombre claro en la resistencia civil y en su liderazgo en las veredas. Pedimos con urgencia la solidaridad nacional e internacional para exigirle al estado que pare el exterminio contra la comunidad, contra la población civil de la zona.

Esta es una acción atroz y por ello mismo sabemos que el dolor nos debe llevar a seguir resistiendo civilmente como lo hemos hecho, como no lo enseñó DAIRO, que sigue y seguirá entre nosotros, dándonos luces y ayudándonos a seguir de pie, mas firmes que nunca en los principios que defendió, como es el derecho a ser respetada la población civil en medio del conflicto armado. A su familia, su compañera, sus tres hijos pequeños, nuestro más sentido pésame, estamos con ustedes para seguir en esta causa justa por la vida, la paz y la dignidad.

COMUNIDAD DE PAZ DE SAN JOSE DE APARTADO
Julio 14 de 2007

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AMENAZAS DE LOS PARAMILITARES

Para la Comunidad de Paz de San José de Apartadó es un deber moral dejar constancia de todas las agresiones que vive constantemente nuestro proceso, esto permitirá que algún día la humanidad haga justicia contra los sembradores de muerte que han realizado cantidad de crímenes de lesa humanidad.

- El día 12 de julio a las 5:35 p.m. en el sitio llamado Tierra Amarilla, a diez minutos de Apartadó en la carretera hacia San José, dos paramilitares detuvieron el carro de servicio público, los dos hombres de civil estaban con armas cortas, dijeron que eran águilas negras y que iban a estar controlando la zona y que esa h.p. Comunidad de Paz la iba a comenzar a pagar bien caro, requisaron el carro miraron a los pasajeros y le dijeron al chofer que siguiera.

La misma amenaza que realiza la policía el 10 de julio la hacen ahora los paramilitares, no es raro siempre han trabajado juntos, los paramilitares como siempre se mueven tranquilamente en una carretera controlada en su totalidad por policía y ejército. Así es el accionar de muerte que hemos tenido que vivir durante diez años.

Sabemos que el gobierno, la fuerza pública dice que todo es mentira, las muertes de los paramilitares no existen, los ataques de la guerrilla en Urabá son hechos aislados. Para nosotros no es raro que digan y nieguen esto, nosotros que vivimos en carne propia el conflicto armado y el actuar conjunto de paramilitares y fuerza pública sabemos que cumplirán sus amenazas contra nuestro proceso.

Pese a las amenazas de la policía y los paramilitares no retrocederemos, indudablemente nos generan miedo, terror, pero también dignidad y valor para no cederles a los asesinos ni un centímetro de espacios de vida, sus amenazas no nos harán retroceder en nuestros principios, y aquí estaremos diariamente en nuestra tierra construyendo alternativas de vida. Agradecemos la solidaridad nacional e internacional que caminan con nosotros en esta búsqueda por construir un mundo alternativo.

COMUNIDAD DE PAZ DE SAN JOSE DE APARTADO
Julio 13 de 2007

SE NOS QUIERE ATACAR DE NUEVO OCULTANDO LA REALIDAD
El día 9 de julio hacia las nueve de la noche se presentaron combates en el corregimiento de San José de Apartadó entre la guerrilla y la fuerza pública, según noticias locales un policía resultó muerto y uno herido.

La policía dijo a varias personas de San José el 10 de julio entre la 1 y 2 p.m. que dicho ataque había salido de la Comunidad de Paz de San José de Apartadó desde San Josesito y que esa comunidad h.p. la iba a pagar bien caro

El gobierno el mismo 10 de junio manifestó a medios de comunicación que se trataba de hechos aislados y que San José es el corregimiento mas prospero y eso de la Comunidad de Paz ya no existe, que existía un grupito en una finca pero que esa comunidad estaba acabada.

Todas estas expresiones demuestran la falta de transparencia y la verdad con que actúa este gobierno y la fuerza pública, se nos quiere como siempre culpar por parte de la fuerza pública de acciones de guerra que solo son responsabilidad de los dos actores armados la Fuerza Pública-paramilitares y la guerrilla.

Nos preocupa las amenazas y acciones que puedan realizarse contra la comunidad debido a los señalamientos que está realizando la policía. Pedimos la solidaridad nacional e internacional ante estos hechos.

Se evidencia la total complicidad del gobierno a los hechos de muerte que vienen sucediendo en la región ya que el paramilitarismo sigue actuando y asesinando en la región y no se hace nada, total impunidad, se aumenta la confrontación armada entre el Estado y la guerrilla y esta oculta llamándolo hechos aislados y lo peor acusando de ellos a la comunidad como lo dice la fuerza pública.

Creemos que es necesario dejar constancia de los hechos que están sucediendo para que la verdad desde las víctimas quede plasmada en la historia y no dejar solo la versión de los victimarios que como se evidencia oculta y falsea los hechos, demostrando de esta forma su actuar sucio y perverso.

Exigimos el respeto a la población civil en medio de esta confrontación armada que sufre la zona de Urabá, sabemos que la realidad nos muestra la continua necesidad de nuestra experiencia como comunidad neutral a los actores armados y generadora de vida en medio de la guerra.

COMUNIDAD DE PAZ DE SAN JOSE DE APARTADO
Julio 11 de 2007
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Comunidad de Paz de San José de Apartadó
http://www.cdpsanjose.org

CACAO

2007-07-13T13:40:00.000-05:00

The green mountains that surround this region are covered with fertile soil. The campesin@s from the Peace Community enjoy a variety of fruits ranging from coconuts, papaya, zapote, güamas, bananas, avocado, mango, to güanabanas and cacao. The campesinos are dedicated to their land as they grow up learning how to nurture and care for it as their natural environment. A main fruit harvested by the members of La Unión is cacao. Folks here have large cacaoteras (fields where cacao trees grow) spread all along the green mountains. Because of the rich lands, the campesinos are able to harvest large amounts of cacao that they later sell as a means to gain some income. Twice a year they harvest cacao but only one of those times is known as the prime season, which is from October-January. Through the cacao harvest the community is able to gain agricultural income. Community members strive to have sustainable lifestyles and they are currently in the process of producing organic cacao. They hope to be able to market their product internationally and keep working independent from the some of the major competing companies/industries whose business supports the continuity of the armed conflict.

Cacao

Penetrated under a surface

Connected to veins

That travel underground

To somehow feed

The child.

Sustainably.

Surrendering to gravity

Branches twisted

To mark the travels

Of nature’s time.

Blended colors of brown- green leaves

Drinking from wet earth

To quench the thirst of

The child.

Sunlight comes to greet

And nourish the once were seeds

Elements join to feed

Acting like the mother earth she is

Birth once again unfolds

The tree
The wood

Freedom expressed

Both vertically and horizontally

Branches with a little womb of their own

Cacao is born

And its womb must be torn

For it to transform into

Food for the Child

Dividing the shell to take what it holds

A white cloud of texture unfolds

Cacao, sweetness of an only kind

Flavors that perplex the mind

Chemistry and magic known

Physical matter

Geographical forms

Working hands collecting fruit…

Costales full of wet seeds

Placed across rooftops

To once again catch the sunlight
As they now get father away from the

Caterpillar stage

Where the child lives
Lay the seeds of the fruit of the trees

That loyally give their womb

To the hands of all those

Who the Child will feed.

Human touch bridges the connection

Since the beginning of this transformation

Watching and patiently waiting

Protecting it when it is raining

And the process continues
And the sun keeps on rising

And the moon keeps on showing

Her many faces

A dance of nature and hands

Caressing the shell

Whispering to it the secrets of the next world

Slowly shelling it from its home.

It no longer needs to hold the throne

Virgin fingers ache

A blister of repetition is born.

One by one

hands touch seed…
Thumb against index and repeat

Fire joins the transformation

Seeds roast over bright red wood

Scents emerge without hesitation

Flame softens the seed

Doña Lola understands the creation

Her experience hands dance against space

Showing lines of wisdom across her veins

The cacao responds to her touch

Her working hands

The child is waiting

It knows well

That the gift of the tree is

Transforming

The cacao divides again

Soft thick paste

Where machine meets man

And the strength of a woman’s hand

Push and swing

Pull and Push.

Round and down

Heat all around

Dripping in sweat on a hot day in a wooden house

Scented by a rainy yesterday

The wood incense burns

Outside ducks wobble trough muddy terrain

Birds sing about rivers at bay

Only half of kilo has been made

And the Child is fed.

Pure.
Dark.

Chocolate.

The color of a still night without a moon.