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Why a Reality Tour to Colombia

In 2000, Plan Colombia was instituted by then presidents Andrés Pastrana and Bill Clinton, with 1.3 billion dollars in U.S. financing, as an anti-drug and counterinsurgency strategy. It sought to reduce the supply of drugs to the United States by destroying the coca crops and the labs that convert the leaves into cocaine, while strengthening Colombia's armed forces in their fight against the leftist rebels.

Plan Colombia has now expanded into a post-9/11 war on terror including the so-called Plan Patriota (Patriot Plan).  Established under current President Alvaro Uribe, Plan Patriota is a vast Colombian military offensive aimed at penetrating territory under guerrilla control through U.S. logistical support and military aid.  Over the last five years, Colombia has received over $3.15 billion of US military aid, making it by far the largest recipient in the Western Hemisphere.  What’s more, U.S. Army Special Forces troops have been deployed to Colombia to help defend pipelines for oil-hungry US companies.

Many Colombian peasants, unionists, human rights workers and community leaders are labeled guerrilla sympathizers and targeted by the Colombian military and its right-wing paramilitary allies.  These accusations are being made at the same time Uribe’s government carries out a paramilitary demobilization program in which authors of atrocities walk free with little or no jail time and without having to give any account of their criminal actions.

As the Colombian civil war claims thousands of civilian victims each year and US policy in Colombia continues to focus on military aid, voices for peace in Colombia struggle to survive.  Global Exchange and the Fellowship of Reconciliation invite concerned and committed individuals to become educated about the realities of Colombia and meet with human rights, religious, and grassroots organizations who continue to strengthen the movement for peaceful and just solutions to the war and its underlying causes.  Join with social actors ranging from women’s networks and indigenous communities, to youth street theater groups and churches, who play a part in the creation of solutions in Colombia.

2006 Reality Tour to Colombia

Building a Culture of Peace
Co-sponsored by Fellowship of Reconciliation
February 12-26, 2006, Cost: $1,300

Program Highlights

• Learn about the history of the civil war in Colombia, Plan Colombia, Plan Patriota and US military and economic intervention

• Meet with representatives of rural and urban peace communities who have stood up to the paramilitaries, the guerrilla and the military

• Participate in the first anniversary commemoration of the massacre of peace leaders and their families in the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó.

• Meet with grassroots organizations committed to improving civil, economic and women’s rights in Colombia

• Explore Colombia’s culture through the arts, music and beautiful scenery.

Price Includes:

• Double-room hotel ($200 extra for single room), guest house, or dormitory accommodations; two meals per day; transportation to and from programmed activities; guides and translators; a qualified trip leader; all program activities; all reading materials.
  
• International airfares, lunches, airport departure taxes, tips, and personal expenses are not included.
  
• Because the program varies according to the focus of each trip and the special needs and interests of each participant, itineraries become available closer to actual date of departure.

How to Register:

We must receive your application and non-refundable deposit of $200 two months before departure.  A late fee of $50 will be applied to late applications.  Payments by Mastercard or Visa are welcome.

This trip is as diverse as possible in terms of race, age and life experiences.  We strongly encourage people of color to apply.  Partial scholarships are available for low-income applicants.  Also ask about our Fundraising Ideas package.

Contact Latin Reality Tours with any question about this trip. Or call us toll-free at 1-800-497-1994.

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Colombians Voice their Opposition to Free Trade Agreement on the Streets National Strike on October 12

Only few months after the approval of the Central America Free Trade Agreement, Ecuador, Colombia and Peru are wrapping up the negotiation of a similarly controversial trade agreement with the United States: the Andean Free Trade Agreement (AFTA). Since negotiations began 18 moths ago, people across the political and social spectrum in the Andean countries have expressed opposition to the agreement, becoming a mass movement.

A major source of concern is the projected impacts on agriculture.  Colombian farmers believe they won't be able to compete against heavily subsidized US products, resulting, in turn, in a massive loss of jobs in a sector already depressed and severely affected by the war.  Colombian manufacture is likely to face a similar fate. Additionally, the agreement's broad intellectual property provisions would permit access of US companies to the genetic resources of Colombia's great biodiversity, with no guarantees for the rights of the indigenous and traditional communities with knowledge of those resources. The deal also would restrict the production and use of generic drugs, elevating the overall costs of health for Colombians.  

These concerns have spawned numerous demonstrations against AFTA.  On September 23, as negotiators met for a new round of talks in Cartagena, protests were held there and in several other Colombian cities. The peaceful protests were widely attended by people from different sectors of Colombian society, such as trade unionists, students, civil servants and teachers. Two days earlier, 53 members of Congress from Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia voiced their opposition to the agreement in a letter, arguing that the treaty goes beyond governing trade, but also shapes drug, energy and environmental policies, in a process with no room for democratic participation.

A national strike took place on October 12 to express popular opposition to AFTA. With an estimated half million participants, the strike was observed in virtually in all Colombian provinces. Marches of several days converged on several provincial capitals, where rallies and demonstrations were held.  Protesters also spoke out against the recently approved Constitutional reform that would allow President Alvaro Uribe to run next year for a second term in office. The amendment was ruled constitutional by the Colombian Constitutional Court on October 19th.

Indigenous Peoples:  Most Active and Heaviest Toll

Colombian indigenous peoples have been notably vocal in opposing AFTA. They have held dozens of rallies and walks over the past year. In contrast to the peaceful nature of their protests, they have also suffered the heaviest toll. Arguing that the marches would be infiltrated by guerrillas, President Uribe refused to permit Chami peoples in Risaralda to walk to Pereira, where they would join others in the October 12 protest. Police confronted the marchers, resulting in the death of an indigenous person and 20 injured, including many children.  A similar confrontation took place on the national strike day in Northern Cauca, where several people were injured by the police.  An indigenous governor was assassinated in Ginebra (Valle), as he was getting ready to leave for the protest.

Even the conservative Colombian daily El Tiempo, in its October 12 editorial, strongly criticized the government's repression of indigenous peoples' right to peacefully protest, calling it  'inadmissible'. It noted how the indigenous people's ability to mobilize people, the effectiveness of their protests and their strong stand against violence have highlighted their status as a respected opposing voice.  

The government's blunt repression of peaceful protest contradicts the basic principles of democracy. Considering that international trade agreements are too often negotiated behind closed doors, with little room for democratic participation, such squashing of dissent is even more problematic.

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12 Colombian Women Among Nominees for Nobel Peace Prize

Note: The prize was recently award to the International Atomic Energy Agency and Mohamad ElBaradei "for their efforts to prevent nuclear energy from being used for military purposes and to ensure that nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is used in the safest possible way".

Compiled and translated from articles in IndyMediaColombia by Álvaro Angarita and from El Tiempo

Since the founding of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901, only 12 women have been selected as its recipient. The indigenous Guatemalan leader Rigoberta Menchú, who won the prize in 1992, is the only Latin American woman to have been recognized. This fall, an initiative led by Council of Europe member Ruth-Gaby Vermot-Mangold, aimed to change this trend. The "Association of 1000 Women for the Nobel Prize 2005" is a campaign created to draw attention to the millions of women worldwide who daily work for peace and justice and in defense of women's rights. The collective nomination includes women from over 150 countries and the one-thousandth spot has been left nameless in order to symbolize the women who could not be nominated but continue to fight for peace and equality, as well as those who suffer from war and poverty. The Nobel Peace Prize brings with it an award of more than 1 million US dollars.  This money would be used to run an international foundation in which each of the nominated women act as partners. The Association is also busy assembling the biographies of all those nominated in hopes of publishing a book as well as producing a photo exhibit illustrating the work of these women.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, 162 women have been nominated. The 12 Colombian nominees include trade union leaders, a former prostitute, internally displaced women, an academic, journalists and Afro-Colombians and Indigenous leaders. Gloria Cuartas, the former mayor of Apartadó and a current advisor to the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó, is acting as the project's facilitator in Colombia. She said to the Colprensa agency, "There are still difficulties in recognizing women's contribution to peace in Colombia." The Colombian nominees include:

Virgelina Chará is one of the founders of the Daniel Guillard neighborhood, in the Aguablanca district in the city of Cali. For 6 years, she led community initiatives to help displaced women. She herself had to flee to Bogotá because illegal armed groups were attempting to recruit her children into their ranks.

María Eugenia Zabala is a community leader who has overcome tragedy. In 1989 her husband and one of her sons were assassinated by paramilitary men. With other widows of the war, she initiated the project El Valle Encantado (The Enchanted Valley) near Montería, which continues today in spite of a difficult financial situation.

Nubia Castañeda Bustamante was born in Carmen del Atrato and says that she is "unmarried by choice and definition". She is one of the founders of the Ruta Pacífica de las Mujeres (Women's Peaceful Path) a group that works against the war and violence in the Chocó region. They promote, as did the Archdiocese of Quibdó "the right of women to decide" and to oppose the war.

Rafaela Vos Obeso, a sociologist with a masters in political science and certificate in history, is an academic from Atlantic University who daily jeopardizes herself by working in defense of human rights. She has promoted the idea of taking academic analysis out of the halls of academia and carrying it into the poor neighborhoods of Barranquilla.

María Tila Uribe Jiménez is 74 years old and renowned as a fighter for the rights of women and for peace. Currently, she is heading a project in Bogotá with older women. She is distinguished as one of the pioneers of the practice of framing the woman as the protagonist in her own history

Beatriz Elena Rodríguez Rengifo is a former prostitute from Caquetá who has led projects that aim to make women from southern Colombia aware of and value their rights. Her group is committed to avoiding the concept of a woman's body continually being seen as a "battleground" for the armed actors.

Luz Perly Córdoba is the only one of the nominated women who does not currently live in Colombia. She is a human rights attorney and was president of the Peasant Association of Arauca. She was detained from February 2004 to April 2005 on charges of rebellion and left the country under threats from paramilitary groups.

María Beatriz Aniceto Pardo is a Regional Indigenous Leader of the Cabildos Nasa Chxachxa Association in the Cauca region of Colombia. She has worked on actions that promote the defense of territory and peaceful resistance to the war.  She was coordinator of the Women's Program of the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca as well as the governor of her cabildo (an indigenous political unit).

Ana Teresa Bernal is one of the coordinators of the Initiatives for Peace Network. She formed part of the National Advisors of Peace between 1997 and 2000 and after the process was stopped with the FARC, she has continued to promote negotiation as a solution to the conflict in Colombia.

Hilda Liria Domicó Bailarín is an Embera-Katío indigenous woman from the Urabá region of the department of Antioquia. For many years she has worked on projects of education and promotion of the rights and social organization of the indigenous victims of the armed conflict. Currently she is in the forefront of an education project with the women of her community.

Yolanda Becerra Vega is from the Grassroots Women's Organization of Barrancabermeja and has led their work in defense of human rights that has led to threats against her.  She says that her nomination is a "vindication of the choice that has been undertaken by Colombian women to resist violence."

Patricia Buriticá is a union leader in her district of Fecode and the CUT. She is one of the founders of the "Colombian Women for Peace" initiative that gathered 216 organizations throughout the country in 2002. She says that the nomination "makes visible the situation of Colombian women and their struggle for peace."


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Youth Network Objector Freed in Army's Forcibly Recruiting Operation  

Translation of October 10, 2005 Press Release of Youth Network of Medellín (Red Juvenil de Medellín)

Alejandro Piedrahita was freed this afternoon, October 10. He had been apprehended as part of a forced recruiting operation conducted by the 4th Brigade of the Colombian Army in Medellin's Berrio Park. At the moment of his detention, Piedrahita declared himself a conscientious objector, expressing his desire not be put into military service, since he studies and works and, more important, he will not lose the precious years of youth to acts of war. His release was done quietly, hidden from the other 50 youth that were with him at the time, 32 of whom had already been declared able and were inducted. The local ombudsman accompanied this process and the other detained youth were not informed that now it is possible to declare themselves objectors and refuse to forcibly go to war.

We want all of those who will be forcibly recruited to know that you can refuse to go to war and the Youth Network will always be there to support you. Participate in the Conscientious Objectors group of the Youth Network of Medellín! Denounce the war and work towards a more just society!

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Letter from the Field: "To remember is our commitment to the future."

By Daniel Malakoff

The exhumer digs ten holes before finding clothing. The tag on the red t-shirt is still legible. Grommets in the leather belt hint at its style. Those watching push in closer to get a better look. A tooth is greeted by fascination and sadness. Roots grow from the end of a femur. The latex gloves come off. What good do they do anyway?

On September 21, this scene is repeated five times throughout the district of San José, to recover the bodies of five civilians killed over the years by the guerrillas, the paramilitaries, and the Colombian military. This is day one of a gathering of Colombia¹s communities in resistance (RECORRE), including the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó, as well as members of the international community. All have come to exchange ideas and strengthen their network, as well as to recover both the remains and the memory of the dead.

We have split into three groups. One group heads to the settlement La Resbalosa to recover the bones from a 1977 massacre in which the Colombian military killed 15 rural farmers suspected of belonging to community organizations. This was before the FARC guerrillas arrived in the area. The expedition digs in a site not far from the house of Alfonso Bolívar, killed with his wife and two children seven months ago today in February. But this group fails to find any remains.  

A second group heads to Mulatos, the settlement where, according to a witness, men in Colombian army uniforms killed Luis Eduardo, his partner and eleven-year-old son on that same day in February. This group recovers the remains of two of the 60,000 civilians killed since 1980 in Colombia's civil war: Jorge Arías, killed in 1997 for allegedly selling food to the guerrillas, and, Alieda Areiza, a Peace Community member killed in 2002.

The third group, of which I'm a part, stays close to La Union, the Peace Community settlement where the gathering is held. The first body belongs to Ramiro Soliz, killed in 1995 for unknown reasons; the second to Wilson Sepulveda, also killed in 1995, as paramilitaries and the FARC fought to control Urabá; the third to a woman whose name is no longer known. She was abducted at a guerrilla roadblock, but murdered here.

Within a 20-minute walk lie these three sets of bones. I try to imagine that back home: a skeleton buried in the soccer field of my old middle school, a body beneath the local market, a third set of bones below my neighbor¹s front lawn.

We will paint the names of those we've exhumed on stones and place these stones in a memorial to the dead being built in the center of the displacement camp named San Josécito: Settlement of Dignity. The old memorial was lost when police occupied the town of San José, thus making it a target of the insurgency and triggering the displacement of 60 Peace Community families. A sign nearby the memorial reads: "To remember is our commitment to the future."

Remembrance is the theme of this gathering. These bodies belong to separate epochs in the Peace Community's history. Each epoch experienced its own obstacles to the Community's survival and claimed its own victims. As an FOR volunteer, you frequently hear the stories: the 1996 displacement, the 1997 massacre in the town of San José, the La Union massacre in 2000, the 2002 paramilitary roadblock. After a while, all these stories blend together. But even brittle bones are more tactile than words. Watching the dead exhumed, their stories again come alive.

Remembering restores dignity to a life lost to violence. Soldiers in battle risk their lives to recover their fallen comrades. For the farmers of the Peace Community of San José as well, giving their dead a proper burial is just as important.

Remembering can give one the strength to continue forward. In 2002, paramilitaries killed several public jeep drivers, shopkeepers, and a community member at a roadblock on the only road into San José. Today, the Peace Community says it¹s prepared to endure a year-long food blockade.

Of the eight killed in February¹s massacre, two were leaders in the construction of humanitarian zones, sites in the outlying settlements of San Jose where civilians can take refuge during combat or military operatives. Since then, safe houses have been constructed in two of these proposed humanitarian zones. What momentum was lost due to the massacre has been regained as civilians continue to search for ways to remain neutral in Colombia's civil war.

The communities in resistance gathered here have also learned to gain strength from their losses. In early September, the indigenous Nasa in Colombia's south suffered several casualties when riot police tried to dislodge them from a plantation, yet the Nasa continues to recover traditional lands. The Wiwa in the northeast speak of their determination to move forward, as did the communities that are only now returning to live along the Naya River after a massacre of 120 people in 2001 forced them off their lands.

Another of the gathering¹s participants, Mirta Israel remembers her loss. To this day, she wears a photo of the daughter she lost to the dictatorship of Pinochet around her neck. Mirta co-founded the Madres de Plaza de Mayo, one of Argentina¹s most powerful and articulate demanders of justice.

These individuals and communities have come together to strategize as one. They discuss food barters, seed banks, and strengthening their own rural university. Each takes heart in knowing his or her experience is not an isolated one.

Clothes might outlast human remains; here memory and dignity might outlast them both.

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If you have any further questions about the FOR Colombia program, please contact us. Thank you again for your ongoing support.

In Peace,
Susana Pimiento and John Lindsay-Poland
FOR Colombia Peace Program

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Fellowship of Reconciliation
Task Force on Latin America and the Caribbean
2017 Mission St. #305, San Francisco, CA 94110
phone: (415) 495-6334, fax: (415) 495-5628
www.forusa.org