I became a godmother the other day (to the left is me with my new goddaughter, Karin Juliet, during the baptism mass, and below with my teammate Chris - the godfather - and the Karin's parents). During the joint baptism-Christmas mass, celebrated in the open-air community kiosko (gathering space), the priest described the particular advantage the 7 babies being baptised have over most other

Happy Holidays from Colombia! My Christmas this year will be quite a change from the christmas-cookie-eating, presents-under-a-decorated-fir-tree Christmases to which I'm accustomed in the States. Instead, I'll be spending the holiday season eating natilla (a sweet corn pudding made with milk, cinnamon, cheese, and often coconut) and buñuelos (cheesy balls of fried dough), and dancing the nights

Below is the text of an action alert issued today by FOR. As described, we have learned that our email accounts have been under surveillance. This is another example of the way the Uribe administration has created a climate of suspicion around the human rights community in Colombia, putting us and our work in danger. Please take action! "Speak Truth to Power" takes on a new dimension when you

Wondering how you can visit Colombia and learn about the armed conflict and movements for peace? Come on a delegation! (And I may even by leading your trip!) Or want to become a human rights accompanier like me? Here's how: Upcoming Delegations to Colombia March 27-April 6, 2009: Youth Arts and Action Delegation. Builds on the dynamic experience of the first youth arts and action delegation

I recently returned from a week vacation, spent with my mom in Medellin. To be honest, we didn't do much besides eat, drink and relax, but for me it was perfect: what I really needed was a break from my rice-and-beans diet and from constantly thinking about men with guns. My mom had many questions for me about my life and work in Colombia, of course, so the subject was never far from my mind.

Attending this event is a great way you can support me and my work in Colombia! Manos de Resistencia: Women Peacemakers in Colombia Sunday, December 7, 7 pm. Women’s Building 3543 18th St. San Francisco A Benefit Featuring: Amanda Romero is a leading Colombian human rights activist, co-author of the collection of Colombian women’s testimonies, “We Will Never Be Silenced.” She will speak about

Below is an alert FOR issued in response to increasing paramilitary threats (that I mentioned in a recent post) and the resultant displacement of civilians from their homes in the past week. 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

Yesterday, KPFA radio in Berkeley aired a phone interview with me about my work in Colombia and the pilgrimage I accompanied in early October. My piece starts at minute 70:30. Enjoy!

On October 15th, all the FOR Colombia staff had settled into our seats for a long-awaited full-program retreat to discuss all the ins-and-outs of our work in Colombia. We had gotten maybe an hour into our packed agenda when the phone rang to inform us that paramilitaries had launched a paro armado, effectively shut down several cities in Urabá, the region where we work. That included Apartadó,

September is the month of amor y amistad (love and friendship) In Colombia, punctuated on September 20th with el día de amor y amistad. That day is kind of like our Valentine’s Day in the States (which is not celebrated here), except that, as far as I understand, there’s an equal (or perhaps near-equal) focus on amistad as well as amor. Or maybe I just think that because I didn’t have an amor

I recently returned from 6 days of hiking through piles of mud and up mountains, accompanying a pilgrimage of almost 200 Peace Community members, members of Tamera, an intentional community in Portugal, representatives of various indigenous communities around Colombia, and other friends and supporters of the Peace Community from various regions and countries. It was, needless to say, an adventure

Send a fax to Congress to put a hold on military material In my last post I described US funding of the Colombian military, and expressed frustration that the State Department had certified the next round of funding. It seems some in Congress may have a bit of sense, because it is considering withholding $72 million of the $180 million certified by the State Department, because of cases like

There are plenty of arguments that one could (and I would) make for ending all U.S. military aid to Colombia, many of which are based upon human rights concerns. Given the unlikelihood of that in the near future, however, folks like me concerned about the involvement of U.S. policy in human rights abuses and continued violence in Colombia sometimes make use of a provision of U.S. law that does