Semana por la Paz Days of Prayer and Action: October 1-6 [0]
www.peaceincolombia.org [1] for more on how to participate as an individual, congregation or solidarity group.
Fall Days of Prayer and Action: On Sunday, October 1, congregations across the country will stand in solidarity with our Colombian brothers and sisters who have endured so much suffering, remembering the victims of Colombia's brutal conflict and praying for a peaceful future in Colombia. Then on Monday, October we will take collective action to ask that U.S. policy promote peace and justice in Colombia rather than military involvement and violence.
Religious Leaders Tour on Development and Peace: Catholic and Mennonite representatives leading this ecumenical effort will be visiting the Washington DC, Chicago, and New York City, metropolitan areas October 4-11. Consider attending a public event or inviting these representatives to meet with your community. See www.peaceincolombia.org/delegation.htm [2]for information on how to participate.
moira(a)igc.org [3].
Renato's schedule:
November 2-7: Northern California
November 8-12: Chapel Hill, North Carolina
November 12-15: Washington, DC
November 16-19: School of the Americas Vigil, Columbus, Georgia
November 20-21: Gainesville, Florida
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front-page Los Angeles Times article [4] about the Peace Community by Chris Kraul, who joined the delegation in San José
One of the organizations visited by the delegation was the Women's Association of Eastern Antioquia (Asociación de Mujeres del Oriente – AMOR). Following is an article in the Colombian magazine Semana about AMOR.
Life Goes On
From Semana, Aug. 14-21 edition #1.267
Translated by Gilberto Villaseñor
Sixty-four Antioqueñan women recently graduated as "huggers" from a course in supporting victims of the conflict.
Fidelina Ocampo was convinced that her husband listened to her talk everyday while she prepared lunch in her house in AlejandrÃa, Antioquia. She even refused to let anyone sit on her kitchen stool saying, "don't you see that my husband is there." But her husband wasn't listening, nor sat in the kitchen. He had been hacked to pieces by paramilitaries more than a year ago, and authorities have only recovered a black boot and a piece of his skin.
Fidelina's trauma lasted until five months ago, when Enid González, a leader of her town and victim of the conflict, began to "hug" her. In other words, Enid listened to her and counseled her on subjects such as grief, self-care, and domestic violence, and she literally gave her hugs. "Even though it sounds silly, our principal objective is to hug people so they don't feel alone," commented Teresa Franco, one of the 64 women who recently graduated from the course as a "promoter of life and mental health" granted by the Javeriana University of Bogotá, the group ConciudadanÃa, and the Association of Women of Eastern Antioquia (AMOR).
There were in total 19 "hugs" – that is, course meetings - so that 1,000 women who were victims of the armed conflict could recover during the two years of the program. Every month psychologists and social workers counseled the leaders so that they could accompany the victims in their towns through the process of grief and suffering. Guarne, El Peñol, Guatapé, Nariño, Argelia, Rionegro, La Ceja, La Unión, Marinilla y AlejandrÃa benefited from this pilot project that, thanks to its good results, will launch a second round of the program next week in the towns of southwestern Antioquia. This new group will be novel in two ways: ten male victims of the conflict will participate, along with some leaders from Cartagena, Tierralta (Córdoba), and San Pablo (BolÃvar) who are interested in replicating this experience in their departments.
When the promoters sit together and share experiences they had with each of their "hugged" women, they hear stories of pain and hard times of the conflict that has plagued part of Antioquia for years. Some accept that the fear and distrust has been so strong in their towns that many people have not been able to recover.
This is the case for one family in Guarne, all of whose members suffer psychological traumas. The mother, for example, does not talk, and despite the support that a promoter has given her for two years, she has still not uttered one word. The father of this same family, after having been considered one of the most well known leaders of his settlement, is now a self-absorbed and passive man. "We believe that what happened in that settlement had to have been quite grave for that family to be left in such a condition," says Estella Gómez, one of the promoters.
The majority of these women, however, prefer to remember the positive histories, those that speak of homes that have recovered and a less bitter quality of life. Their greatest achievement, without a doubt, has been to decrease suffering and recover the trust of 1,000 victims through the hugs. Many, for example, who previously did not leave their houses or speak with their neighbors, now leave their settlements, sharing with others; even after Sunday mass, they will stay in their town plazas spending time with their new friends.
"The objective is to recover the dignity of the victims", said Juan David Villa, a consultant from the Society of Jesus. And since today there aren't only victims in eastern Antioquia, the idea is to spread this initiative to each region touched by the war. As the 64 promoters say, the idea is to hug even the guerrillas and the paramilitaries.
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Find numbers and talking points here [5]
Read the complete US-Colombia FTA text [6].
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CIP blog [7].
The documents show that the US has cleared for assistance the command staff of the Army's Seventh Division, which includes several brigades with a history of reported abuses. Paramilitaries operated freely in the jurisdiction of the 11th Brigade, which the United States has cleared for direct support according to the document.
The Fourth and 17th Brigades are not listed as receiving direct support, but both are part of the Seventh Division. The Fourth Brigade has been charged with killing dozens of civilians and dressing them in camouflage clothing to look like guerrillas, (See the May Peace Presence Update
Officers and soldiers move between brigades, so that many soldiers in unvetted units have likely received US training. Moreover, the Army Aviation Brigade provides tactical support and mobility to land-based units in the Colombian military. But it is unclear whether the land-based units supported by the Army Aviation Brigade are accounted for in the screening the US carries out for human rights abuses.
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