|
March 2002
Dear Friends,
It was a Wednesday like any other…Well no, not exactly
like any other. The Colombian Presbyterian Church was hosting
some important visitors from the PC(USA) national office in Louisville,
including Sarah Lisherness, from the Peacemaking Program, Vernon
Broyles, from the office of Social Justice, and Maria Arroyo,
coordinator for South America. The group had visited different
areas of the country where we have work with desplazados, displaced
persons who have fled their homes because of the violence, and
they were finishing up their tour here in Barranquilla.
We had just returned from a settlement of desplazados on the
outskirts of Barranquilla, where the presbytery is working with
some 250 desplazados and their families. The visitors saw the
crude huts of sticks these families are living. They heard dramatic
stories of men and women who escaped from violence or threats
of violence, including a letter that arrived the day before their
visit, threatening leaders of the settlement who were active in
organizing the families so they could claim their rights. The
visitors learned about the needs of the desplazados and the ways
in which the Presbyterian Church is
responding to this crisis.
For example, they saw the meager trickle of water that serves
all the settlement, saw families lined up with buckets to carry
water back to their huts, and heard how the municipal government
has refused to connect the settlement to the city water system.
We went with representatives of the groups to speak to the governor
about the water problem, but there was no response. Finally, the
presbytery donated almost a mile of hose so the desplazados could
hook up to the nearest available connection. City officials tried
to break up that connection, but the desplazados blocked the main
highway out of Barranquilla until the government finally agreed
the hookup could remain in place.
But as we sat down to lunch, there was news on TV about a kidnapping
by the guerrilla forces known as the FARC. That evening the president
announced on national TV that the Colombian government was ending
the peace negotiations and the army was authorized to begin retaking
the extensive demilitarized zone where dialogues with the guerrillas
had been held.
That first night over 200 air raids were carried out. The destruction
of highways, bridges and buildings in the rural areas, which is
expected to continue for months, is being reported in the news
media as evidence of military success. But from the very first
day of the bombing there have been civilian victims. In the rural
village of La Ye, for example, one whole family was killed—the
father was mutilated, his little boy two years of age had his
head blown off, and his wife and baby daughter were gravely injured.
In another home, 15-year-old Kenny Lozada lost his two legs and
died the next day for lack of medical attention. Other civilians,
innocent bystanders in the conflict, have suffered mutilation,
splinters in the lungs, loss of arms and legs, and many other
injuries. And there is a notable increase in the number of desplazados
who are fleeing the former demilitarized zone because of threats
and fears.
The operation to recover the demilitarized zone, suggestively
named "thanatos" (Greek for "death"), appears
to have broad civil support. Rapid interviews by the news media
with spokespersons for industrial associations, the hierarchy
of the Catholic Church, and men and women in the street have indicated
approval for the president's policy of open warfare against the
guerrilla forces. Just before the latest events, the news media
had carried out a significant campaign underlining contradictions
in the peace process, and the candidate of the extreme right,
directly related to one of the paramilitary groups, was hailed
in the polls as the probable winner of the presidency in the elections
next May. These factors helped to create a favorable atmosphere
for the attacks which are now being carried out.
But I want you to know that large parts of the Colombian population
feel consternation and indignation at this escalation of violence
and continue to believe that the solution to the conflict must
come as a result of negotiation and compromise. A statement this
week by an ecumenical network of churches working for peace in
Colombia, including the Presbyterian Church, blamed the breakdown
in the peace process on international pressures, plus the internal
pressures of certain sectors of the Colombian society which hold
that military action is the only solution to the conflict in Colombia,
aggravated by the continuing "dirty war" being carried
out by paramilitary troops. They also
note that the president’s decision reflected provocations
on the part of the guerrillas, and manipulation of information
by the news media. The recent kidnapping of a presidential candidate
in the zone has complicated this problem even more.
The churches are asking the Colombian government to permit church
and social agencies into the war zone to guarantee protection
and humanitarian aid for the civilian population. They are also
asking churches and other organizations around the world to speak
out against the war here and to pressure their respective governments
to guarantee protection of civilians and those who provide for
their needs.
And finally, the churches ask for prayer as they continue to
work for a negotiated solution that will bring peace and justice
to Colombia. I join in this request: Please do keep Colombia and
the church here in your prayers.
Blessings on you,
Alice Winters
The 2002 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 262
P.S. Let me share with you the following statement by the Executive
Secretary of the Presbyterian Church of Colombia:
|
