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Jim Fitz's Colombia Reports - 2003

Introduction Letter
Arrival
Orientation
October 20 Letter
Appeal
Embassy Visit
A "Day Off"
Interesting Stories
CPT and the local church
Another light in the darkness
Interesting Things about Our Life
Big waves in Opon

Introduction Letter      

 Jim Fitz is a member of Plow Creek Mennonite Church,  in Tiskilwa, Illinois. He works full time in peacemaking, which includes about  3 months a year with Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) in Barrancabermeja,  (Barranca for short) Colombia. In the Barranca area, CPT there provides  protection from the threats to and killing of various armed groups by being a nonviolent presence and witness for about 100 farm families. Jim will be in Barranca area Oct.1- Dec. 22.
 
 During the application process for Christian Peacemaker Teams, one of the first things that the CPT interviewer said to Jim, " Do you realize this is a very dangerous situation  and do you have a bunch of people who can pray for you?" This gave Jim  some hesitation but upon some reflection, he felt that he had a church full of people  who would pray for him. He also felt a clear call to this work. He felt he  was ready to try to risk his life for peace in the same way soldiers risk  their lives for war.
 
 I thought I would give people some background on the situation in  Barrancabermeja, Colombia. It is a city of 250,000. It has a large oil  refinery and for protection from the Paramilitaries and Guerrillas is  surrounded by a Colombia Army and Navy Barracks. CPT team provides protection for about 100 farm families who live  in an area call the Opon. The Paramilitaries, Guerrillas, and Colombian  Armed Forces, who all want to control the farmers, oil, and drug traffic in  the area, continually accuse the farmers of siding with and helping their  opponents. CPT simply rides around in a motorized boat looking for any of  the armed groups. When we find them, we talk to them, trying to convince  the soldiers to give up their arms. We trying to persuade them that making peace with guns just doesn't work. As they are often at someone's  home, we stay there until they leave. When we are there they are not very  likely to threaten and kill the farmers, because we will tell on them. We  do this by putting it in the news media there and sending email reports  back to the States to supporters, like you, whom we ask to pray and to let  our political leaders know what US military aid is enabling to happen in
 Colombia.
 
 Our analysis is that because of all the corruption in the Colombian government, the US military aid to Colombia is sold to each of the other armed groups under the table, and than they use it to fight each other and threaten the farmers. It seems we are just fueling the fire of war. For the most part the farmers, who just want to farm and are tired of 40 years of war, are the ones on the other end of the gun.
 
 According to numerous reputable human rights groups, including  Amnesty International, the Paramilitaries commit about 80% of the human  rights abuses. They are a right wing illegal group that overtly claims no  relationship to the government; however, CPT personnel have witnessed cordial  interactions between the Paramilitaries and Columbia Armed Forces. US  government reports have also acknowledged this connection between Paramilitaries and Columbian armed forces. The Paramilitaries and FARC are on the US list of terrorist organizations. They are heavily dependent on  the drug traffic and are often associated with big business and large  land owners.

The Colombian Army and Navy committed another 10% of the human  rights abuses. Because of all the corruption they are involved in drug  traffic also.
 
 The Guerrillas commit the other 10% of the human rights abuses.  They are fighting the above two groups for control. They are the largest  guerrilla group in the world. Reports are that they control about 40% of  Colombia. The FARC is the main guerrilla group. They are somewhat dependent on the drug trade also.
 
 In the main area in which we work, all the people live along the Opon river and its tributaries. Transportation is almost exclusively by boat. We have two  boats which we use to travel amongst the communities. We have a office and house  in Barranca from which we work when we are not in the country.
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Arrival

(letter mailed 10/8/03)
Hello.

We got here last night. All went well, except they hesitated with Erin's visa. After five minutes or so they gave her the OK. We don't know what that was all about.

We had a good time of sharing and prayer at Reba Place, our sister community. It was encouraging to sense their interest and support.

I am here in Bogota till sometime Thursday.

We had a very nice welcome by the brother and sister Mennonites here in Colombia last night. They are very supportive of Christian Peacemaker Teams' work here.

Thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers for us and the work here.

Jim Fitz
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Orientation

Hello,

It was great to see old friends again in the Opon the area where we work,
and sense their true gratefulness for each of us to be there. I sense anew
the importance of our presence for their peace of mind and the security it
means to them. It all makes us feel needed. This makes facing the risks and
dangers, 100´s of mosquitoes outside my mosquito tent waiting for me, the
heat at 95° F, the humidity near 100%, mud most everywhere and such in this
primitive situation worth it all. They are a strong and persevering people
to live in these conditions.

Our first day there Betty told us that guerrillas had walked past her place
two times the day before. They ask her to give them some food, and though she
doesn't want to help any of the armed groups, out of fear for what they
might do, she gave them a bag of food. She shared her fear that with any of
the armed groups being in the area she is afraid that a fire fight between
the different groups will catch her, her family, or other villagers in
between. Their lives are at stake.

Betty also shared about how while visiting her sister in another city,
they went to church. While in church, her sister sensed the need to pray
for their brother. So the whole church prayed for him for some 15 minutes. They
found out later that at that very time her brother and his family were
traveling through where there were a number of Paramilitary
checkpoints, but when the family passed through the area at the time they
were praying the checkpoints were not there. It pays to pray.
Betty's 9-year-old daughter has been with a lot of pain in her back for a
while now. They think it might be kidneys. They are afraid to go to town
for medical help, because they think the Paras might be after them. It is a
real dilemma.

We had a really good hour long conversation with Jack, the Army commander.
The Army has had a permanent presence in the Opon since August 16. Since
this there has been relative peace in the area.They are treating
the people with respect and not threatening and killing farmers as has
happened in the past. The farmers are very grateful for that and we told
Jack that.

Betty shared that all the armed groups seem to be using the same
strategy to win over the people to support them.

Jack shared he has come to see the importance of treating the people with
respect, but when it comes to Guerrillas, they are such criminals that they
just must be eliminated if we are going to have peace in Colombia.

Pierre responded that this a point where we differ. We believe the only way to
bring peace is to love the Guerrillas into changing. For even if we could
eliminate every Guerrilla today, in a few years their children would grow
up, and say they killed my Dad and I am going to get them back. And the
war would start all over again. We are working, praying, and hoping for the
day when the Army, the Paras, and the Guerrillas can sit down at a table
and eat together in joy and peace. That´s the kingdom Christ is calling us
to help to usher in.

Pierre also shared about one historian's perspective that at this present
time each of the armed groups in Colombia are armed to the teeth with the
most modern weapons, and if they try to settle this conflict militarily it
is just going to continue this 40 years of pain and disaster.

Elizabeth shared about how as CPTers we believe there must be
a transformation, a change in the way of thinking, of the individuals.
This change must be in the way we treat each other in families and
in all our personal relationships. Jack mentioned the importance of this
also.

Pierre mentioned that a Para Commander shared with him that he thought
that the US should stop sending any more arms to Colombia,. Pierre said
that what Colombia really needs is schools, housing , health care, roads. etc. It
gives me real hope when I hear the military people are saying things like
this.

We shared about CPT¨s work in Iraq and Palestine/Israel and the perspective
we have of these situations as a result. Jack said that he would never have
known that was what was happening there from the TV news. I shared how
 part of our mission is to carry the truth back to the people of the North as to what is
actually happening in Colombia and the world as a way of correcting some
of the half truths of the TV news. We believe if the US people really
know what is happening, they will not continue to let their taxes be used
for fueling the war in Colombia. The truth will set the people free.

Jack shared how he had been in several battles and that the way they
portray war on TV and the movies is not how it really is. He said they
don´t show how bodies get torn up. He said that if we really knew what it
was like, we wouldn´t think it so great. He also shared that when in battle he just
could not bring himself to shoot children. He also said, because of what
soldiers go through , they learn to pray a lot.

Pierre shared how he respects Jack for trying to do something for peace.
Pierre said that many people just sit and watch TV, complain, and have an
everything-is-hopeless-no-use-trying-do-anything attitude. How easy it
is for us to fall into this type of attitude.

I sense these kind of conversations one can't make happen, but are gifts
from God. We really connected with each other at a deep level. Like all
of us, Jack is full of good and evil. I have come to see and appreciate the
good in him. He gives me hope for the future of Colombia. This kind of
thing doesn't make the news because it's not violent. Please keep Jack
and Betty in your thoughts and prayers.


For security purposes names will be changed in all my reports. Please feel
free to pass these reports on to any one who might find them of
interest. Again I ask you to pray for and work for peace for the end of
arms shipments to Colombia. Call your Senators and Congressman,
1-800-839-5276 today and weekly.
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October 20 Letter

10/20/03 Greetings:

I am in and around the city for a few days. Yesterday we went to the Opon to
cheer at 2 soccer games between the communities. We were there to give them
some security, for they fear the Paras or Guerrillas could use the occasion to
force them to agree to help them in some way, like pay a tax on all the goods
they transport or to bring them supplies from the city. They have done this
before. It is hard to say what you really feel when a group of armed people is
threatening you and your village with their guns. Erin and Pierre stayed the
night at the community's request just to insure that nothing happened later in
the evening.

We live in a house with 3 bedrooms, a long hall, a patio front and back,
kitchen, dining room and living room. Each of us hand washes most of our
clothes. I like that, because it's good exercise for one thing, and it also
feels good to be doing manual work to take care of ourselves. This is a bit of
my simple life philosophy coming through. We use almost no prepared foods, eat
a lot of the many delicious tropical fruits, like papaya, pineapple (which are
so good), and banana. We do all our cleaning. This all makes just living take
a lot of energy and time. Right now my stomach is a bit off so I am eating
papaya and bananas.

Another day: today we accompanied 3 human rights workers to a remote village to
give a workshop. While we were waiting in a town on the journey, three men who
had firearms under their shirts came into town on motorcycles. From some things
that happened, the human rights workers feared that there was a good chance
they might be after them, and so they decided not to continue the trip. So it
feels like that might have been a close call. Your prayers may have had a part
in our protection here.

Here in Barranca in the last 10 days, 22 people were killed by Paramilitaries,
mostly for reasons of political assassination and social cleansing. One of the
persons was a human rights worker from our neighborhood. Just outside her house
she was forced into a taxi, shot, and dumped out dead 5 minutes later at a
school.

When the OFP found about her disappearance, they tried to contact the police,
but no one answered the phone. Previously the police had agreed to an immediate
response in case of human rights violation.

We went to the funeral. I was very impressed that the Priest had the courage
to say to a full big church that we cannot return blood for blood, lest we
continue the cycle of violence. For I am sure many of the mourners had feelings
of anger and revenge, which humanly seems justified. I see the call to return
good for evil as part of God’s acting here to break this cycle of violence.
Thanks be to God.

The basic responses of the human rights organization are publicly denouncing
the Paramilitaries, and pressuring the government to do its job so there is
better security for its citizens. For the problem here is basically that the
Paramilitaries and not the government control the city. For instance in many
neighborhoods, residents pay a forced 2000 peso tax per week to Paramilitaries.
I ask for your help in this by praying for peace and an end to the violence in
Barranca. I ask for you to help also by writing these officials below, and
sharing your knowledge of this situation and asking a full investigation into
this crime. Inquire why the Police did not answer the phone as was supposed to
happen as way of planned government responses to this kind of human rights
violation. US foreign aid should concentrate on bringing back control and peace
to Barranca.

You can say in your response that you learned about this through Jim Fitz who
is a part of Christian Peacemaker Teams in Barrancabermeja. Contacts are
below. Please let your Senators and Representatives (1-800-839-5276) know also.

Matthew Johnson Human Rights in US Colombian Embassies
JohnsonMR2@state.gov
Vice Presidents office Francisco Santos
fsantos@presidencia.gov.co
Presidential Human Rights Programme
Programa Derechos Humanos Precidencia de la Republica:
Email: ppdh@presidencia.gov.co
Fiscal General de la Nacion/ Public Prosecutor Dr. Luis Camillo Osorio
Email: denuncie@fiscalia.gov.co
Public Defendor Dr. Luis Eduardo Cifuentes
Email: defensoria.org.co

Enclosed below is a letter CPT CO sent out that you might find helpful.
We feel the need to pressure the Colombian government to investigate the
murders that are now occurring almost daily in Barranca in order to put an
end to the paramilitary control of this area. The Barranca NGOs here have
directed most of their attention to addressing the failure of the legal
security forces rather than contacting illegal groups. In accompaniment of
their decision to petition the government and call for an end to impunity,
we encourage you to think about writing to the US Embassy in Bogotá, to
your senators and representatives, questioning why the proper authorities
failed to answer the call reporting the disappearance of Esperanza.
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Appeal

Hello,
This is not an easy thing for me to do, especially since only 2 months ago I made an appeal for my own support. So I hope you'll be understanding.

Like many organizations, CPT has been running behind on donations this year, and to date it has spent (between its US and Canada offices) $ 100,000 more than it has taken in.

Yesterday we had to spend $ 276.00 to repair our boat motor, which is hard to do in light of the above. But the lives of many farmers and their wives and children are at stake. So how can we say no to the repairs even if it was a hard bullet to bite?

So to those that are able and feel moved to support Christian Peacemaker team's ministry, I want to ask you for your financial contribution. Please make tax deductible checks out to Christian Peacemaker Teams and send to:
CPT
P.O. Box 6508 Chicago , IL. 60680

Jim Fitz

PS. Could you include that your response was because of Jim Fitz´s appeal. Thanks so much for your consideration on this.

To maintain one US Soldier for war our taxes pay $150,000./yr.
A full time Christian Peacemaker cost $15,000./yr.
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Embassy Visit

Hello

As part of my orientation I went with a delegation to visit Matthew (Mat) Johnson, the US Embassy Human Rights officer. To my surprise we were in agreement with him on many things he had to say. He wasn't the demon I unconsciously expected to encounter. Although I come from a position that generally distrusts anyone from the US government, I am grateful for the grace to be able to see the human being beneath the position.

Here's some things Matthew shared, many of which I found we agreed upon.

According Sindicato de Escuela Nacional de Laborales, a reputable national labor organization, there has been a 68% decrease in labor homicide under the Uribe government in the last year. He added this is a great improvement, but that there is still a long way to go, with which I wholeheartedly agree. Matthew said that Barranca is clearly controlled by the Paramilitaries, and that there are clear links between Paramilitaries and Colombian government forces. I was surprised he admitted this. He added that crime without consequences or impunity was probably the greatest problem in Colombia. It sure is a big problem here.

Matthew also remarked that US Aid is always linked to a government demonstrating respect for human rights. I question how true this is, though it is good that it is a US foreign policy goal, and it is something to challenge our government to follow through on. We asked you to join in challenging our government on this earlier in one of my letters.

During the course of the time we spent with Matthew, we said that we thought that drug rehabilitation in the US was much more effective at solving the drug problem than other means.

Matthew said something to the effect that it might be so, and that he would be happy to see that happen. However, that would take a change in US policy, and that is made in the halls of Congress. This really brought home to me the importance of our tirelessly keeping at letting our legislators know in this instance that drug rehabilitation in the north is much more effective at solving the drug problem than is aerial spraying. This is where your help is so important.From the farmers here we learned that aerial spraying actually forces them to become more dependent on coca because when they spray with Roundup it kills everything. However, the farmers have found that if they pull the leaves off the coca plants soon after the spraying, the plants come back. So actually in the end everything else is killed except coca, and so the farmers become even more dependent on coca. More effort needs to put into
promoting alternative crops. In one area where we work, they do not grow coca; the farmers have told us that they don't ever want to start growing coca because it will just bring the armed groups, which brings violence.  I come away with the feeling that Matthew was in a lot of ways a good person at heart, despite my questions about his smooth talking at times. That's probably why he's a diplomat. I have him on my prayer list now.Please keep these things in your thoughts and prayers as you work on letting your legislators know about this concern. Thanks again for your interest and efforts for a better Colombia.
Jim
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A "Day Off"

Greetings,

I had a refreshing day off in the mountains of Bucaramango. I stayed in a Catholic religious community, a very quiet place which overlooked some huge mountains. Just watching the mountains does something good for my soul it seems. Big clouds rolled in over the mountains which brought rain in the night. The many different kinds of beautiful flowers which are cultivated here just delighted my being. Quiet service is a central theme of this lay community, exemplified in this saying I saw there, “One who does not live to serve, does not have a life worth living.” The mountains, the flowers, and the quiet service atmosphere renewed my spirit.

While I was still home, I came across some literature in Spanish by and about the Peace Pilgrim, a woman who had spend 30 years walking across the USA sharing about peace. The pamphlet gives suggestions about seeking inner peace and global peace and talks about how they are related. I had asked a Colombian Christian Peacemaker whether it would be appropriate for use in Colombia, and after reading it she gave a very positive yes. I wondered whether she was being overly enthusiastic and just trying to be nice to me. But I brought them anyway, trusting in her word.

At the Catholic community, a group people who work in family well-being for the government were having some meetings. I am reading Dale Brown’s book Biblical Pacifism. While we were waiting for lunch one of them noticed the book and said he had read Gandhi and some about Martin Luther King and was interested to see something that relates pacifism to the Bible.

Then a number of them asked me what I was doing, and I proceeded to tell them about Christian Peacemaker Teams, and how we are trying to put into practice the love of enemies that Jesus taught. One fellow said that one of their presenters had just shared that, “Only people who are weak have to use violence to get their way; strong people with conviction do not need violence,” referring to the armed groups in Colombia and the US government in Iraq. It seems that Jesus could have said that.

He said in their work they have a program for soldiers who wish to leave the paramilitaries or guerrillas and integrate back into society. They have to keep the activities of this program secret for the safety of the soldiers. He shared that they have a lot of men that abuse women and children in the families they work with, and that they are trying to change that so that they treat each other with respect instead.

Four persons ended up requesting information on CPT and the pamphlet on the Peace Pilgrim. One fellow, after reading them, kept saying how thankful he was for them, and that he was going to copy and sent them to all his friends. I exchanged emails and phone #’s with two of the persons, and we hope to visit again sometime. They both prayed for me spontaneously at different points in our conversation, which touched me.

Another fellow I met earlier in the week shared he wasn’t part of a church but that he read the Bible and believed in Jesus and that God puts his Spirit in us. He went on to share that he feels a call to try to help people. I encouraged him to pay attention to this leading. He is in his last year studying social work. I shared the Peace Pilgrim pamphlet with him, which he said he would be sure to read. He is now on my email list.

When Paramilitaries they take over a neighborhood, they become the government, and the way they settle disputes is that they ask one of the persons to leave the area or face a possible assassination. I understand this is a fairly common occurrence in Paramilitary controlled areas. It is often the source of the almost daily assassination reports in the newspaper.

A woman who is working for peace in the neighborhood shared with me that they are giving classes teaching people how to be unofficial judges to help settle disputes. This makes it possible for people can’t get along for some reason to go to these peer judges and not to the Paramilitaries.
She works for the Catholic Church, but pointed out that she was really an ecumenist, and she could be part of any church that was Christian. I said after all there is only one God. She has studied some under John Paul Lederach, an expert Mennonite teacher and practitioner of reconciliation.

These mutual encouragement encounters of sharing about trying to follow Jesus’ way of loving enemies in dealing with troubles personally and at the government level are very enriching to me. These encounters seem akin to what Thomas Keating in his book Open Mind Open Heart calls developing spiritual friendships. He defines a spiritual friendship as a relationship of mutual sharing of thoughts, feelings, problems, and spiritual aspirations. I sense I’ve developed this kind of relationship to some degree with many of you. They are gifts.

Peace to you,

Jim Fitz
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Interesting Stories

Greetings from Barranca, Colombia

 

Here are some interesting stories from the recent past.  A few months ago a Paramilitary Commander came to our house in Barranca.  We were very hesitant to let him in, for we feared he might want to hurt us is some way. However, after some conversation in which he said that he had come to tells us thanks for our work in the Opon, we let him in.

 

He than proceeded to take over an hour to tell us that our talking to him and his soldiers had convinced them to reconsider their being a part of the Paramilitaries.  He and a number of his paramilitary soldiers quit the Paramilitaries several months ago and have joined a local Protestant church. He remarked that he was glad to replace his guns with his new weapons of a Bible and some books as a part of his mission for others to seek the way of Jesus. It sounded almost like a direct quote from Ephesians 6.  He was very glad for their new life with the Lord, despite the danger they faced of possible threats from the Paramilitaries for leaving them.

 

He encouraged us to keep up our good work, especially asking the armed groups to lay down their arms and to seek peace by peaceful means.  He said the Opon farmers really appreciate our work

 

Today in our worship time we were thinking about the newspaper report of another assassination and how despite the fact that it feels like a broken record, we must not let our selves become numb. We must continue to realize that it is a sad thing still, especially for the families involved. We proceeded to think about and pray for the families involved.

 

Then our Colombian team member said she has been living with this in the news ever since her birth, and that she felt it good to be part of the CPT Team because it was a reminder that an assassination is not just a statistic but instead is a very sad human tragedy.

 

She then went on to share that the first time she encountered a Paramilitary soldier, she asked him what it was like to kill someone the first time. He said it was when he was 15. It was so hard he had to close his eyes to pull the trigger. He had killed 9 people at that point.

 

We then thought and prayed together about what killing people does to the mind, heart, and soul of the people who kill. Please join us in this.

 

Jim

 

PS

A quote adapted from the Talmud has been meaningful to me in the last days:

 

Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. 

Do justice, now.

Love mercy, now.

You are not obligated to complete the work.

Neither are you free to abandon it.

 
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Greetings from CPT Colombia,

 

A couple of days ago a disabled beggar was assassinated at noon in front of the restaurant where he has begged for years. His assailants were on bikes and without even any kind of masks. They got away on bicycles. The newspaper said all who saw it would not say who did it. It is supposed it was done out of the Nazi philosophy that those whom “the powers that be” think cannot contribute to society or who have the wrong philosophy should just be eliminated. This is known as social cleansing. This made me think that I need to watch that this kind of thinking does not take hold in me. Are there times when I think that way about others?  How easily evil can sneak into our minds. Lord, help.

 

Here are some interesting things about our life:

 

Because this is mosquito season, when we go to the Opon we always take a swatter, a small towel or a shirt, with us. If the mosquitoes are bad we are continually swatting them while in conversation. It is just an acceptable thing to have happen while you talk. They often build a fire that just smolders and smokes alot to the keep the mosquitos away also.

 

I went to the bank to get money for the Team from the ATM machine and one of the bills did not come out of the slot. So I went into the bank to try to get my lost $3.00. After a half hour, including a call to Bogota, they concluded I would have to get it in Chicago. I then went to leave and the door was locked with a chain so I had to wait another ten minutes until they opened it. There are often long lines at the banks. When it gets full inside they lock the door for awhile.  I guess they do this to control how many people enter, but it does try my patience at times.

 

I visited the Baptist church again this morning.  Ebertes, a teacher who went to the Opon with us, said that 40% of the boys in her  school will go into the armed forces upon graduation. She would like us to come to speak to her whole school about why we are here, what we are doing, and why we believe people should lay down their arms. This is another good fruit of our relationship with the Protestant churches.

 

Reading Biblical Pacifism by Dale Brown has made me think about the peace we are seeking here. I often think of it in terms of political peace, but it is a much greater thing we are after.  We want Shalom, which means well-being, salvation, fearlessness, and closeness in the community. It is exemplified in what are known as the fruits of the spirit:  love, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. I used this in a recent worship. It is a real challenge for us to live this Shalom in our CPT Team life.

 

Shalom to you,

 

Jim

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This will be my last report from Colombia. I will continue to write messages about peace, from my home. If you do not want to recieve them, reply with remove in the body of the letter, Thanks again for your interest. shalom, Jim Fitz

Big waves in Opon 1/6/04

Hello,
On Dec. 1st a small barge went up the Opon River filled up barrels and barge with fuel which they stole from the pipe line. The thieves were most likely Colombian gas Mafia Paramilitaries, both illegal groups. On their return they evidently got scared the Guerrillas might attack them so they took what they could and left the barge on the River. The river went down, which caused the barge to sink. Since then the fuel has been polluting the river, causing a real ecological disaster. This contaminates the water supply of the farmers that we accompany on the Opon. CPT discovered this on Dec. 2 and reported it to the authorities,but CPT was unable to get them to do something to stop the polluting. Now the amount of fuel being expelled is down to a trickle as the supply runs out, and we thank God for that.

On December 15, Colombian Mafia-Paramilitaries took another barge with a crane to try to pull out the sunken barge, and in the night, the guerrillas attacked them. This resulted in an explosion which incinerated the tugboat and whoever was in it. The report is that there were four persons on the tugboat. There were three large puddles of blood next to where the barge was docked. Three bodies have since been found floating down the river, and we are on the lookout for more. Just before this happened the Paramilitaries went to a farm and, in front of the family, murdered one of their workers. Again CPT reported this mess to the authorities.

This time we got some action quickly. On December 17 the following organizations sent representatives to investigate: the Defensoria (government human rights watch dog) and numerous human rights organization, the press, the TV, four navy boats, and a big tugboat to try to get the two sunken vessels out. They were not able to pull them out. This has put the Opon, a place almost all the above until now feared to visit, on the map.

On December 18, the Defensor returned to recover two of the bodies and met with the farmers for the first time. He is very concerned for the plight of the farmers, and his making direct involvement with them could be a real milestone in changing the security for the better for the farmers.

It is important to note the plight of the farmers on the Opon,They fear that they will now be accused by the Guerrillas and Paramilitaries of helping their opponents and interrupting their illegal activities, which could mean some serious consequences for the farmers. This puts a lot of pressure on the farmers to displace (abandon their farms), which is in some ways what the Paramilitaries and Guerrillas would welcome, so they can do whatever they wish unseen.

We are keeping a constant presence in the area, and the farmers keep telling us, ¨We are so glad you are here, and if you weren’t, all of us would have by now abandoned our farms.” This crisis has pulled all the farmers together to support each other more also. They seem to be thinking less about abandoning their farms, and more about how they can band together to stay on their land.

We are glad we have begun to practice praying with the farmers. I sense this has helped to calm their fears. Your support in prayer and your thoughts are an important part of our effectiveness at this time. Keep it up.

In a study done recently it was found that what keeps human rights workers like us from being killed or kidnapped is that concerned persons like you know about what we are doing. One of the reasons is that it would make bad publicity for them. So thanks for being there for us. You have an important role.

This concludes my time in Colombia. The new direct relationship that the farmers in the Opon are developing with the government through the Defensoria and with the religious community through the Catholic Priestand the Baptist pastor and their lay helpers could be the beginning of significant improvements for the security of the farmers in the Opon.

Hope and pray with me that the farmers can unite and use the power of God within them to make a clear and strong stand against the evil forces in the armed groups. Little by little with the help of God we will achieve the Peace in Colombia.

Shalom, Jim

PS. If you would like to visit with me about my time in Colombia give me a call. 815 646 4672 I can come to your home. Also I am available for presentations with your church, SS, or organization. I hope to have slides and photos available soon.

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