For some reason, the people here have a really hard time with my name…
So Chris becomes Cris (which in español sounds like ‘crease’), and that’s how I’ve been called in Chile, Brazil, Mexico, etc. (even in Africa, where Cris became Driss… easy enough).
Now, Christopher translates to Cristóbal (ie, Cristóbal Colón = Christopher Columbus). However, a past FOR volunteer took on Cristóbal, so in order to avoid confusion, the team thought it best to not go that route, and that I should stick with Cris.
But for the people here in the PC, they just couldn’t grab hold of this name, even though it is the first syllable of Cristóbal or Cristian, both common names. Maybe it’s because one-syllable names are very rare here, I don’t know.
In any case, one of the young boys in La Unión was over at our house, and my teammate Sofía asked him if he knew my name. He responded proudly “Leech!” We couldn’t help but laugh… Okay, he’s still learning how to speak well and leech does kind of rhyme with Cris…
So then we were at the burial of a man who recently died in La Unión. (His name was Escobar and he was one of the PC’s musicians. In fact, just a few days before he passed away, he was showing me how to play guitar ‘a la colombiana’… I was sorry to see him go and am really bummed I didn’t get to learn more from him…) Anyway, they were burying him in the Cemetery and that same child saw me across the way and yelled out “Leech!” So rad. Leech has no meaning in español (leech is sanguijuela), so no one here bats an eye, but for someone with a huge smile on their face to call you a blood sucking creature, is pretty funny…
In the meantime, a bunch of relatives of residents of the PC began arriving to La Unión in order to spend the Semana Santa (Holy Week). Sofía started introducing me as ‘Gris,’ which is the color grey in Spanish, and people picked it up right away. She said, “See? People remember it easily. You might just have to live with Gris.” I thought, yeah, it’s my nickname (which almost everyone in the PC has; very few are called by their real name). But, why does Cris have to rhyme with an ugly color? Well, I guess, that’s what I’ve come to be here in the tropical Colombian countryside… nothing more than a Leech Gris!!!
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Bogotá y el camino hacia Urabá
So, first, an apology for neglecting to post here for so long...
But seriously, if you knew what our intenet in the community was like.......
Anyway, I spent my first week and a half here in Colombia in the capital city, Bogotá. It was a tale of two halves....
The first three days were spent running around the city with my FOR teammates, visiting the awesome viewpoint called Monserrate, and staying out dancing each night until the wee hours of the morning. It was awesome: saw an awesome Colombian movie, met some Colombian cuties, and had an insane night on Super Bowl Sunday...
But everything has a balance, which required that I spend the next couple days really sick: sore throat, couldn't or didn't want to eat, chest pains... (it's ironic: getting sick in the comforts of the big city, while in the far-out countryside of tropical deseases I've been completely healthy hmm)
In any case, I left Bogotá by bus the night of February 8th. I arrived with my teammate to Colombia's second biggest city, Medellín, early the next morning. Our sebsequent bus up to Apartadó, suffered a flat tire after only 3 three minutes of leaving the terminal... And it was classic Latin America: cute kids on the other side of the bus yelling at 5am, while sending us their brillant smiles and laughter...
Anyway, the bus ride was amazing. The Colombian countryside is one of the most beautiful I've seen: passing up and down tropical valleys, seeing coffee and banana plantations, stopping in quaint colonial towns... all the while soaking in the groove of Colombian music blasting in the bus.
In any case, it really hit home again why the Colombian State has never been able to really assert control over its territory (thus leaving a space for illegal groups such as guerrillas and paramilitaries): the geography is just so diverse, with hill after hill and lush vegetation impeding widespread domination of political control by any one entity. Obviously, there are other reasons as to the government's inability to do assert its control, but the factor of geography is vividly one of them.
After hours and hours of bus travel, we made it to Apartadó, the capital of the municipality where the Peace Community of San José is located. I bought my pair of rubber boots (key for the walks I would be doing throughout the countryside) and drank some tasty juices of local fruits (including a red and sweet one call zapote that's soo delicious... mmm Colombia has some of the best fruits in the world: not only mangos, papayas, bananas, but also unknown ones to foreigners like guanábana, feijoa, tomate de árbol...)
In the late afternoon we got on the chivero (jeep) that would take us up to San José. In San Josesito, the site of the main PC settlement, I met a lot of the community members and then we loaded up our bags on a horse, which we would take with us up to La Unión (where the FOR volunteers live). On the way up the sun set, leaving me to try to avoid tripping over the rocky terrain through the darkness. I had an amazing conversation with one of the PC members about the history of the community and their cooperative farming groups. Along the way we stopped at a house that sold us boleys de coco (coconut-flavored ice bars), to which I became addicted.
Finally we arrived at La Unión. The first house I visited, the man sitting there with his two cute kids offered me deer meat he had hunted the week before, which was pretty good. In fact, since most FOR volunteers are vegetarians, the people are stoked to hear that I eat meat! Anyway, the next house I went to was overflowing with adorable kids. We stopped and chatted for a while, sharing names, most of which I wouldn't really learn for a while...
Eventually we made it to the FOR house, and one of my teammates cooked an awesome plate of rice, beans and veggies for us... And thus went my first night in La Unión and the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó.
But seriously, if you knew what our intenet in the community was like.......
Anyway, I spent my first week and a half here in Colombia in the capital city, Bogotá. It was a tale of two halves....
The first three days were spent running around the city with my FOR teammates, visiting the awesome viewpoint called Monserrate, and staying out dancing each night until the wee hours of the morning. It was awesome: saw an awesome Colombian movie, met some Colombian cuties, and had an insane night on Super Bowl Sunday...
But everything has a balance, which required that I spend the next couple days really sick: sore throat, couldn't or didn't want to eat, chest pains... (it's ironic: getting sick in the comforts of the big city, while in the far-out countryside of tropical deseases I've been completely healthy hmm)
In any case, I left Bogotá by bus the night of February 8th. I arrived with my teammate to Colombia's second biggest city, Medellín, early the next morning. Our sebsequent bus up to Apartadó, suffered a flat tire after only 3 three minutes of leaving the terminal... And it was classic Latin America: cute kids on the other side of the bus yelling at 5am, while sending us their brillant smiles and laughter...
Anyway, the bus ride was amazing. The Colombian countryside is one of the most beautiful I've seen: passing up and down tropical valleys, seeing coffee and banana plantations, stopping in quaint colonial towns... all the while soaking in the groove of Colombian music blasting in the bus.
In any case, it really hit home again why the Colombian State has never been able to really assert control over its territory (thus leaving a space for illegal groups such as guerrillas and paramilitaries): the geography is just so diverse, with hill after hill and lush vegetation impeding widespread domination of political control by any one entity. Obviously, there are other reasons as to the government's inability to do assert its control, but the factor of geography is vividly one of them.
After hours and hours of bus travel, we made it to Apartadó, the capital of the municipality where the Peace Community of San José is located. I bought my pair of rubber boots (key for the walks I would be doing throughout the countryside) and drank some tasty juices of local fruits (including a red and sweet one call zapote that's soo delicious... mmm Colombia has some of the best fruits in the world: not only mangos, papayas, bananas, but also unknown ones to foreigners like guanábana, feijoa, tomate de árbol...)
In the late afternoon we got on the chivero (jeep) that would take us up to San José. In San Josesito, the site of the main PC settlement, I met a lot of the community members and then we loaded up our bags on a horse, which we would take with us up to La Unión (where the FOR volunteers live). On the way up the sun set, leaving me to try to avoid tripping over the rocky terrain through the darkness. I had an amazing conversation with one of the PC members about the history of the community and their cooperative farming groups. Along the way we stopped at a house that sold us boleys de coco (coconut-flavored ice bars), to which I became addicted.
Finally we arrived at La Unión. The first house I visited, the man sitting there with his two cute kids offered me deer meat he had hunted the week before, which was pretty good. In fact, since most FOR volunteers are vegetarians, the people are stoked to hear that I eat meat! Anyway, the next house I went to was overflowing with adorable kids. We stopped and chatted for a while, sharing names, most of which I wouldn't really learn for a while...
Eventually we made it to the FOR house, and one of my teammates cooked an awesome plate of rice, beans and veggies for us... And thus went my first night in La Unión and the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó.
Context
here's some background info regarding the Colombian context, such as summaries of the FARC, Uribe, SJA, Plan Colombia, etc.
Colombia- With a population of 43 million people, Colombia is South America's second most populous nation, after Brazil. Three times the size of California and located just north of the equator, the diverse geography includes tropical beaches, river valleys, the Andes mountain range, as well as large expanses of plains and Amazon rainforest. The culture is famous for its music and dance, with popular styles including salsa, merengue and vallenato. The economy is dependent upon both legal (oil, coffee, emeralds, bananas, flowers, textiles, etc) and illegal goods (cocaine, heroin). Aproximately half of the population lives below the poverty line (49%). Colombia has been engaged in armed conflict since the 1940s, following the assassination of populist presidential candidate Jorge Eliécer Gaitán. Rooted in the competition for land and political power, the subsequent civil war between State and Paramilitary forces against Guerrilla rebel groups continues until today.
Peace Community of San Jose de Apartadó- The PC of SJA is made up of campesinos (peasants, rural farmers) that have lived in the area of San José for over 40 years. In cooperative work groups, they cultivate a diverse variety of crops including corn, yucca, beans, cacao, bananas, mangos, etc. Located in the northern region of Colombia known as Urabá, a conflict zone contested between guerrilla and state forces since the 1970s, the PC was established in 1997 in response to escalated levels of violence in the area and the forced displacement of the town La Unión, which was carried out by paramilitaries in 1995. The PC was founded on the principal of civilian neutrality within armed conflicts, backed by international law. Therefore, the PC of SJA does not carry weapons or support any of the armed actors involved in Colombia's war, including guerrillas, paramilitaries or the Colombian Police and Military. Still, in the ten plus years since its founding, over 170 peace community members and leaders have been killed with impunity; not one of the cases of human rights abuses brought against the State have been brought to trial.
(Clarification: A Police Post was installed in the actual town of San José in 2005, forcing the displacement of Peace Community members living there to build a new settlement nearby named San Josecito, or "little San Jose." Other villages in the area also form part of the PC, including La Unión, where I am currently living.)
Guerrillas/FARC- insurgent rebel groups that emerged in the 1960s with the aim to redistribute the nation's wealth and political power to the lower classes in Colombia. Although urban guerrilla groups have existed, the insurgency is principally a rural peasant movement, especially today, with the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) being the largest guerrilla group. During the 1980s and 90s, after the complete assassination of members of their left-wing political party, the Unidad Popular (whose politicians had won many elections and carried out social projects throughout the country, including in SJA), the FARC lost not only its most moderate/intellectual members, but also most, if not all, of its political mission, becoming essentially an exclusively criminal organization. Current funding derives from taxing of coca farmers, the drug trade and kidnapping. Responsible for approximately 20% of human rights abuses in Colombia, including over 20 of the 170 extrajudicial killings suffered in the PC.
Paramilitaries/AUC- private right wing armies or death squads formed to protect private landlords from guerrilla encroachments and business elites from working and peasant class movements and unions. The AUC (United Autodefense Forces of Colombia) became an agglomeration of most of these groups, which 'officially' demobilized (laid down their arms) in 2006. During the demobilization process, many openly admitted their links and cooperation with the Colombian Armed Forces. In any case, many never demobilized at all and those that did are more often than not rearming themselves in 'new' illegal armed groups, such as the Águilas Negras. Historically financed by private landlords, business interests and drug lords, they are currently among the country's principal drug processors and traffickers. Paramilitaries, in their collusion with the Colombian State's Armed Forces, commit approximately 80% of the country's human rights violations. In fact, State and Paramilitary forces are responsible for the large majority of the 170 extrajudicial killings of PC members and leaders.
Álvaro Uribe Vélez- A right-wing Independent, Uribe was elected President of Colombia in 2002 on a hardline platform of ending Colombia's armed conflict through active military force against the FARC, after negotiations with the guerrilla group had failed under previous administrations. His intense detest of the guerrilla derives from the fact that his father was murdered by the FARC. Uribe remains very popular among many Colombians, especially those living in urban areas, due to increased safety in the country, particularly for securing the nation's main highways for travel. On the other hand, he and his family have strong ties with paramilitary groups, and many peasant farmers in rural areas, such as those in the PC of SJA, continue to suffer violence perpetrated by Uribe's led Public Forces and their paramilitary counterparts. For example, the massacre of 8 PC members in 2005, including community leader Luis Eduardo Guerra and three children, is attributed to the Colombian military.
Plan Colombia- US AID package initiated in 2000 under President Clinton to combat the drug trade, with almost all funds received being in the form of military aid (helicopters, soldier training, intelligence, etc.). Under President Bush, Plan Colombia began openly providing financing for the Colombian Armed Forces in their war against guerilla insurgents. Despite the aid being contingent upon respect for civilian human rights and prosecution of those responsible for past HR violations, impunity continues unabated, as do massacres and forced displacements of communities at the hands of the State and paramilitary groups. Further, after 8 years and over $6 billion dollars in aid, drug trafficking to and drug use in the US has remained constant, if not increased. It is curious that the US government would send funds in the name of combating the drug trade to a government allied with paramilitary groups, who are in fact among the world's most prominent narcotraffickers… Colombia is now the fourth largest recipient of US military aid in the world, after Iraq, Israel and Egypt.
(Note to US citizens: A growing number of congressmen and women are realizing how big of a waste of our tax dollars this program has been; I encourage all to write their Senators and Representatives in opposition to Plan Colombia due to its failure in terms of combating the drug trade and improving the human rights situation in Colombia. You can find out who are your specific senators/reps at http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/ )
FOR- The Fellowship of Reconciliation, an interfaith peace organization founded in 1914, with whose Colombia Peace Presence team I am currently volunteering. Invited by the PC of SJA to accompany their peace process in 2002, FOR has since provided a permanent international presence in La Unión and throughout the region to serve as witnesses of human rights violations committed against the PC. FOR pressures Colombian and US officials to cease attacks on the community and end impunity of past violations of international human rights law in SJA.
Colombia- With a population of 43 million people, Colombia is South America's second most populous nation, after Brazil. Three times the size of California and located just north of the equator, the diverse geography includes tropical beaches, river valleys, the Andes mountain range, as well as large expanses of plains and Amazon rainforest. The culture is famous for its music and dance, with popular styles including salsa, merengue and vallenato. The economy is dependent upon both legal (oil, coffee, emeralds, bananas, flowers, textiles, etc) and illegal goods (cocaine, heroin). Aproximately half of the population lives below the poverty line (49%). Colombia has been engaged in armed conflict since the 1940s, following the assassination of populist presidential candidate Jorge Eliécer Gaitán. Rooted in the competition for land and political power, the subsequent civil war between State and Paramilitary forces against Guerrilla rebel groups continues until today.
Peace Community of San Jose de Apartadó- The PC of SJA is made up of campesinos (peasants, rural farmers) that have lived in the area of San José for over 40 years. In cooperative work groups, they cultivate a diverse variety of crops including corn, yucca, beans, cacao, bananas, mangos, etc. Located in the northern region of Colombia known as Urabá, a conflict zone contested between guerrilla and state forces since the 1970s, the PC was established in 1997 in response to escalated levels of violence in the area and the forced displacement of the town La Unión, which was carried out by paramilitaries in 1995. The PC was founded on the principal of civilian neutrality within armed conflicts, backed by international law. Therefore, the PC of SJA does not carry weapons or support any of the armed actors involved in Colombia's war, including guerrillas, paramilitaries or the Colombian Police and Military. Still, in the ten plus years since its founding, over 170 peace community members and leaders have been killed with impunity; not one of the cases of human rights abuses brought against the State have been brought to trial.
(Clarification: A Police Post was installed in the actual town of San José in 2005, forcing the displacement of Peace Community members living there to build a new settlement nearby named San Josecito, or "little San Jose." Other villages in the area also form part of the PC, including La Unión, where I am currently living.)
Guerrillas/FARC- insurgent rebel groups that emerged in the 1960s with the aim to redistribute the nation's wealth and political power to the lower classes in Colombia. Although urban guerrilla groups have existed, the insurgency is principally a rural peasant movement, especially today, with the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) being the largest guerrilla group. During the 1980s and 90s, after the complete assassination of members of their left-wing political party, the Unidad Popular (whose politicians had won many elections and carried out social projects throughout the country, including in SJA), the FARC lost not only its most moderate/intellectual members, but also most, if not all, of its political mission, becoming essentially an exclusively criminal organization. Current funding derives from taxing of coca farmers, the drug trade and kidnapping. Responsible for approximately 20% of human rights abuses in Colombia, including over 20 of the 170 extrajudicial killings suffered in the PC.
Paramilitaries/AUC- private right wing armies or death squads formed to protect private landlords from guerrilla encroachments and business elites from working and peasant class movements and unions. The AUC (United Autodefense Forces of Colombia) became an agglomeration of most of these groups, which 'officially' demobilized (laid down their arms) in 2006. During the demobilization process, many openly admitted their links and cooperation with the Colombian Armed Forces. In any case, many never demobilized at all and those that did are more often than not rearming themselves in 'new' illegal armed groups, such as the Águilas Negras. Historically financed by private landlords, business interests and drug lords, they are currently among the country's principal drug processors and traffickers. Paramilitaries, in their collusion with the Colombian State's Armed Forces, commit approximately 80% of the country's human rights violations. In fact, State and Paramilitary forces are responsible for the large majority of the 170 extrajudicial killings of PC members and leaders.
Álvaro Uribe Vélez- A right-wing Independent, Uribe was elected President of Colombia in 2002 on a hardline platform of ending Colombia's armed conflict through active military force against the FARC, after negotiations with the guerrilla group had failed under previous administrations. His intense detest of the guerrilla derives from the fact that his father was murdered by the FARC. Uribe remains very popular among many Colombians, especially those living in urban areas, due to increased safety in the country, particularly for securing the nation's main highways for travel. On the other hand, he and his family have strong ties with paramilitary groups, and many peasant farmers in rural areas, such as those in the PC of SJA, continue to suffer violence perpetrated by Uribe's led Public Forces and their paramilitary counterparts. For example, the massacre of 8 PC members in 2005, including community leader Luis Eduardo Guerra and three children, is attributed to the Colombian military.
Plan Colombia- US AID package initiated in 2000 under President Clinton to combat the drug trade, with almost all funds received being in the form of military aid (helicopters, soldier training, intelligence, etc.). Under President Bush, Plan Colombia began openly providing financing for the Colombian Armed Forces in their war against guerilla insurgents. Despite the aid being contingent upon respect for civilian human rights and prosecution of those responsible for past HR violations, impunity continues unabated, as do massacres and forced displacements of communities at the hands of the State and paramilitary groups. Further, after 8 years and over $6 billion dollars in aid, drug trafficking to and drug use in the US has remained constant, if not increased. It is curious that the US government would send funds in the name of combating the drug trade to a government allied with paramilitary groups, who are in fact among the world's most prominent narcotraffickers… Colombia is now the fourth largest recipient of US military aid in the world, after Iraq, Israel and Egypt.
(Note to US citizens: A growing number of congressmen and women are realizing how big of a waste of our tax dollars this program has been; I encourage all to write their Senators and Representatives in opposition to Plan Colombia due to its failure in terms of combating the drug trade and improving the human rights situation in Colombia. You can find out who are your specific senators/reps at http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/ )
FOR- The Fellowship of Reconciliation, an interfaith peace organization founded in 1914, with whose Colombia Peace Presence team I am currently volunteering. Invited by the PC of SJA to accompany their peace process in 2002, FOR has since provided a permanent international presence in La Unión and throughout the region to serve as witnesses of human rights violations committed against the PC. FOR pressures Colombian and US officials to cease attacks on the community and end impunity of past violations of international human rights law in SJA.
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