Newsletters

Date: March 19th 2008

March 17, 2008

Today Barbara (my fellow accompanier) and I left Barranquilla and spent the morning at a farm just outside of the city. This particular 40-acre plot of land is being rented so that four farmers can cultivate their crops of watermelon, yucca, corn and beans. The two of us had the pleasure of following one of the farmers as he explained the seeding process for the watermelon.

Afterward, we were treated to fruit from one of the trees on the farm and some delightful Colombian coffee, which was served in the shell of another fruit. As we ate, drank, and enjoyed their hospitality, our conversation began. Unfortunately, the stories we heard were not nearly as kind as the company we kept.

The underlying tragedy that surrounds this particular farm is that all four of the farmers have been displaced from their homes.

One man left his home because it was no longer economically viable to live as a farmer in his hometown.

The other three men were forced from their homes.

Of these three, one man simply said that he and his wife left their town when the violence in the region became too much to bear.

One man was warned that a paramilitary group would be coming to take his children away from him. Because of this advance warning, he had time enough to hide them in different parts of the region. When the paramilitary came to collect his children, the man told them that they were off studying, but they would be back in a month or so. The paramilitary left; however, they later sent a bomb, via donkey, to his farm—a clear warning that the paramilitary did not appreciate his lack of willingness to send his children with the group and that the man's life would not last much longer if he stayed where he was. So the man left, and the paramilitary took over his farm.

The last man had been displaced three times total, twice due to his civic participation. His desire to extend a helping hand to his neighbor had earned him death threats that forced him to leave.

To add tragedy upon tragedy, these men are but four out of more than four million internally displaced persons in Colombia.

As we were walking through the watermelon patches earlier in the day, German (the accompaniment program coordinator in Colombia) framed the importance of the farm for us.

He said that the Presbyterian Church of Colombia, unlike the U.S. and Colombian governments, does not feel that the human rights situation in Colombia is getting better. It is, in fact, getting worse.

But, amongst all of the violence and pain and injustice, these four men found a way to reconnect with the life they knew. Every seed planted on the farm is another step toward cultivating a new life.

This isn't to say that life is easy for these four men. Far from it. They still have many, many obstacles to overcome.

However, these four farmers are now growing hope, along with watermelon, yucca, corn, and beans.

-Jason Woods, Accompanier