Newsletters

Date: July 29th 2008

"I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."

-John 10:10


During the National Women's Congress that we wrote about at the beginning of our time in Colombia, we received a special invitation from the Presbytery of Urabá to visit their churches and get to know a different region of the country. This is not something usually offered to accompaniers. However, the Executive Secretary of the Iglesia Presbiteriana de Colombia wanted to take advantage of the fact that we can both "defend ourselves in Spanish – more or less" and show us what the IPC is doing in this region. Urabá has seen much violence and strife, but the churches there continue to work as Christian communities dedicated to living together nonviolently. Though there were many logistics to discuss and work out, we eventually decided that we couldn't pass up such an opportunity, and we accepted the invitation!

Our travel day approached quickly, and before we knew it we were on a plane to Apartadó, the city in Urabá where we would be staying. As we descended for our arrival, we saw an incredible expanse of verdant green. We could hardly take our eyes off the view; this was certainly not the construction-filled, bustling city environment of Barranquilla! While we awaited our luggage, we saw an apparently lazy golden Labrador who sauntered to work when our bags arrived. We were then warmly greeted by the Executive Secretary and his wife, and climbed into a 4 wheel drive vehicle to make the trip from the airport into the city. The vehicle led us to think that we should be ready for ruts and dirt roads. Instead, we wound smoothly around land that seemed to us like a secret garden; at every turn we were greeted by arched trees and hedge-lined roads. Only the military helicopters flying overhead broke this mystical moment. Our hosts joked that these helicopters were br inging us lunch to welcome our arrival to the region.

We passed mile after mile of bananeras (banana plantations), with gorgeous colors of green, yellow, and blue - plastic bags that protect the fruit from mosquitos, but which also contain high concentrations of chemical repellents to which workers are constantly exposed. We came to understand how diverse the production of crops is in the region of Urabá, and how complicated farming has become there. Our hosts pointed out the place along the highway at which lands belonging to small farmers who grow plátanos (plantains) switch to the regions where multinational corporations control the land and job opportunities through their large banana plantations. The more we saw, the more we understood the common phrase, "es muy complicado…", or, "it's very complicated…"

Upon arrival in Apartadó, one of our first stops was at a project for children who are either orphans, or come from families displaced by violence. While there, we went out on the balcony where our host pointed to a set of mountains gazing over the city - "Over there are the guerillas." Then he pointed to the opposite direction just beyond the city - "Over there are the paramilitaries." Suddenly, the geography of the mountains and fields did not seem so lush and inviting, but rather intimidating. We were sandwiched in the middle, just like the residents of Apartadó and the campesinos of the surrounding countryside that we had just driven through. Once again, our physical presence in Urabá - our ability to view the reality of the situation through the geography - was helping us to understand just how complicated things are in the region.

Many of the campesinos we met with in the days that followed shared their grotesque memories of the past which revealed what it can mean to live in the middle. We heard stories of people being killed in their homes, or dragged out onto the streets – "lo hacían indistintamente" / "they did it indiscriminately" was a common explanation given to us. We were told about families being separated and persecuted, merely because of the location on which they lived and farmed, or for resisting alliance with the particular armed group. One woman shared how her daughter had asked the soldier who entered her family's home, "you're not going to kill my father, are you?" This same woman has another child, an eleven-year-old, who ten years after his family's encounter with armed men is still afraid to go into the kitchen – the site of his earliest memories of violence.

In spite of dozens of similar stories, and countless other situations we didn't have the opportunity to hear about, the Presbyterians of Urabá consistently choose to take a non-violent stand which they live out daily. There was a story told by one woman about how "they" (multiple armed groups) would come through her town at night and shoot into the houses randomly. Her husband went out to talk to one of the commanders and suggested that there was no need when looking for the "enemy" to shoot into homes. The commander promised to have his men refrain from shooting into homes from then on. With such simple logic, yet also with great risk and knowing the potential complications of his action, this man stood up to educate a combatant on the ways of peace. We met many similarly modest yet courageous people on our visit to Urabá.

Not only in such times of immanent danger, but also in the midst of ongoing uncertainty, our friends in Urabá are acting non-violently to bring about peace. In recent years, things have "apparently" calmed down in the region ("aparentemente" was the word we heard over and over again). Yet, as several pastors explained to us, this is merely a part of the changing strategies of the armed groups. The threat of violence is still very much present, if only more hidden, leaving many people in Urabá uncertain of their level of safety. Looking up to the mountains or over to the fields just beyond their towns, the presence of armed groups is still palpable. Yet, as our host preached one Sunday, "la iglesia es la comunidad que celebra la vida" – "the church is the community that celebrates life." The people we met with during our visit do not look at land as a chance to rise in power over others. Instead, the vibrant members of the Presbytery of Urabá take earnestly their stewardship of each other, their children, and the beautiful land – with nostalgia for the lands they have had to leave, and with hope for the portions they are still able to inhabit. They see this as their role as a part of God's creation thriving in the midst of, and in spite of, societal plans for acquisition, violence, and domination. Their faith rests firmly in a spontaneous, lively worship which is biblically based. They step out on that faith with nonviolent action, offering encouragement, solidarity, and a sense of place for uprooted campesinos who have suffered horrible violence. They dream of projects to recover communities from the psychological damage of such violence, and work ceaselessly to educate as many children as they can in order to foster a better future.

Our five day visit to Urabá was both heartbreaking and inspiring, and we will be forever grateful for the ways in which it has changed us. The Presbytery of Urabá challenged us to new levels of thinking about what it means to live life, and live it more abundantly. It also furthered and renewed our commitment to live in solidarity with our Colombian sisters and brothers. We hope you will join us in this calling, in whatever way you can.

La Paz de Dios,

Susan Heily and Carrie Fox