Maybe you shouldn't join the Christian Peacemaker Team delegation to northeast Antioquía.  Maybe you are like those activists I met during my speaking tour in Canada, whom I admire because they are actively in solidarity with Colombians resisting oppression and violence without ever even having met any of them.  If you are such a person, there is probably no good reason for you to spend money and contribute to global warming by taking a flight to Colombia to join a delegation.  Your energy and commitment are needed to do work in your home countries on behalf of victims of violence and neo-colonialism in Colombia. 

Speaking for myself, I need to be here in order not to feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of the problem.  I know the statistics, and understand the root of the problem: the violent dispossession and displacement of peoples from their traditional territory in order to pave the way for the looting of resources by lumber, oil, agro-industrial, bio-fuel and other corporate interests.  But in my case, the cerebral understanding of the problem only depresses me, and I end up feeling overwhelmed and powerless.  For me, it is my personal relationships with the victims and witnessing their tireless and courageous struggle for justice in the face of incredible odds and that keep me going.