CPTnet
February 26, 2002
COLOMBIA: Letter from Pierre Schantz

[The following letter sent by Pierre Schantz to his supporters has been
edited for length. Quotation marks indicate that real names have not been
used for the security of the people involved.]

Hello everyone. Well the work is as complicated as ever. One of the
community leaders was kidnapped on Saturday and has not been found so we
are very worried. His name is Manuel and we ask your prayers for him. I am
doing ok but the last few days have been crazy running around trying to
find him. It's pretty exhausting.

We had a great day last Sunday. The communities we accompany and the
communities up river from us got together to play soccer. These two
communities have not come together in twenty years. Down river has been
controlled by the guerilla and up river by the paramilitary so the civilian
populations are stigmatized by the group that controls them. Last October
we went up river to talk with the communities about our presence in the
area because there were some strong rumours that we were working with the
guerilla. Since then we have returned once a month or so to visit. After a
few visits our boat driver and members of the other community started
talking about a soccer game.

About fifteen players came. Others came just to watch. The community we
accompany didn't have any uniforms but the other team had two so they lent
one. Scott played with the community we accompany. So as to balance things
out, I cheered for the other team. In the second half I threw on a jersey
and tried my luck but I was playing soccer with guys who have been playing
since they were born, so I didn't have much of a chance.

At the end of the day a big pot of soup was made and everyone ate and
celebrated. It would have been a perfect day except heavily armed
paramilitaries arrived. We know the commander "Jonathan" so we went to talk
to him. He knew about the soccer game and was glad to see it happened. At
one point he called me over and accused one of the people we accompany,
"Jose," of being a guerrilla collaborator. This is someone I know has
nothing to do with the guerrilla. "Jonathan" used to be a guerrilla member
( some guerrilla leave and become paras) in the area and said that "Jose"
had carried them (guerrilla) around in his boat. We called him over and
talked it through. Very few people, including Jose, collaborate willingly
with either group. The risk is too high. But when people with big guns show
up... well they either do as they say or die

In the end everyone left for home a little uneasy, but still happy with the
day's events and looking forward to the next game which we hope stays
gun-free.

Peace, Pierre