CPTnet
April 24, 2004

COLOMBIA REFLECTION: Everyday Hope

by Erin Kindy

"God bless the grass that's gentle and low

Its roots they are deep and its will is to grow.

And God bless the truth, the friend of the poor,

 And the wild grass growing at the poor one's door.

And God bless the grass." (Malvina Reynolds)

I remember Dad's voice singing this song when I was little. In a recent trip
to our accompaniment area in the Opón I saw the resilience of life coming
forth despite the hard concrete of death threats, armed men shooting off
their guns in people's front patios and the lack of school teachers--just
some of the difficult aspects of daily life along the Opón River.

I recognized the green blades of hope as we ate arepas (corn cakes) and hot
chocolate, laughed with a young couple at their three-month-old daughter and
admired their well-built house.

Then I smiled as I watched a young man return with milk from a neighbor's
house carrying his young cousin on his shoulders to visit Grandma. I asked
about his corn crop. He said one patch is doing well, but the other was
planted earlier and suffered from the heat of the
dry season. When you plant your crop you hope for the best and live with
what comes.

Around lunchtime we beached our motorized canoe at the home of a good
friend on the shore of the shallow, marshy Opón Lake. Lots of other people
were there. Rosa* explained that most of them had come out from
Barrancabermeja to catch fish for their families for Holy Week. Her husband
was helping the men who didn't have much fishing experience. I looked at the
sleeping spaces made up on their patio
while Rosa cheerfully explained, "We work as a community," and made
lunch for everyone in her yard.

In the hottest part of the day we went to visit some other friends. It was
siesta time and we found the whole family lying down on their cool concrete
floor. We quietly chatted with them as their youngest daughter blew bubbles
through a wand that left wet blotches on the concrete and her hands sticky
with soap. Finally even she calmed down and, to the snores of her father,
fell asleep sporting my teammate's hat. We all rested and allowed the heat
of our bodies to seep away into the cool
concrete.

As I looked back over the day I reflected that the violence and difficulties
cannot block out the hope and simple pleasures of everyday life.

*Not her real name.