CPTnet
17 December 2007
COLOMBIA LETTER: Pineapples and nightmares

by Rachel Cloud

[Note: the following letter that Cloud wrote to her supporters has been
edited for length and clarity. A longer version of the letter is available
at <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cptcolombia/message/240>]

In my journey with Christian Peacemaker Teams based in Barrancabermeja,
Colombia, I currently struggle most with the contrast I live. Some days I
am thanking God for the joy of the bright stars and croaking frogs that
welcome me to sleep on our Opón river community accompaniment. I'm
learning which exotic fruit seeds are edible, and that pineapple of a
particular shade of yellow is a direct bridge to heaven. Floating on my
back in the middle of San Silvestre Lake on a day off, I marveled at the
clouds above me and the fact that stingrays and alligators allowed me to
share the same water.

Other days are heavy with sadness, fear, and injustice. Translating
articles for Christian Peacemaker Teams releases, I begin to cry as I look
for the right Spanish words to express the pain of war-fueled child abuse.
I woke up one Sunday morning to a cell phone ringing. The Popular Women's
Organization reported that their president Yolanda had been violently
threatened, her house torn apart and a gun held to her head at 7:30 a.m.
that day. Violent actors targeted her because she is a strong, vocal leader
for human rights. She stirs up peace, and it challenges them in a way only
peace can. This phone call asked would we come over and share their space
of fear, healing, and planning for action. My teammate and I lived a sacred
Sunday in communion with the Popular Women's Organization.

I am here because of the contrast. I am here to witness it, to learn and
breathe that the cocaine and weapons in the headlines don't cover half the
story. I am here to cry with these people, and shine with hope at the
amazing marathon for peace they run. I am also here to say that often we do
sleep too peacefully, forgetting our neighbors.

Out of this difficult contrast, springs bravely forward an uncontrollable
hope. A young man I met was a manifestation of this hope for me. As often
happens here, his father was falsely accused of ties with an armed group and
later murdered before the young man reached two years old. This young man
rejected countless opportunities to follow the example of violence: the
military awaited his service, his wife wanted him to join a guerrilla group
and fight, and the possibility of avenging his father's death hung in the
air. He chose to return to the countryside of his birth and plant life. As
he led me out of his family's jungle farm on a donkey, where I saw the
breathtaking beauty of a cloudy day, leaves bigger than my body, and
graceful mountain curves, he affirmed, "Weapons can't solve anything."

Blessings in this season of contrast when we celebrate a savior, a beautiful
migrant/advocate/activist, born in a dirty barn to poor, exhausted,
marginalized parents.

Peace and Love from Colombia, Rachel Cloud