COLOMBIA: Community Leaders leave Tiquisio in the face of death threats; those remaining vow to continue their work
mayo 13th, 2008
in:
CPTnet
13 May 2007
COLOMBIA: Community Leaders leave Tiquisio in the face of death threats; those remaining vow to continue their work
by Stewart Vriesinga
On 27 April 2008, CPTers Jonathan Stucky and I attended the last mass held for (and partially conducted by) Padre Rafael Gallego, Said Antonio Echavez, and Martha Lucia Torres Sierra before death threats forced them to leave El Coco, Tiquisio. Padre Rafael has spent the last thirty years in Southern Bolivar, eight of them in Tiquisio, and had, we learned, planned to die there of old age. Said and Marta each spent three years living in and working with the local community and had hoped to continue their work there indefinitely.
The three left for Bogotá with no idea of what the future holds for them, or how and where they will continue the struggle for justice and peace in Colombia. They had invested so much of themselves in community formation and development in Tiquisio. Members of the Tiquisio community and the trio came to share a profound and mutual love for each other. People shed many tears as they said their goodbyes.
During the final Mass, speaker after speaker reiterated their appreciation of and commitment to continue the work of the three. They spoke of how conditions have improved with the introduction of community development projects, the community-based radio station, etc. They described how many who displaced because of violence and death threats in the 1990s were returning because of improved prospects for a safe and productive future in Tiquisio. The leadership and self-confidence exhibited by the various speakers bore testimony to success of the trio's community and leadership formation efforts.
Almost every speaker took the opportunity to thank and request the continued support of the Peace and Development Program, the Mayor's office, and the Personaria (a governmental human rights office), all of whom were in attendance.
While observing the community's response to the forced displacement of their beloved spiritual and community leaders, I remembered what someone in El Salvador once told me: "Despair is a first world luxury." The people of Tiquisio seem to agree. As one member of the local youth group put it when he addressed the community during the mass:
"Father Rafael is only a man --a man who did the work of God. We too are men and women. Now it is up to us to continue the work that Padre Rafael, Said, and Marta began."
I have no doubt that they will. And thanks to the work that the now displaced trio has done, while their absence will be felt, their legacy will continue.
The three are not the first to have displaced because of these death threats, and may not be the last. But what those who issue these threats do not seem to realize is that while they can threaten, displace, or even kill community leaders, in the current absence of justice, new community leaders will always emerge to take their place.
Pictures of the three community leaders are available at http://cpt.org/gallery/view_album.php?page=1&set_albumName=Death-Threats....
For an account of the death threats that forced them to flee, see "Urgent Action: Death threats sent to CPT partners and Human Rights organizations" <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cptcolombia/message/262> and "Renewed Death Threats in South Bolivar" <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cptcolombia/message/263>
13 May 2007
COLOMBIA: Community Leaders leave Tiquisio in the face of death threats; those remaining vow to continue their work
by Stewart Vriesinga
On 27 April 2008, CPTers Jonathan Stucky and I attended the last mass held for (and partially conducted by) Padre Rafael Gallego, Said Antonio Echavez, and Martha Lucia Torres Sierra before death threats forced them to leave El Coco, Tiquisio. Padre Rafael has spent the last thirty years in Southern Bolivar, eight of them in Tiquisio, and had, we learned, planned to die there of old age. Said and Marta each spent three years living in and working with the local community and had hoped to continue their work there indefinitely.
The three left for Bogotá with no idea of what the future holds for them, or how and where they will continue the struggle for justice and peace in Colombia. They had invested so much of themselves in community formation and development in Tiquisio. Members of the Tiquisio community and the trio came to share a profound and mutual love for each other. People shed many tears as they said their goodbyes.
During the final Mass, speaker after speaker reiterated their appreciation of and commitment to continue the work of the three. They spoke of how conditions have improved with the introduction of community development projects, the community-based radio station, etc. They described how many who displaced because of violence and death threats in the 1990s were returning because of improved prospects for a safe and productive future in Tiquisio. The leadership and self-confidence exhibited by the various speakers bore testimony to success of the trio's community and leadership formation efforts.
Almost every speaker took the opportunity to thank and request the continued support of the Peace and Development Program, the Mayor's office, and the Personaria (a governmental human rights office), all of whom were in attendance.
While observing the community's response to the forced displacement of their beloved spiritual and community leaders, I remembered what someone in El Salvador once told me: "Despair is a first world luxury." The people of Tiquisio seem to agree. As one member of the local youth group put it when he addressed the community during the mass:
"Father Rafael is only a man --a man who did the work of God. We too are men and women. Now it is up to us to continue the work that Padre Rafael, Said, and Marta began."
I have no doubt that they will. And thanks to the work that the now displaced trio has done, while their absence will be felt, their legacy will continue.
The three are not the first to have displaced because of these death threats, and may not be the last. But what those who issue these threats do not seem to realize is that while they can threaten, displace, or even kill community leaders, in the current absence of justice, new community leaders will always emerge to take their place.
Pictures of the three community leaders are available at http://cpt.org/gallery/view_album.php?page=1&set_albumName=Death-Threats....
For an account of the death threats that forced them to flee, see "Urgent Action: Death threats sent to CPT partners and Human Rights organizations" <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cptcolombia/message/262> and "Renewed Death Threats in South Bolivar" <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cptcolombia/message/263>
