COLOMBIA REFLECTION: The road to Tiquisio
julio 20th, 2009
in:
CPTnet
20 July 2009
COLOMBIA REFLECTION: The road to Tiquisio
by Carol Tyx
[Note: Applicants are still needed for the 22 September-5 October 2009 CPT Colombia delegation, which will focus on Tiquisio. For more information, click here. PLEASE APPLY BY 1 AUGUST 2009.]
I am on the road to Tiquisio for my first accompaniment trip and I’m not sure we are going to make it there. I’m riding in a camioneta (small truck) on a one-lane road that climbs up and down the hills. That sounds simple enough, but it’s a dirt road, and heavy rains have eroded the surface. Our driver bends and twists the wheel, trying to keep us upright.
I think of the newspaper article I read before I left this morning. The Colombian government plans to expand the super-train system—the much-touted Transmillenium project that started in Bogota, the capital of Colombia—to other cities. Billions will be spent to construct a smooth, fast-moving transportation system for big city dwellers. Yet the road to Tiquisio remains almost impassable, leaving the nineteen thousand people scattered in villages like Tiquisio and others in the municipality of Puerto Rico precariously connected to the world.
But these Tiquisianos have not abandoned hope for a better future. Frustrated with the government, they have created an alternative system. Their Asamblea, as it is called, is a grassroots project—a kind of local congress where everyday people can have a voice. Through this community process, people identify concerns and think about how to address these issues. At the request of the Asamblea leadership, Christian Peacemaker Teams is here in Tiquisio to accompany the people on this road toward making their community a better place to live.
People have come from all over the region for the two-day Asamblea. Each village chooses representatives to the assembly, and the organizers encourage everyone to join one of the eight working groups that will identify issues to be addressed in the coming year. Basic security remains a concern. Signs at the Asamblea mourn the politically motivated deaths of three people and the disappearance of four others. The community is worried about the restoration of a private airstrip an hour away from the community, and whether narcotraffickers or paramilitaries may be behind this project.
During the afternoon my teammate Gladys and I spend time talking with Esteban,* a community leader from a different rural region who has come to show solidarity. Esteban explains how the richness of natural resources—gold, coal, oil—places the people of Colombia at risk. Multinationals that want to harness those resources for big profits undermine local development. Esteban wants to see the natural resources benefit the people who live here. That won’t happen without local people finding ways to be heard—like the Asamblea. “When the community works together,” Esteban says, “I feel hope.”
At the end of the day, I get back in the camioneta. As we bounce along, in my mind I see the people of Tiquisio marching toward a road where the crooked has been made straight and the rough made smooth. May we walk with them on this journey.
*Name changed to protect identity
20 July 2009
COLOMBIA REFLECTION: The road to Tiquisio
by Carol Tyx
[Note: Applicants are still needed for the 22 September-5 October 2009 CPT Colombia delegation, which will focus on Tiquisio. For more information, click here. PLEASE APPLY BY 1 AUGUST 2009.]
I am on the road to Tiquisio for my first accompaniment trip and I’m not sure we are going to make it there. I’m riding in a camioneta (small truck) on a one-lane road that climbs up and down the hills. That sounds simple enough, but it’s a dirt road, and heavy rains have eroded the surface. Our driver bends and twists the wheel, trying to keep us upright.
I think of the newspaper article I read before I left this morning. The Colombian government plans to expand the super-train system—the much-touted Transmillenium project that started in Bogota, the capital of Colombia—to other cities. Billions will be spent to construct a smooth, fast-moving transportation system for big city dwellers. Yet the road to Tiquisio remains almost impassable, leaving the nineteen thousand people scattered in villages like Tiquisio and others in the municipality of Puerto Rico precariously connected to the world.
But these Tiquisianos have not abandoned hope for a better future. Frustrated with the government, they have created an alternative system. Their Asamblea, as it is called, is a grassroots project—a kind of local congress where everyday people can have a voice. Through this community process, people identify concerns and think about how to address these issues. At the request of the Asamblea leadership, Christian Peacemaker Teams is here in Tiquisio to accompany the people on this road toward making their community a better place to live.
People have come from all over the region for the two-day Asamblea. Each village chooses representatives to the assembly, and the organizers encourage everyone to join one of the eight working groups that will identify issues to be addressed in the coming year. Basic security remains a concern. Signs at the Asamblea mourn the politically motivated deaths of three people and the disappearance of four others. The community is worried about the restoration of a private airstrip an hour away from the community, and whether narcotraffickers or paramilitaries may be behind this project.
During the afternoon my teammate Gladys and I spend time talking with Esteban,* a community leader from a different rural region who has come to show solidarity. Esteban explains how the richness of natural resources—gold, coal, oil—places the people of Colombia at risk. Multinationals that want to harness those resources for big profits undermine local development. Esteban wants to see the natural resources benefit the people who live here. That won’t happen without local people finding ways to be heard—like the Asamblea. “When the community works together,” Esteban says, “I feel hope.”
At the end of the day, I get back in the camioneta. As we bounce along, in my mind I see the people of Tiquisio marching toward a road where the crooked has been made straight and the rough made smooth. May we walk with them on this journey.
*Name changed to protect identity
