Weekly Links – August 28, 2010
This week´s collection of stories, reflections, and updates about Colombia. Enjoy!
Fernando Botero´s Abu Ghraid
- Just the Facts has a summary of recent statistics on violence in Colombia, particularly urban violence in Bogotá and Medellín.
- Semana, a weekly newmagazine, has an analysis of the recent bombing in Bogotá. Was it far – right wing or far – left wing?
- All threats in Colombia are not from violence. How climate change and rising sea levels will affect Colombia´s coast. (from Colombia Reports)
- Here is an Op-Ed from the Washington Post (Edward Schumacher-Matos) about the now-prevailing view that the US- Colombia Base Agreement, which was struck down by Colombian courts, is best left alone. Call it a mulligan for two new presidential administrations…
- Colombia´s investigation and prosecution lacks funds to persue paramilitaries – that means 145,000 un-investigated, un-prosecuted, un-incarcirated persons. (from Colombia Reports)
- A new round of paramilitary threats, mostly in the south of the country. (from Colombia Reports) Here is a key description of the new groups:
“It is the same pattern the [demobilized paramilitary organization] AUC used in the 1990s to consolidate in the regions; a ‘social cleansing’ to justify their presence in the towns and capture the local economy,” an anonymous investigator told newspaper El Tiempo.
“The only difference with what you see now is that the AUC initially tried to end subversive influence in certain regions,” Mauricio Romero of left-leaning think tank Corporacion Arco Iris told the same newspaper.
Want to be an Accompanier in Colombia?
A note from Linda Eastwood, Coordinator of the Colombia Accompaniment Program ~
The accompaniment program, run by Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, is a joint program of the PPF, PC(USA) and IPC (Iglesia Presbiteriana de Colombia, Presbyterian Church of Colombia). The IPC requested this accompaniment back in 2004, when their human-rights work had led to harassment and threats which had reached a level that was hard to bear alone. We’ve sent volunteer accompaniers in pairs, a month at a time, almost continuously since that request, and the need to continue this ministry of presence and witness was affirmed at a PPF / PC(USA) / IPC week of discernment in Colombia during Holy Week of this year.
Requirements for service as an accompanier include:
• Mature Christian faith
• Commitment to practice non-violence
• Demonstrated faith-community backing
• Ability to raise funds for volunteer service
• Spanish skills strongly preferred, but not required
• 21 years of age and a valid U.S. passport
The training / discernment process is a pre-requisite to going to Colombia as part of this program. I’m pleased to announce that the next training and discernment event will be held October 7th (5pm) to October 11th (1pm), at Stony Point Center in New York. (Also, FYI, the dates are tentatively set for next spring’s training / discernment as March 10-14, 2011. So no harm recruiting people who might not be able to make it in October.)
You can find more information about accompaniment, including the current brochure, a set of “Frequently Asked Questions” and reports from former accompaniers, at the web-page: http://www.presbypeacefellowship.org/two/colombia/accompaniment After reviewing the information there, would you please send me an e-mail letting me know both whether you continue to be interested in the program, and, more specifically, whether you would like to be considered for the October 2010 training and discernment event?
If you do hope to attend the October event – and I would be delighted if you do! – then please send me a completed biographical questionnaire, using the attached form. You should also understand that accompaniers go to Colombia as PC(USA) mission volunteers. You will thus also need to get going as soon as possible on the “One Door” application for Presbyterian Mission Service (Go to One Door at http://tinyurl.com/2cwrz6p to create your online profile, including “supplemental profile information”. Apply to the Short-Term IPC Accompaniment Volunteer position at http://tinyurl.com/247quto ) This all takes a while, especially as you need to get references, but you still have time before the October training. Then, assuming you’re approved, you’ll book your travel to Stony Point. (If you’re flying, information on shuttle services from Newark airport can be found at http://tinyurl.com/23lams4. You’d need to arrive in time for the 2pm shuttle from Newark to Stony Point.) We cover the cost of (simple) accommodation and food, but ask that you pay your own transportation.
I do hope that you continue to want to be involved in the Colombia Accompaniment Program. Human rights workers in Colombia continue to be threatened, and our presence is a source of strength and protection to our friends in the Colombian church. Our accompaniers come back filled with enthusiasm, wonder and gratitude at their experiences with our partners in the Colombian church – and you could too!
Blessings on whatever you do for the furtherance of God’s reign of peace and justice in this world,
Linda Eastwood, Coordinator, Colombia Accompaniment Program
colombia@presbypeacefellowship.org
US-Colombia Military Base Agreement
The Colombian Constitutional Court ruled last week that the US – Colombia Military Base Agreement, signed last year, was in violation of Colombian law. The ruling was based on the fact that then President Alvaro Uribe did not present the base agreement to the Colombian Congress, claiming that the agreement was merely a continuation of previous military agreements with the US.
From Just the Facts – Adam Isacon´s blog – a description of the likely changes in current military cooperation between the US and Colombia. Short answer – likely none. But long term, there is much more doubt about the agreement.
Now, at first, I understood that this court ruling just implied that the agreement would have to go through the Colombian Congress for approval. With parties closely allied with President Santos, who vocally supported the agreement in the campaign, controlling strong majorities in both Houses of Congress, that seemed like a foregon
e conclusion.
But not so fast… Later last week the former commander of the Colombian Armed Forces General Freddie Padilla said that if the agreement has to go to the Colombian Congress, it will also have to go to the United States Congress as well. He was the presiding General when the agreement was negotiated and signed, so one assumes he has some knowledge on such affairs.
What does this mean? Its not entirely clear, but if the agreement will need to face US Congressional approval, it will be an opportunity for US citizens to speak out clearly and loudly on the direction of the US-Colombian relationship. The Presbyterian Church (USA) has taken a clear stand on the issue. (See Mamie´s post here.)
How will you make your voice known?
Continue below for some more references on the US – Colombian Military Base Agreement, known in the US military as the Defense Cooperation Agreement. (more…)
Unclean Mouths
“Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with destruction. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongue they speak deceit.” Psalm 5:9
Recently the United Nations General Secretary Ban Ki-moon announced in a press release that Colombia’s outgoing President, Alvaro Uribe, would be the Vice-Chair of the Panel of Inquiry into the flotilla incident between Israel and Turkey at the end of May. I must admit to being more than a bit surprised at this decision, so I was glad to see I was not the only one.
Shortly thereafter a European Parliament Member Willy Meyer said he was “completely indignant” that a leader of a country which “has the largest mass grave in Latin America” would be included in the UN panel, because “it is like leaving the fox to guard the chickens.” According to Meyer, “a man who has not investigated what is going on in his own country is not going to do it now” in the UN investigation.
Meyer’s reference is to a mass grave that has been found in La Macarena in the Department (State) of Meta right next to an army installation. It was supposedly reported by a number of citizens in the area, but no one followed up on it. Richard went to a demonstration at that site about a month ago, and shortly afterward a denial of the grave’s existence by the government was released. Officials stated that only individual graves were to be found at that site, and that the allegations were simply a ruse to get the European Union to cancel the Free Trade Agreement it has made with Colombia.
Now I don’t know about you, but I am just not sure how you confuse
individual grave sites with a mass grave with over 2,000 bodies – many who are purportedly also victims of the false-positive scandals (citizens killed and later dressed-up as if they were guerrillas). Then again, I am also not sure how you dig an 18 inch trench and proclaim that your investigation has proven there are no bodies buried in the area.
I am overwhelmed sometimes by the variety of disheartening news stories that can come from one country, but I am also keenly aware of the need to share them since they do not seem to make it into the US consciousness. My fear is that so many tales of woe will cause people like you to sigh, flip to another website and begin to believe that things here will always be this way; that your compassion will be in lament but go no further. That desensitization has happened in many quarters here in Colombia as a result of some 60 years of this news, not to mention as a coping mechanism. My prayer is that it does not overcome you (and me) too.
There is an opportunity now for the United States to push the new Colombian President, Juan Manuel Santos, to investigate further and to ensure protectionof human rights as central to his agenda. There is an opportunity now for United States citizens to push our own government to investigate and comply more closely with the Leahy Law which prohibits U.S. military assistance to foreign military units that violate human rights with impunity. There is an opportunity for Christians to act upon the gospel call to stand by the widow and the orphan…so many of them living here in Colombia.
“Declare them [my enemies] guilty, O God! Let their intrigues be their downfall. Banish them for their many sins, for they have rebelled against you. But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.” Psalm 5:10-11
A Peanut Post
It is hard to believe, but we are a month out from Peanut’s official due date, September 21. I am clear that the due date is more of an estimate than a “marked in stone” kind of thing, but it is hard to believe that whatever the actual date, we are approaching B-Day (as we call it).
Our experience here as parents-to-be has been full of wonder, confusion, grace, uncertainty, and love. We have had an outpouring of support from folks in the United States, including pre-Peanut visits from the “abuelos” (grandparents), and tons of concern and care from people here too.
Some things we have gotten used to:
1. Touching, kissing, listening to my belly.
I always heard about pregnant women in the United States who had folks they did not even know come up to them asking (or not asking) to pat their stomachs. I always thought, “How can someone think that is okay?” and “Don’t people have any boundaries? I mean geesh….” According to a friend of mine in the States, when men come up to her and touch her belly, she just reaches out and touches theirs in the same way and that pretty much ends that. Well…wouldn’t work here.
Folks here tend to pat my belly and greet Peanut with a rousing “¡Hola Bebé!” before they even acknowledge me. This is probably good preparation for when Peanut makes the grand entrance because I think Richard and I will fade from view once the Nutter is officially on the scene. And that is fine really because we are blessed to have so many people concerned for us, and I am grateful that Peanut will have a village and a half to take care of him/her. In fact, I think I am clearer here than I would be anywhere that I am merely a steward of the Peanut, because he/she will belong to everyone here and just hang out in our house I think.
2. Paying in cash.
As we are not part of a health system in Colombia, we have to pay for all of our medical
appointments in cash and wait for reimbursements. The system works well, and we get paid back for virtually everything, but I go to the doctor about a blue million times more than I ever have, and the float we manage adds up. For a while we thought we were going to have to pay cash at the clinic for the delivery too. Since we can only get out about $200 at a time from the ATM, we figured that September was basically going to be filled with daily trips to the cash machine to stock up for getting Peanut out of hock at the end of the month. And our ‘hospital bag’ would have to have an accompanying ‘cash bag’ to truck it all there…
3. Being the weird ones.
Some of you may argue we have a head start on being used to this one, but we have found all new ways to fill this bill. The primary one being that we are waiting to find out whether Peanut is a boy or a girl. This is not, I repeat, not normal. We get asked all the time about Peanut’s sex, and when we told the sonogram doctor that we did not want to see or know he asked us no fewer than five times if we were absolutely certain. Yes, thank you.
That of course has not stopped the speculation (as it does not in the United States either). I really should have started a pool just to see which side won out in the end, though I mostly just tell folks that I am confident half of them will be absolutely right. Below is a video of Rev. Diego Higuita, Executive Secretary of the Presbyterian Church of Colombia (think Stated Clerk) doing his own proof test. My favorite part of this time we did not manage to catch on video – when Diego declared that while it was definitely a girl, if it happened to be a boy then it was because the needle was crummy…
We will certainly let you all know the actual results when the time comes. Until then, we are just trying to ready ourselves for the launch of the legume!
Thank you to all who have written, prayed, sent sweet gifts, worried, and more. We are truly grateful, and we hope you will keep our family in your thoughts a little extra in our last month out (…or in I guess)!
[For our original Peanut blog announcement you can click here.]
God’s Mission Matters
The PC(USA) has started a monthly podcast series called “God’s Mission Matters.” It has stories from folks working around the world, reflections from mission trips, and some great biblical commentary. I wanted to share an episode here.
One of the great things about our time in Colombia is working with Alice Winters. She’s in the podcast, or at least her reflection is. It begins at the 6:20 mark. It’s definitely worth the listen – and if you want more of this, you can sign up for her mailing list, or better yet, come on down for a visit or take one of her classes!
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La Macarena – Stories, Signs, and Smoke
On July 22nd I traveled to La Macarena, a small, isolated town in the Meta department of central Colombia. I was there to listen to the testimonies of community members who had lost family members with no connections to the armed conflict and to see the evidence of a reported mass grave alongside the local military base.
Stories…
It’s the stories that stick with you. After all the press releases, the counter press releases, after the images fade – the stories stick with you.
Yolima told of her life after she witnessed a local paramilitary raping a girl and reported it, against all advice. Three of her daughters, one by one, were disappeared. She was later told they are all in the La Macarena grave, buried as FARC guerillas…
Armando told of how his son disappeared one day. Later, after going to any and all the military installations, he was told his son was in the La Macarena grave, buried as a FARC guerilla…
Jorge told of how he returned home one day from working in his fields, and the military was in his house. He asked about his wife, and they told him to go away. When he returned, he found bullet holes and evidence of sexual assult in his house. Later the military told him his wife was in the La Macarena grave, buried as a FARC guerilla…
Paloma told the story of her son – who was serving his obligatory military service – and was at home recuperating from an injury from that service. One day he went out into town and never returned. His mother went to the military base asking for help. She was told he was buried in the La Macarena grave, buried as a FARC guerilla…
The crowd of over 800 people from the surrounding area was a testament to the anger and pain of these communities, who have long been at the leading, violent edge of Colombia’s armed conflict. The courage and strength of those who stood up to testify publicly was an example of what can happen when people say ” enough is enough.” They gathered that day under the banner of “we are telling the truth,” an act that can be very dangerous indeed.
La Macarena is a small, isolated town in central Colombia, in the region known as the Eastern Plains. But these are very different plains than the high plains of the Texas Panhandle, where I grew up. These plains are covered with an almost impenetrable forest and crossed with alluvial rivers.
And La Macarena bears the scars of Colombia’s 60 years of civil war. In the late 1990′s, La Macarena was part of a swath of land that was ceded to the FARC in preparations for peace talks which would eventually fail. In 2002, the Colombian military re-took the zone, and the the most recent scars began. Because the region had been wholly controlled by the FARC, the military viewed the entire civilian population as guerrilla collaborators (regardless of the fact that the population there had no say as the Colombian government ceded their entire region to the FARC). The ‘re-taking’ of the region proved to be a period of years of violent conflict – with civilians bearing the brunt.
Through those years, the people of the region knew and heard about bodies buried in the mass grave at La Macarena. They described helicopters often coming to the adjacent airstrip and dropping off bodies that would later be taken the the unmarked section of the cemetery. And as the above stories show, they were often told their loved ones were there, buried as combatants in Colombia’s never-ending conflict.
Last October, reports of the “special” section of the cemetery began to emerge in the media. The local mayor confirmed it’s existence and estimated that over 2000 bodies had been dumped there. And while the promised investigation languished, human rights organizations began to listen to, interview, and document the people’s stories in la Macarena.
What makes this fosa común, or common grave, so explosive?
That is because up to now, the mass graves that have come to light in this civil war-torn South American country have been attributed to the paramilitaries.
But the one in La Macarena is located just outside the largest military base in the region: the local garrison of the mobile brigades of the Rapid Deployment Force (FUDRA), which receives U.S. military aid and fights the left wing guerrillas. (from Inter Press Service report – A Cemetery Full of Questions)
Signs…
But it turns out, you don’t need a mass grave to be explosive or damaging to one side or another in this conflict. You don’t need media coverage or international delegations to bring the gravity of the situation home. What spoke to me at the grave site were the little signs placed about the site. Signs with numbers, which were code for the order the bodies were discovered in, and for the approximate date of their burial. While the grave was first publicized in October of 2009, I stood and wondered how there could be so many markers from 2010…
And the whole process of deciphering these signs is a bit like deciphering the violence that has gripped this country – codes and acronyms that all mask the tremendous human suffering that is taking place. Some reflections from that day in La Macarena:
Crosses line the fence leading up to the military base
Here in the fosa común, I am stuck with the tensions in our work as a church. We are a part of organizations that work together to uplift, defend and promote human rights. That includes trips like this, to document past abuses, and to call for public justice as the basis for any lasting reconciliation. The Presbyterian Church of Colombia is called to stand here with Yolima, Armando, Jorge, Paloma, and all those who came to publicly cry out for the truth, and for justice.
But in my role as a Christian, as a part of the priesthood of all believers, I am struck with the need to witness God’s love, God’s healing, and God’s ultimate forgiveness. I am struck with the need to mark the hallowed ground, where we all return to dust, to offer prayers for the dead and for the living – recognizing that the signs are not codes, but each one a life, and thousands of lives are represented here in this unmarked, contested, and obscure patch of earth. In Genesis, Jacob piled up stones to mark the place where he had wrestled with God. In La Macarena, families have lined the fence of the grave with crosses to mark this sacred ground, where a wrestling of humanity is occurring.
and Smoke…
And then comes the smoke. After returning back to Bogotá, I watched the Colombian press closely to see what would come of a visit of a group of internationals and Colombian opposition politicians traveling to a remote site to witness what was called the largest mass grave in Latin America. The headlines below tell the story. A few days after out visit, the then President Uribe also went to La Macarena, but only to promote more military conquest and to denounce our visit (human rights as connected with terrorism – see quotation below); and the story of this mass grave was soon swept up into the war of words going on in July between Venezuela and Colombia. At one point, a Colombian spokesperson called for the International Criminal Court to investigate the presence of guerrilla camps in Venezuela, which was interesting, because one of the main requests of our group was that the same ICC investigate the mass grave in La Macarena. Our request for ICC investigation has not been met so warmly.
So how does this connect to the United States? As it turns out, La Macarena has been an area of special focus for the US-Colombian relationship. As a part of a project known as Integrated Action, the US has significantly funded the Colombian military units in this region. Integrated Action is a step past Plan Colombia, the US’s 10 year effort at drug reduction, military enhancement and state building in Colombia. This newer effort emphasizes the presence of government institutions and guarantees (government in a box) once major conflict has ended. (See the Center for International Policy’s paper – After Plan Colombia for a thorough analysis.) However, the legacy of violence against civilians is so strong, and indeed still runs deeply in places like La Macarena, it is doubtful that the confidence of the population can be rebuilt. Absent a true, transparent, and mutually accepted process of reconciliation, this effort will be one more layer in Colombia’s ever-increasing civil conflict.
There is a narrative that Uribe’s hard-line security policy, known as “Democratic Security” has been a success, no matter the cost. The stories of the victims of La Macarena, the signs of a fosa común, and the smoke surrounding any investigation of human rights abuses all point to a very different conclusion. Security does not come through violence, obscuring the truth, or intimidating persons. The truth will come out.
The site of the fosa común, or mass grave.
New Reports from La Macarena: ( follow the back and forth through the headlines, or go ahead and read the articles,especially the first, for a full picture of the coverage)
Two congresspersons raise the possibility of a mass grave next to a military installation
Colombia denies existence of mass grave
Uribe and Cordoba trade ‘terrorist’ allegations
“The final victory is not far” says President Uribe at Meta Base (use Google Translate for English)
Venezuela: FARC claims are strategy to cover genocide in Meta
President Uribe’s response to the allegations of a mass grave in Meta, El Tiempo 7/26/10
“El terrorismo, en esa combinación de formas de lucha, mientras a través de algunos voceros propone la paz, a través de otros voceros viene a La Macarena a buscar cómo desacredita a la fuerza pública y cómo la sindica de violación de derechos humanos”, declaró Uribe.
“Terrorism is a combination of different forms of struggle. While some of its spokespersons propose peace, others come to La Macarena looking for ways to discredit public security forces and to accuse them of human rights violations.” declared Uribe.
Friday Links – 8/13/10
It has certainly been more than a week since my last weekly roundup. I figured that a good time to get back in the swing of things was on my favorite day, Friday the 13th.
Here are some interesting news stories and opinions from the past few weeks…
An interesting BBC News opinion piece on the limitations of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) working in conflict zones – Ending wars peacefully just got harder. The International Crisis Group, mentioned in the article, is a very good source of information on worldwide conflicts and efforts to reduce violence.
Inauguration advice from the Latin America Working Group – A word to the new Colombian president.
Disappointing news from one of the few cases where the perpetrators of a Colombian massacre were previously held responsible. The case of the murders in San Jose de Apartado is clear, and both military and paramilitary personnel have confessed to their links and actions on the record, yet now some of the soldiers have been acquitted of the murders (from Colombia Reports).
An excellent article on the work of Father Javier Giraldo, a prominent defender of human rights here in Colombia (from the Washington Post). I recently met Fr. Giraldo, and it is a joy and strong encouragement to work alongside courageous people such as he. In other news, a report of the Colombian government’s surveillance of this same man (from Colombia Reports).
News from an Indigenous March through Bogotá that I was able to witness. The chant I remember most – “Two hundred years ago we kicked out the foreign troops – now we invite them back?” (from Colombia Reports).
It is good to have partners – Top officials in the Catholic Church urge the new president to seek peace with Colombia’s rebel groups (from Colombia Reports).
Small News There but BIG News Here
In July, the Presbyterian Church (USA) held its biannual General Assembly to offer direction to the church nationally for the next two years. Over the course of the week committees and the assembly itself discussed various issues, some of which made it into the national news (primarily LGBT issues) and others generating a lot of discussion at least within the church (Middle East, church governance, confessional statements). Inevitably, however, some items barely made the radar – lumped in with “peace and justice” or some such moniker, but not really leaving much impression on anyone apart from those who were invested in the topic to begin with.
One of those issues was a little thing about ending the US Military Base Agreement with Colombia.
This overture passed through and became PC(USA) policy with virtually no discussion. While on the one hand this makes me quite pleased, I am also wondering whether many folks knew what they were doing or what this was about. I am also wondering if anyone in the US church is now going to do any of the actions encouraged by the church whether that be prayer or coming here to monitor the bases and their impact. Will anyone even know this happened?
What I can say is that for folks in the church here, this was big news. Any efforts by the US church to support peace in Colombia always gets a lot of attention here. Thank you letters were sent, praises were lifted, and even now the delegation from Chicago Presbytery is getting a lot of feedback about what happened as a result of their efforts to put this question before the General Assembly.
Given that the Colombian/US Base Agreement is now the volleyball of international relations between Venezuela and Colombia, the resolution could not come at a more appropriate time. It came too late to stop the agreement from being signed, but it certainly does not come too late to lobby against it still.
We will write more about the war of words between Colombia and Venezuela, the base agreement, and more, but for now we too offer our thanks to our church for the gift of support to our sisters and brothers here. If we can help you get the word out in your congregations about what happened at GA and how it could effect life here, please let us know. For us, this is pretty big news.
To read the text of the resolution click on the word “more” below.
Desafío
There is a television show on in Colombia called “Desafío,” and it seems to have swept up the whole country. It is very similar to “Survivor” in the United States, with teams of folks that get kicked off of islands after doing something between wacky and grueling physical challenges. It feels a little like déjà vu (all over again…) for me as it was ten years ago that I came back to the US from Guatemala and encoutered the fever of the first season of Survivor.
I have to admit, I remember being horrified. I had just spent a year talking about intentional Christian community and how to live in the midst of differences, and then I sat and watched as someone on a “team” got kicked off of the island and their “life force” snuffed out. It was horrible. I could not understand people’s fascination with this back-biting, inhumane affair that seemed to revel in what felt to me the opposite of the Kingdom of God. I realize that may be putting a little too much on a television show, but it was really disturbing to me.
I was all the more frustrated when I reflected further on the ridiculousness of
that show and many others involving X-treme whateverness. What kind of nation is it that thinks survival has to do with trumped up challenges like making it through an obstacle course with your hands tied to your ankles? After seeing all the true obstacles to survival that people in Guatemala faced, I was irritated with the fake, bourgeois games that could get people hurt but was all undertaken by choice.
Here, in Colombia, the interest has struck me as equally strange, though I think my passions over the concept have dulled a little with a decade of “reality” shows under my belt. Also, I can see the value of the escape factor here as well. After all, if you have actually survived after being forced off your land, searched for a way to feed your family, and dodged death in all the ways it has tried to pursue you…maybe you deserve to veg out in front of a grainy television and watch people drag others through the sand in order to capture a flag.
Still, I am way more impressed and captivated by the people who face the real challenges of life rather than those made up by television executives, and I am proud to work with a church that chooses to look at ways it can serve the community even when members would be totally justified at simply taking care of themselves.
The Bible offers us so many desafíos (challenges) that I think we take as figurative, or as suggestions – that we take as seriously as we take reality 
television. But I don’t think the call to help the widow and orphan was meant as a figure of speech. I don’t think the call to drop your nets (your safety nets…) was just a game to see who could get to the flag first. I told my friend the other week that religious practice (liturgy, ritual, etc) was like comfort food for the soul, and I believe that, but I don’t think that our religious beliefs themselves were always meant to be comforting at all. I think they were meant to challenge the heck out of us because otherwise we sit around watching other people pretend they are in a struggle for survival as they eat some disgusting food or balance on a log over a muddy pond. Or we accept the ethics demonstrated by people who make alliances of convenience and choose to stay stuck in a ditch rather than help anyone get out of it because they are not on “their team”.
And if this seems too theoretical, another friend of mine who works with the Chicago Semester program talked with me this past week about an exercise they do with the juniors and seniors in college they work with. The students are divided up into teams and told to build a community. Each team is given different resources, some very few and some quite a lot, but the teams are together in the same room the whole time. In all her time working there, only one set of students has ever chosen to band together across “teams” to build one room-wide community.
It seems to me the desafío many of us share is that we have to work on how we look at teamwork, and in what ways we can help the real challenges people face in Colombia, in the United States, and all over the world turn into shared tasks that can stretch those safety nets we cling to so desperately a little (okay, a lot) wider. If we do that, maybe we will experience the true comfort of the gospel.
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