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
I Hate Rabbits
There are some days here in which there is little to do. When we first arrived in Colombia we sat in the Barranquilla office reading the newspaper and meeting people but nor really “doing” a lot in the good old US of A sense of the word. We were prepared for this to a degree. We knew that the Accompaniment Program has counseled folks for years that their presence is what is most important, and after our Young Adult Volunteer years, Richard and I really believe that to be true. Still, three years in wicked heat to sit in an office and read the newspaper? Come on…
Ah, the good old days.
It turns out that if there is “not much to do” then you should count your blessings. Part of the reason that the blog has been dormant over the past month is that there have been an abundance of things to do, and when you work with human rights that is rarely a good sign.
Germán, one of our colleagues, has a saying – “Sometimes the rabbit jumps.” I didn’t really know what that meant, but I nodded my head and looked thoughtful. (This is not an uncommon strategy…) However in the past month, I have seen this rabbit in action and let me be clear – I hate rabbits.
Following the situation in San Onofre, the IPC gathered folks together to talk about ways in which we could respond and continue in solidarity with the remaining members of Finca La Alemania who are still “en la lucha” for their land. Part of our efforts included letters from Gradye Parsons, PC(USA)’s Stated Clerk, and Presbyterian Peace Fellowship to the US Ambassador. Richard and I took a trip to Bogotá to get to know that Presbytery better and together with some of its members we went to the Embassy to talk about this case specifically.
Upon our return though the rabiit kept a hoppin’. Individuals and organizations related to the IPC were named in a threat letter from a paramilitary group that was directed to and also threatened the Washington Office on Latin America. These people and groups were targeted for having signed a letter encouraging the US Congress to pass a bill (HR 1224) encouraging the support of Afro-Colombian and Indigenous Colombian rights. For that they were named “military objectives for being sell-out sons-of-bitches who are blocking the policies of the Colombian government.” This hit home, not only because we knew some of those named, but also because we participated with several hundred other folks in Ecumenical Advocacy Days in Washington, DC in April in which we asked our Congress people to support this very same bill.
And in a meeting to discuss this threat, another person mentioned that s/he had recently been accosted near their home for having confronted someone that s/he found out killed their brother several years ago. For that knowlege, and for displaying that knowledge, their life is now in danger. More letters to the Embassy, efforts to get folks to safety, concerns over what to print and what not to print – all of these things have taken up our time and our mental energy in the last few weeks. And, all have made us think about the commitment human rights workers undertake in their efforts to guarantee people’s lives, if not life abundant.
So yeah, I hate rabbits.
***
PS. In reviewing this post my colleague Germán also noted that he was also less than fond of rabbits that jump out of nowhere and could be going anywhere. “Often times they break things and it doesn’t really upset them…or seem to matter to them at all. The worst is that it seems they like to keep us waiting with anxiety for the moment in which they jump and continue destroying good things that have been done with a lot of effort. And yet, it is not that I really hate rabbits, it is that I AM TIRED of them. We need time to think about how to construct spaces in which even the rabbits can take part…but without destroying the good that many people have been doing.”
Ever the philosopher, and as always, well put. Thanks Germán.
Holy Week Miracles
Gathering in reflection
We have spent this past week in an pretty amazing event. It was a meeting (who thought that a meeting could be amazing?!) – but it was planned, organized, and (finally) carried out by a bi-national group seeking one goal – to work together to further God’s work in this world.
The meeting was an evaluation of the Colombia Accompaniment Program after five years of service. The program began as a response to a request from the Colombian Presbyterian Church after leaders and communities began to receive threats due to their work in human rights. The program was intended to last only 3 months as the PC(USA) searched for long-term mission personnel to serve as permanent accompaniers, but five years later and still going strong, folks wanted to review and reaffirm the program.
We’ll have more coming out later about the content of the evaluation — declarations, work plans, and all other manner of results — but I wanted to post a bit about the process of the evaluation. I went into the week wondering if a group of people from two different churches and two very different cultures could meet together as equal partners and evaluate a program. Could we form a work plan for the future? Would we be able to discern where God is calling us in the future?
Gathering in Villa Blanca, a community of Displaced Persons, for learning and worship
The wonderful answer is yes, with grace and imagination, it all was made possible. Throughout the week there were many signs of God’s Spirit swirling and moving, moving this gathering of individuals from all over the US and across Colombia into a community — praying, discussing, singing, and dreaming of ways to follow God’s call.
In the Christian life. the course of Holy Week is a time of heartbreak and rejoicing, much like a distillation of the rest of our lives. As we move on from the celebrations and festivities of Easter Sunday, when you get mired in the normalcy and tedium of the every day, remember this — miracles do happen. Walls that divide can come down, and God’s work of healing is not something that can be stopped.
Shiny Happy People
What I love best about Colombia is its people. They are kind, hospitable, welcoming, thoughtful, gracious, faithful, and funny. They have a sharp wit and love to joke around. I am grateful for their laughter and joy. Indeed my friend once said to me, “In the face of so much pain, you can either laugh or you can cry, and in Colombia we decide to laugh.” And I respect that…most of the time.
Sadness is a tough emotion, and it can be overwhelming – an undertow that can drown you if you are not careful. Still, I don’t think it should be ignored or brushed aside, and my trouble here is that sometimes I think the scale tips too far in the other direction. Joy (and anger) are acceptable emotions, but sadness not so much. When my friend died earlier this year, folks here were sorry to hear it, but quickly changed the conversation or told me to feel better. I can’t really blame them, with as much death as they have seen they have to find a way to move on and dwell not in things of the past. But at what cost?
Part of my concern is that the war that has existed within Colombia’s borders for more than 60 years now has robbed people not only of their loved ones, but of their ability to mourn. Funerals still happen. People still cry. But tomorrow another story is going to be in the papers about body parts found in suitcases (article in Spanish) or the lack of justice following the massacre of 60 people in El Salado (English translation of the newspaper article in this blog post), so people just move on. Or at least they say they do.
Some people, unable to share their fears/sadness/trauma find they have to leave Colombia in order to recover. Others squash it down so far that it winds up oozing out in bad behaviors like adultery and abandonment. And it isn’t just limited to those who have been directly threatened. Second-hand trauma here is fierce and manifests itself in some really frightening theology at times as when a woman told a friend of mine, “God is really punishing the Catholics for their wrong beliefs because not a single Protestant died in that massacre.” A fact most likely untrue and a statement made much more for self-reassurance than anything, but said with a shake of the head and then a desire to move on to other, happier topics of conversation. And therein lies my other fear – that “moving on” turns into “forgetting”, and forgetting turns into “pretending this doesn’t happen.”
That’s taking it too far, and I know that. I also know that people in the United States can be equally as lost on how to manage grief (particularly someone else’s), but I still flinch at the “Don’t Worry Be Happy” take on life. I don’t want anyone to drown in sorrow, but I also don’t want to require sadness to be pushed aside as a bastard emotion that is more or less socially unacceptable. After all, ignoring the undertow doesn’t mean it isn’t there, and keeping people from going in the water just means they never get to feel cleansed either.
And, as my wise colleague Alice Winters notes, part of the challenge is that “grief needs time, and when tragedies and losses come thick and fast there simply is no time – especially if you have children or must take over other responsibilities of the deceased.” Life indeed does go on. So the question is, how do you accompany people in this context – both as a person from the United States but also Colombian to Colombian? It remains an open question, but a vital one if people are going to have the chance to laugh and cry.
Guess Who’s Coming to Advocacy Days?
Okay, so it is probably not going to get made into a movie with Sidney Poitier, but it is still sure to be worth your time….
Ecumenical Advocacy Days March 19-22 Washington DC
A Place to Call Home: Immigrants, Refugees, and Displaced Peoples
www.advocacydays.org
Richard and I are planning on returning and attending the conference as well as going to the Hill on Monday, so we hope you can join us! Consider this a very tangible way that you too can accompany the church here without taking quite such a long trip. We hope someone from the Iglesia Presbiteriana will be able to come and share as well, so you will be able to meet some of the folks we work with first hand. Hope to see you in Washington!
Please take a look at the links above and make plans if at all possible to attend Ecumenical Advocacy Days, March 19-22!
90 degrees, feels like Christmas…
Christmas decor at our mall (Photo by Short-Term Accompanier Phyllis Stutzman)
With Facebook updates about breaking out the winter parka in Chicago, snow in Maine, and high 30s in North Carolina, I figured it was time for a post about the weather.
Three weeks before Christmas and we are at 90 degrees…again. It turns out that we are between 75 and 90 degrees pretty much every day of the year here in Barranquilla. Because Colombia is so close to the equator, the temperatures vary according to altitude rather than time of year. In Barranquilla, on the Caribbean Coast, the temperature is always hot but often with a reasonable breeze (especially in December and January). In Bogota, which is about 8,700 feet above sea level, the weather is45-65 degrees all year and in Medellin, which is about 5,000 feet above sea level, the weather is in the 60s and 70s all year (which is to say heavenly).
Speaking specifically of Barranquilla (because we know it best), snow is not a factor here. Which is why it makes it all the more curious to see the malls decorated with snow flakes and Santa Claus in his big heavy coat. I mean really, the man would faint. Not to mention, how is he getting in the house? Ain’t nobody looking for a home with a fireplace here, and he can’t fit through the bars on the windows. We’ll just have to see…
At any rate, as I sit in my tank top and flip flops, trying to hide from the afternoon sun, I realize that the signs of Christmas for me have to change. Our home, which used to be all decked out for the holidays, may not have a bed in it by Christmas time, much less be outfitted with tree, lights, ornaments, etc. There will be no bundling under the covers, or drinking hot chocolate, and even Christmas cards are likely to be fewer and farther between because we are far away and mail takes so long to arrive. We aren’t sending out any presents this year, nor really asking for any, so the shopping craze is not a part of our days.
It seems that this year I may have to just focus on the incarnation – crazy.
Richard and I are still learning what it means to come to a place just to be with people. There are moments filled with great joy and excitement, and there are times that are much more humdrum. There are times of confusion, of distress, of hospitality, of learning, of fun, and of hope. We only hope that this ministry of presence reflects in some way the path Jesus showed to us when he came to accompany us a little over 2000 years ago.
So this year things will be different, and we’ll find new ways to celebrate the greatest gift we have ever gotten, but don’t worry, mom is still bringing the chiclets.
Stoveless Thanksgiving
I will admit that it is a little funny to be in another country where Thanksgiving is just another Thursday. There was a busy buzz around at Reformed University because the school year is ending and upcoming graduation ceremonies, but otherwise things were the same as always. Richard and I had visions of attempted Thanksgiving meals, but in the end we just went out to a yummy restaurant. Most of you all know that cooking is not my number one joy factor anyway, so the idea of putting a feast together on one electric burner without the aid of an oven just did me in. 
So instead we went to Crepes and Waffles and had a yummy meal with the two short-term accompaniers, Phyllis and Faith, who are here through mid-December. We raised a glass in thanks for the family and friends we were missing, for the members of the Presbyterian Church of Colombia (IPC) and their kindness to us, and for really stinking good food that we didn’t have to prepare. When you come to visit, all I can say is that we’re getting the Capricho de Maracuya for dessert because it is indeed something to write home about.
We pray you all had a safe and thanks-filled day yesterday, and feel free to eat some leftovers on our behalf. :)
Note (robbed almost directly from my friend Cyndi’s blog…):
We received no compensation from Crepes and Waffles for this post. However, if they offered me a gift card or a discount for my Christmas meal, I wouldn’t say no.
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