A case study for our group and all peace workers in the world...
While planning this years Global Campus we never imagined that two of the four leaders of the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó in Colombia would be urgently called back to their community! In crisis areas such as Colombia peace workers unfortunately often deal with ‘emergencies’… different forms of ‘attacks’ from people whose interests are challenged by the creation of autonomous models… Often such communities are often busy responding to these cases without sufficient time to respond needs of the community, their strategy or even their own personal health. Coming to Tamera – a protected living model of sustainable community –is a drastic change to daily realities, and the possibility to recharge, reflect on their situation in a broad global context and envision their next steps. For our Colombian compañeros, things worked out differently… the day after they arrived they received the news that a central and important piece of land was threatened by a claim from neighboring stakeholders linked with the paramilitary power responsible of much of the war atrocities in the region. Instead of the growing peace village, they want to create a disco open to armed actors. This model village is an ecological center, a historically important site where they have invested many years of work together with international supporters like the Global Campus. The news moved us deeply, and we decided to write a letter to this group claiming the land. We support the vision of the peace village on this land and open this perspective and the abundance provided by the center to all the interested people of the region. As we were studying the history of globalization and the systems of fear that rule our societies we received news that army tanks were threatening their main village and searching for their legal representative. One trigger to this attack is that the day before, in the nearest village, students of the big primary and secondary school were demonstrating against the military base built right next to it and putting in direct danger the children studying there. For the same reason, 10 years ago, the Peace Community decided to abandon this village and all the work achieved there, and create a new one as the police and army stations were putting them in very dangerous situation in this war. We immediately activated our network and reached out to the Colombian government and army to stop this immediate threat to civilians and known peace workers. With these unexpected situations to attend, two of the Colombian with responsible positions in the Council were called back home by their companions. After few days it became clear that an alliance of calm and wise leaders was needed to focus on these urgent open issues, for the survival of many people and of the Peace Village itself. They arrived back home today and we blessed their journey, now supporting the two women who stay with opportunity to grow as leaders for the remaining three weeks of the Global Campus time. Being here gave a broader perspective to their situation and embedded it with other peace workers from other committed peace projects in the world. Together with Sabine Lichtenfels we empowered the vision of a peace model in this region where war is a major daily concern. This was a cased study for our group and all peace workers in the world, to deepen our research in finding sustainable solutions and collaborative support.
