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Forgiveness as a Beginning to the End of War

From http://www2.rnw.nl/rnw/en/features/humanrights/041209hr

Forgiving The Enemy
by Eric Beauchemin, 14 January 2005

"There's more to life than war," says Alberto Cuéllar, a Colombian who spent nearly two decades fighting with the guerillas. 17 years ago, he lost half his face in an army ambush. Army captain Oscar Buitrago was also wounded in Colombia's 40-year civil war: he lost half his leg in a minefield. Five years ago, the two former enemies met and decided to fight for peace in their country. They also want to help the thousands of other rebels and government soldiers who have been injured in Colombia's ongoing conflict.

Oscar Buitrago lost his leg in a military operation against rebels. He was looking in his binoculars for retreating guerrillas, when he slipped and fell into a minefield. He had to be operated on six times. He remained in the army and he started trying to assist other wounded soldiers. In 1996, he paid a visit to a town in northern Colombia where hundreds of people had lost limbs in landmine accidents. They were unable to get artificial limbs and had attached rudimentary plastic prosthesis to their stumps to be able to move around. Buitrago was outraged by the situation. In 1998, he managed to convince the Colombian authorities to launch a campaign against anti-personnel mines.

It was during this time that he heard about a former leader of the rebel Popular Liberation Army, who was helping guerrillas who had been wounded in the war. In November 1998, he finally decided to call Alberto Cuéllar. The former rebel leader had been shot three times and seriously wounded in a police ambush 10 years earlier. At first, Cuéllar thought that Buitrago was a spy. Cuéllar's comrades-in-arms accused him of joining the paramilitary forces, who are closely aligned with the army. Buitrago's mates couldn't understand how he could speak to the "bandits who had stolen his leg", as they put it. It took the two men eight months to get over their suspicions.

Buitrago still recalls the day they met. "We shook each other's hands and we forgave each other. We decided to show people that peace was possible here in Colombia and the rest of the world." In July 1999, the two men set up Confepaz, which means 'with faith, peace'. The group is now working with some of the 12,000 former rebels and government soldiers who were wounded in the war.

One of their top priorities has been to get trauma treatment for the veterans and themselves. Both men suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and they have trouble sleeping. "For me to sleep," says Buitrago, "I need to feel pain. I get in a position in which I'm almost seated. I put my hand behind my back so I can feel pain in my shoulder. That's the only way I can fall asleep." Cuéllar used to wake up every time he turned in his sleep, which was about 10 to 20 times a night.

The two men and other injured veterans are now doing group therapy and they will soon start individual sessions. Buitrago's goals are quite simple: "I'm hoping I will find peace. I want to be like normal people who sleep well and wake up without pain. I've been helping others who were injured during the war, but I still haven't been able to help myself."

Confepaz is also trying to push the authorities to recognise the sacrifices made by injured rebels and veterans. The former guerrillas receive no assistance whatsoever from the State. Many of them went into the mountains with little or no education. They have no job skills, and in a country where 14 percent of the people are unemployed, they face an uphill battle on the job market. The rebels are viewed by many Colombians as criminals, and for those who were injured in the war, the stigma is even greater.

Injured government soldiers also face considerable obstacles, says Buitrago. "The government gives us only a small pension. As a captain, I receive 290 dollars a month, but a private only gets 140 or 145 dollars a month. That's not enough to survive on if you have a family and have to pay rent."

The two men are working with various government agencies to study the physical, psychological and work-related impact of disability for former soldiers and rebels. "This led to a reconciliation ceremony in the north-western department of Antioquia," says Buitrago, "involving 120 former rebels and soldiers - all of whom were wounded in the war. We met in an army library in Medellín, and we all embraced and forgave each other. It was a symbolic act, of course, but not everyone is prepared to do even that. Many people aren't willing to look their so-called enemy in the eyes and embrace him and say, 'Brother, forgive me. I forgive you.' It's not easy."
Cuéllar agrees that after four decades of war, the road to peace isn't easy. "I believe that you can't bring about peace just by walking around with a poster and saying you want peace. You have to find peace within yourself. In Colombia, there are many groups that talk about peace, but are they really committed to peace? Do they know what peace is, or for that matter, what war is? I always say that I survived the war to be able to enjoy peace. That's why I'm doing this. Our work at Confepaz is a slow process. We have to teach Colombians, our children, our army that there is more to life than war. All of us have to commit ourselves to peace."

Confepaz: provides employement advise, legal aid and psyco-social support to wounded rebels and gouvernment soilders.
E-mail: confepaz99 at hotmail.com

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By Sam Salmon on Jan 14, 2005, 20:54 in Politics & the war.

Miguel says on Jan 15, 2005, 04:11:

Thanks For sharing that article, Sam.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Neonovo says on Jan 15, 2005, 17:54:

Beatiful contribution Señor Sam Salmon; I honor your beatiful contribution. You have given me a grave case of "La Chiripiorca".

Very Grateful. Thanks.

Neo

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