Research Paper Help

007CA says on Jun 25, 2005, 18:45:

san jose de apartado it sounds like you have a lot of information about the communities principles and history, but if you don't let me know. I stayed with a "peace comunity" in Choco similar to SJA that my Colombian friends had never heard of . My guess is that not many Colombians know of this community. This massacre did bring some attention to what these peace communities are and what they stand for though.

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You_Vandal says on Jun 25, 2005, 21:24:

A little more about the community It has declared itself a neutral "peace community" since 1997. Currently an organization called Fellowship of Reconciliation works in the community. The community has been attacked several times by paras, guerillas and the Colombian military is suspected of also participating in the attacks. The reason I ask if there is a public opinion of the community because in the summer of 2004 the community was mentioned specifically by Pres. Uribe and accused of being supportive and sympathetic to FARC and also accused of obstructing justice. Several U.S Senators (including Sen. John Kerry and John Edwards who were presidental candidates at the time) signed onto a letter to Pres. Uribe asking him to retract his statements because it may cause more violence against the community and the U.S and international workers in the community. That is the reason I thought that the public might have some opinion about the community since they were specifically pointed out by Pres. Uribe, but then again I don't know how much people pay attention to all the things the Uribe says, because I know I can't keep up with every single statement that Pres. Bush makes. Thank you for your help. Kevin

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007CA says on Jun 26, 2005, 07:36:

gringoDeLouisian Apartado is a small city in the Antioquia department, (area called Uraba) and San Jose de Apartado is a small community about 30 minutes from Apartado. This area is in the northwest part of the country, near the Bay of Turbo and close-ish to the Panama border.
This area and its people have been devastated over the years by guerrillas, paramilitaries and the army (specifically the 17th brigade that works hand in hand with the paras) - it is a very desirable area because it is rich in natural resources and near both the Caribbean and the Pacific. (so strategically important)

The SJA community declared itself neutral a few years back (10 maybe?) meaning it would support NO armed group - not even the army - as around 130 or so of its members have been killed by the 3 armed groups. They want to farm their land and be left alone essentially.

8 members of the community -including three children -were brutally murdered in February one day when they were not accompanied by FOR. and as Kevin said, Uribe claimed they were guerrilla supporters and also denied that the army did it. He responded to the massacre by sending in more army. The community has no reason to trust the army and so packed up and moved.

Under Uribe's democratic security policy, he wants no corner of the country to be left without army presence.

I accompanied a community called Cacarica, which is also a peace community, in the Choco department. Their principles are the same as that of SJA. They support NO armed group and bear no arms. The Choco region is largely afro-colombian, and situated also in the northwest of the country. Choco borders Panama, the Caribbean, and the Pacific.
This particular farming, rural, community was kicked off their land in 1997 by a joint military and paramilitary operation called "operacion genesis". Their land is also extremely rich in natural resources) Members were brutally murdered (they decapitated one man's head and then played soccer with it in front of the community) and they (around 2,000 people) were then forced to live in a gymnasium of the closest city, Turbo, for four years. With the help of international human rights lawyers, they were able to get their land back in 2001. They are living on their land now and, like FOR in SJA, there are working volunteers from the organization Peace Brigades International that "accompany" or live with the community to ensure their protection. The PBI volunteers are either Canadian, American or European. The paras and army are still very present in the area though and harass the community. However, the cost would be too great if they starting killing again as the state knows the international volunteers have to be protected. They do not want an int'l scandal.

I have visited other peace communities or as they sometimes call themselves "communities living in resistance" in neighborhoods of displaced people (or internal refugees) in Bogota and Medellin. There are a lot of human rights organizations that support these communities both in Colombia and abroad. The problem is that the Colombian human rights orgs are falsely lumped in the category of being guerrilla supporters and their work is very dangerous as they can receive death threats and some have been murdered.
I don't know exactly how many communities in resistence there are in all of the country.

Sorry this was so long-winded! I hope I kept your attention and I have more info if you are interested!
Cheers

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You_Vandal says on Jun 26, 2005, 15:00:

Thank you so much for the information. To answer your question 007, there are approximately 50-55 similar neutral communities in Colombia that vary in size. Does anyone know of Colombian news papers that provide English translations?

Thank you to everyone for the help. I visited this site last year seeking information on the same community because I intended to visit the communities of San Jose and Cacarrica and was treated very harshly. I was advised to stay in the U.S unless I wanted to risk being killed by FARC, this was just following the discotech bombings during the FARC anniversary. That is why I did not return to the site for advice again until now. But all of you have been very helpful.

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007CA says on Jun 26, 2005, 15:55:

Kevin and gringodeL. Glad to be of help. It's too bad that people from the site advised you to stay away from these communities; it sounds like they know nothing about them. There is no doubt that Colombia can be dangerous, but not one international volunteer has ever been killed in all the years they have been accompanying these communities. Many see only the FARC and no others as killers; not true. While the FARC for sure commit human rights atrocities, the paras and certain sectors of the army do too. In fact, human rights orgs will say that the paras commit about 70-80% of atrocities and the guerrillas about 20-30%. Just saying this will make some people say you are a guerrilla supporter/sympathizer. This is simply NOT true as human rights orgs support PEACE, Non-violence, and a negotiated solution to the conflict. Maybe it's easier said that done, but that's the philosophy.
For more info on Cacarica, go to the Chicagoans for a Peaceful Colombia website
www.chicagoans.net
Good luck with your research.

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utopiacowboy says on Jun 26, 2005, 22:24:

Colombian newspapers that provide English translations? The newspapers are written for Colombians and they don't give a rat's ass about English. If you don't know Spanish or aren't learning it as fast as you can, you've got no business poking around Colombia. Muerto para los gringos!

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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007CA says on Jun 27, 2005, 07:32:

cowboy what are you so angry about? don't you think muerto para los gringos is a little strong!?
are you not a gringo yourself?
Besides, in other countries there ARE newpapers written in English for ex-pats so it's not so far-fetched.

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