Colombia and the Peace Village of San José de Apartadó, Colombia
“Walking Together for Peace”
The Colombia Pilgrimage Appeal invites you to support this peace action.
http://www.grace-pilgrimage.com/
Approximately 500 people will go on a Peace Pilgrimage from October 1st to October 5th, 2008.
Peace workers from Israel, Palestine and many more countries - including representatives of the “new South American spirit of resurrection” from Mexico, Ecuador and other countries - will be led by Sabine Lichtenfels and Padre Javier Giraldo, together with experienced regional guides.
The idea for this pilgrimage grew out of the long standing cooperation between the Peace Research Centre Tamera, Portugal, and the Peace Village San José de Apartadó. Together with the inhabitants of other Colombian Peace Villages, they will show with this peace action their commitment to build up a global peace force which no longer stops at national borders.
The pilgrimage will pass through villages and hamlets surrounding San José, where, due to their remoteness, people live near military posts, police headquarters and other significant locations of the rebellion, totally unprotected between the fronts of the civil war. The goal of the pilgrimage is to become familiar with the threat to which Colombian peasants are exposed, to develop peace strategies, and to strengthen the Ring of Power – a confraternity for a future without war!
A media team will accompany The Caminata por la Vida – Grace Pilgrimage 2008.
“Creating Knowledge for a Peace Culture”
Following the pilgrimage an Educational Camp is to take place from October 7th to October 17th in San José de Apartadó. This event will mark the start of the Global Campus. In cooperation with the Campesino University of Resistance (Universidad del la Resistencia), participants will learn ecological and technological strategies for sustainability and self-sufficiency, for social knowledge, for conflict resolution and community development for peace villages, for social sustainability as well as non-violent resistance – knowledge that is needed to develop stable, nonviolent and self-sufficient peace villages.
The teaching staff of the Educational Camp consists of:
Sabine Lichtenfels, founder of the Global Campus; Co-founder of the Peace Research Village Tamera, Portugal
Padre Javier Giraldo, Jesuit Priest, Human Rights Activist, mentor and tutor of the Peace Village of San José
Jürgen Kleinwächter, Physicist, Inventor, Specialist for decentralised solar energy, Lörrach, Germany
Sami Awad, Teacher for Non-Violence; Head of the Holy Land Trust, Bethlehem, Palestine
Gloria Cuartas, Human Rights Activist, Bogota, Colombia
Benjamin von Mendelssohn, Founder of the Peace Research Village Middle East, Tamera, Portugal, and others.
Peacevillage San Jose de Apartado was the winner of the famous german "Aachen Peace Prize 2007" -
http://www.aachener-friedenspreis.de/english/2007/sanjose.html .
The Caminata por la Vida – Grace Pilgrimage is an international peace action “in the Name of Grace.”
It is a concrete peace action as well as an exemplary initiative for the development of a global peace force for a future without war. We invite you to participate in the pilgrimage and the subsequent Educational Camp, and also hope you will support this action by financially sponsoring the participation of Colombian pilgrims.
The Peacevillage of San José de Apartadó
Eleven years ago the inhabitants of San José de Apartadó, located in the Northern part of Colombia, joined forces and founded the Peace Village. Between the fronts of the civil war they maintain non-violent resistance against murder and eviction. During these years more than 170 inhabitants of the village – women, men and children – were murdered by the military, paramilitary and the guerrillas. They suffered food blockades and energy shortages, and were attacked in many other ways. The Colombian government has so far refused to protect the village effectively; quite the opposite, President Uribe suspects them of cooperation with the guerrillas, thus declaring them to be outlaws. What is happening to San José is happening in this or in a similar way to many places on earth. It is a war of the armed forces, a war for power and natural resources against peasants and villagers who want nothing else but to live and work on their land. However, despite all attacks and threats, the inhabitants of San José carry on, practice the spirit of reconciliation, and work their fields.
Their vision is: a Colombia without war and displacement; a positive future for their children; a self-determined life in dignity; and a command of ecological, technological and social know-how for a sustainable life. Meanwhile they have found friends and partners all over the world supporting this vision. They have become the symbol for the hope of peace in Colombia. At least fifteen other Peace Village have sprung up. In 2007 the Aachen Peace Prize was awarded to San José de Apartadó followed by a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.The Peace Research Centre Tamera and the Peace Village of San José de Apartadó have been maintaining amicable relations for many years. Inhabitants have repeatedly visited Tamera and participated in the Grace Pilgrimage in Israel/Palestine. Andrea Regelmann and other members of the Colombia Team regularly visit the Communidad de Paz in order to help them with the school, the development of a health facility, and the installation of solar energy.
The leadership
Padre Javier Giraldo is a Jesuit Priest from Bogotà and a Human Rights Activist. For many years he stands up for the fate of the four million displaced peasants of Colombia. Because of his engagement and his clear commitment to truth and humaneness, he has lived under permanent threat of death for many years. Eleven years ago he encouraged the inhabitants of San José to found a peace village and helped them create the charter they live by. Since then he acts as their advocate and as the permanent mentor of the Comunidad de Paz.
Sabine Lichtenfels is a theologian, author, one of the “1000 Women for Peace” and co-founder of the Peace Research Village Tamera, Portugal. In the years 2005 and 2007 she led the Grace Pilgrimages through Israel/Palestine with up to 180 international participants. With her evolved knowledge of community she knows how to handle conflicts among different groups of people and how to turn antagonism into friendship, mutual understanding and solidarity.
In February 2007 she visited the Communidad de Paz as a guest and participated in an international meeting. This was when the idea of the Caminata por la Vida – Grace Pilgrimage was born. Sabine Lichtenfels coined the term “Grace” expressing a peace worker’s ethics.
“GRACE is the commitment to end it where ever you are rather than fuelling it. In the name of GRACE I am always looking for a non-violent solution, a solution which creates justice and healing and serves everyone involved. Judgmental behaviour is never an answer, instead, at times, voicing clear distinctions where ever they are necessary.GRACE says: I am willing to end war and to understand by which means this can be done and I am willing to put myself in the service of this solution.”
(quote from the book “GRACE – Pilgrimage for a Future without War” by Sabine Lichtenfels).
The Campesino University of Resistance
The University was founded by various Peace Villages and Human Rights & Peace groups. They convey the knowledge needed by campesinos, displaced persons, Indios and human beings living under the threats of war, to enable them to found and develop self-sufficient communities capable to defend themselves non-violently and to work their land in order to feed themselves.
The Global Campus
The Global Campus is a worldwide net of educational initiatives in the formative stages. In cooperation with its partners – the Holy Land Trust, Palestine; the Barefoot College in Rajastan, India, and the Peace Village San José de Apartadó - the Peace Research Village Tamera, Portugal, is to pass on peace knowledge at different places in the world with the intent of developing peace villages.
The subjects of study are permaculture, decentralized solar energy, low-cost architecture (clay buildings), conflict resolution and non-violence, as well as healing work and the release of traumas lodged in the core areas of the human being - namely love, sexuality, partnership and spirituality. Walking hand in hand and how you can participate!
The development of a global perspective for a future without war is based on the direct solidarity between human beings of the “first” and the “third” world – including financial solidarity. We therefore ask you to financially support the Caminata por la Vida – Grace Pilgrimage.
When the total costs of the action – including transport, food, organisation, technical gear and the travel costs for speakers (no speaker fees) – are divided by the number of participants, it adds up to EUR500 per person.
Adopt one (or more) pilgrim(s) and become his/her or their sponsor!
With each sponsorship of EUR500 you open up the possibility for one pilgrim from Colombia to participate!
Your participation in the Caminata por la Vida – Grace Pilgrimage is sincerely welcome! International participation is essential for all actions in Colombia. Only international escorts can protect the Columbian peasants and displaced persons from violations from the police, the military, the guerrilla and/or paramilitary groups. We therefore invite a limited number of international participants to take part in the Caminata por la Vida – Grace Pilgrimage.
For you the pilgrimage may turn out to be a special experience, a challenging time of personal growth, a time of awakening to the world situation and of becoming aware of your own power for change. It is a special experience to be hosted by the courageous people of a peace community, to experience their care and hospitality, their knowledge, their power of vision and to share their unbroken joy of life despite the attacks and threats they suffer.
The participation fee for the pilgrimage and the educational camp amounts to EUR 1.500 excluding your flight or any other travel costs. With this contribution you also finance the participation of two Colombian pilgrims.
Walking hand in hand – this motto is an invitation for direct financial solidarity.
Those who wish to support this action may transfer their donation to the following accounts:
Switzerland
Account Holder: Grace Foundation – for the Humanisation of Money
Bank: Freie Gemeinschaftsbank Basel
Account no.: EK 3524.6
Clearing no.: 8392
BIC: RAIFCH22XXX
IBAN: CH73 0839 2000 0000 3524 6
Germany
Account holder :Friedens-Forschungs-Dorf e.V.
Bank: Deutsche Bank Berlin BLZ: 100 700 00
Account no.: 814 78 60 00 IBAN: DE09 1007 0024 0814 7860 00
Reference: Donation for Columbian Peace Village (donation receipt possible)
To register your participation in the pilgrimage and/or educational camp please contact Andrea Regelmann at the following addresses:
Email address: info@sos-sanjose.org
Postal address:
Institute for Global Peace Work / Grace Foundation Monte do Cerro
P-7630 Colos,
Portugal
Telephone: +351 – 283 – 635 – 484
For more information: www.sos-sanjose.org
and : http://www.grace-pilgrimage.com/
Donations for the people in the peacevillage "San Jose de Apartado" can be made also here :
http://de.betterplace.org/projects/458
Please support this event through sharing this informations in your networks.
Thank you !
UNA PEREGRINACION POR LA VIDA
Que queremos invitarlos conjuntamente con la Comunidad Internacional de Paz de Tamera a las personas u organizaciones que deseen compartir esta peregrinación de la vida de la esperanza por crear hoy y diariamente un mundo alternativo. Esta peregrinación se realizará entre el 1 y 5 de octubre, lo que implicará estar en la comunidad desde el 29 de septiembre y estar hasta el 6 de octubre. Es necesario el poder confirmar con anticipación la asistencia debido a las necesidades logísticas
La búsqueda real por un mundo alternativo está llena de tropiezos, de avances y retrocesos, de acontecimientos que nos golpean tan fuerte que pareciera que nos alejáramos totalmente de ese horizonte y que las fuerzas para caminar hubieran desaparecido, la soledad del camino ante un mundo que mira valores que van en contravía de la vida es el ambiente que se respira por todo lado y mas en nuestro país cuando el sentido de la vida se pierde y es el de la muerte, el de la guerra, el odio, el que prevalece.
Es el camino de la resistencia civil muchas veces desesperanzador y lleno de vacios por la soledad de verse un mundo cada vez mas deshumanizado ante el dolor, ante el hambre, ante la muerte; el sinsentido de un caminar por la vida se vuelve fatigoso y muchos deciden quedarse en el camino, salirse de él o renegar de este camino, si se mira con los ojos de los victoriosos tendrían toda la razón, si es el mundo del consumo de la destrucción de la naturaleza, del acumular, del todo vale se haría necesario dejar este duro caminar.
Lo mas difícil es renacer diariamente la esperanza en medio de la desesperanza o peor aun en medio del conformismo, de lo insensible, levantarse para seguir caminando en contra de la corriente solo puede nacer de las convicciones reales por la vida y son cosas que nos desgarran porque nos quitan el aliento, la respiración y nos fatigan, pero por ello se hace necesario tener momentos profundos de reflexión, momentos donde los que creemos y construimos un mundo alternativo lleno de fatigas ante este mundo que siembra muerte por todo lado, nos encontremos a caminar a peregrinar a orar por la vida, por la solidaridad.
Es eso lo que buscamos con esta peregrinación, poder sentirnos conjuntamente y unir los esfuerzos de la esperanza, esos que muchas se nos pierde en este caminar, es caminar por las veredas de la comunidad, sentir y vivir la naturaleza con esos ojos alternativos llenos de vida, es respirar el amanecer, el anocher, la lluvia y el sol, es en definitiva echarnos a andar los que creemos que esa posibilidad de vida para todos con dignidad es posible vivirla hoy y construirla desde nuestras vidas.
La peregrinación es recorrer entre todos y poder colocar nuestras esperanzas, nuestras limitaciones, nuestros miedos, nuestros obstáculos, nuestra memoria, nuestra resistencia civil en una sola voz para que donde estemos seamos constructores de vida.
Es por ello que en esta peregrinación se darán cita muchas comunidades de nuestro país que viven al igual que nosotros el exterminio decretado por el estado desde su lógica paramilitar, también otras experiencias en diversas partes del mundo, donde caminaremos reflexionaremos y compartiremos las posibilidades reales de construcción de ese mundo que llamamos alternativo no solo como posibilidad del futuro sino como hecho realizado y que construimos diariamente.
Serán cinco días de caminar en ese compartir reflexivo y alimentador por un mundo alternativo lleno de muchas experiencias, de muchos caminares en nuestro país y en el mundo que hacen historia alternativa de dignidad. Serán nuestras veredas de la Comunidad de Paz aquellas que han escuchado los gritos de muerte pero también los gritos de esperanza las que nos den el ambiente y el aliento para caminar.
Es por ello que queremos invitarlos conjuntamente con la Comunidad Internacional de Paz de Tamera a las personas u organizaciones que deseen compartir esta peregrinación de la vida de la esperanza por crear hoy y diariamente un mundo alternativo. Esta peregrinación se realizará entre el 1 y 5 de octubre, lo que implicará estar en la comunidad desde el 29 de septiembre y estar hasta el 6 de octubre. Es necesario el poder confirmar con anticipación la asistencia debido a las necesidades logísticas.
Después de ello estaremos algunas comunidades de nuestro país y de otros países compartiendo quince días de la Universidad esta vez no solo de la campesina sino de la búsqueda de una Universidad Global de la Vida y la Resistencia, será desde el 7 al 17 de octubre y de igual forma la invitación es para quienes quieran compartir el poder hacerlo.
Agradecemos el apoyo y la participación a esta peregrinación, el caminar unido por la vida nos da la esperanza de que un mundo alternativo se sigue construyendo diariamente en muchos lugares del mundo, luces pequeñas formando una gran luz de vida..
COMUNIDAD DE PAZ DE SAN JOSE DE APARTADO
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