wfn.org | FEATURE: Daring to Speak Out for Colombia's Internally

["Frank Imhoff" <Frank.Imhoff@elca.org>]

FEATURE: Daring to Speak Out for Colombia's Internally Displaced
Lutheran Church Gives Hope Amid Conflict, Fear

BOGOTA, Colombia/GENEVA, 21 February 2005 (LWI) - Approaching the village
of Tobia, via a steep path, Hebert Gutiérrez, coordinator for the
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Colombia (IELCO), starts calling out Rosa
Amaya. He wants her to know who is coming. There are many guerrillas in
Tobia, a 90-minute drive from the capital, and everyone is constantly
alert.

Rosa, 39, has eight children ranging from one to 18 years of age. Her
nine-year-old niece lives with them, since Rosa's brother is in prison.
Her husband Orlando works as a hotel guard in Bogota, returning to his
family once or twice a month with enough money for the children's
schooling. Rosa takes care of everything else. She gets up at 4.00 a. m.
daily to make churros (bread rolls), which the children bring to school to
eat and sell.

She grows a variety of vegetables and fruits in the family garden, and
also keeps some chickens for the family's consumption, and for sale.
During weekends, the children are at home to help out.

On the face of it, this family appears to be doing relatively well, but
their lives were not always so easy. Rosa's family is one of over two
million Colombians displaced internally or forced to flee to neighboring
countries as a result of a civil war that has lasted over 40 years.

IELCO, a Lutheran World Federation (LWF) member church since 1966, has
been assisting internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Colombia for several
years. "We work in a very difficult context," asserted IELCO Bishop
Sijifredo D. Buitrago in an interview with Lutheran World Information
(LWI), referring to the country's political and socio-economic crisis.

The government continues to face serious challenges as it deals with
widespread internal armed conflict mainly perpetrated by the two major
guerrilla groups * Colombian Revolutionary Forces (FARC) and the National
Liberation Army (ELN), and narcotic trafficking. Para-military forces have
developed a third group in the conflict, which is greatly feared because
of its extreme violent methods against civil society.

In its response to the IDPs' needs, IELCO works closely with the El
Salvador-based LWF Department for World Service regional office in Central
America, and with Action by Churches Together (ACT) International, the
global network of churches and their agencies responding to emergencies
worldwide. The LWF is a founding member of ACT.

"Migration and displacement severely affect the life of IELCO's congregations as some of them are located in the so-called 'red-zones'," Buitrago
said, referring to regions controlled by one or more armed groups.

As the violence increases, the human rights situation deteriorates, and
advocacy becomes an increasingly risky job. Indeed, many of IELCO's
members are displaced, remarked Rev. Jairo Suarez, secretary for the
church's office for justice and life. He acknowledged there are risks
involved in speaking out for people's rights in the context of a conflict
in which hundreds are killed annually. But the church is unwavering in its
commitment. Human rights defenders, judges, journalists, peace activists,
businesspersons, leaders of indigenous communities and religious people
are the most exposed groups for kidnappings and violent actions, Suarez
explained.

Sharing the Faith from Different Contexts

The violence and instability coupled with the deteriorating economic
situation has greatly affected the church's capacity to sustain itself
financially. IELCO recently had to shut down some of its schools due to
lack of financial resources.

Buitrago stressed the importance of sharing in the joys and struggles of
the member churches of the Lutheran communion. "We live out our faith in
different contexts, and coming here makes me realize just how diverse the
LWF is," he said on his first visit to the LWF Geneva secretariat late
last year. He has been head of the church since January 2004, succeeding
Rev. Nehemias Parada.

For Rosa's family and other community members, such solidarity has meant
having access to potable water and latrines, which reduces the spread of
water-borne diseases. They also received assistance toward the construction of houses. The next phase of IELCO's project will provide families with
material for improved kitchens, and Rosa is planning hers. They will also
receive education in hygiene and health.

The IELCO has 3,000 members with 14 congregations. Ninety percent of
Colombia's 42 million people are Roman Catholic.* (720 words)

*This article is part of the ongoing LWI Features on Healing focusing on
the LWF Tenth Assembly theme, "For the Healing of the World."

(A contribution by LWI editors, and ACT communication office.)

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 138
member churches in 77 countries all over the world, with a membership of
nearly 66 million Christians. The LWF acts on behalf of its member
churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical and inter-faith
relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication,
and the various aspects of mission and development work. Its secretariat
is located in Geneva, Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the LWF's information service. Unless
specifically noted, material presented does not represent positions or
opinions of the LWF or of its various units. Where the dateline of an
article contains the notation (LWI), the material may be freely reproduced
with acknowledgment.]

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