wfn.org | WCC FEATURE: Despite Uruguay's peaceful image, churches strive to overcome violence

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World Council of Churches - Feature

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For immediate release - 20/07/2009 17:19:22

DESPITE URUGUAY'S PEACEFUL IMAGE, CHURCHES STRIVE TO OVERCOME

>VIOLENCE

>Free photos available, see below

Dispelling the myth of "a little peaceful country", an
international ecumenical Living Letters team visited Uruguay and
discovered how violence manifests itself at the levels of family
life, the state and youth, and how the churches in this South
American country seek to overcome it. 

"Some of the members of the Living Letters team had the idyllic
vision that they had brought with them changed when they met the
actual situation here," said Pastor Oscar Bolioli, President of
the Federation of Evangelical Churches in Uruguay, who hosted the
visit. 

"This is not a peaceful society," stated Gerardo Caetano, a
historian and university teacher, speaking to members of the
Living Letters team, drawn from Germany, Norway, Bolivia,
Argentina, Brazil and Kenya, who visited Uruguay, 9-11 July.

Living Letters (

http://www.overcomingviolence.org/iepc/living-letters-visits.html
)is an initiative of the World Council of Churches (WCC), and
consists of small ecumenical teams that visit churches in various
countries to listen, learn and share ways of overcoming violence
and promoting peace.

According to Caetano, there has been a breakdown in Uruguayan
society resulting in the creation of poor ghettos and rich
ghettos. It is a society that finds it difficult to face up to
its conflicts. "It is a society that exploits its own members,"
he declared. 

While political leaders were incapable of engaging in deep
thought on the issue, Caetano said, public perception was
increasingly dominated by the myth that violence had its origins
in the marginalized sectors of society. Young people in
particular were often objects of suspicion, he said. 

This "criminalization" of the young was also emphasized by Dr
Alba Negrín, a specialist in addiction. She explained that,
contrary to what is usually believed, the most widespread
addiction is addiction to alcohol. 

Violence within families is a phenomenon that has always
existed, but has often been hidden, explained Lilian Abracinskas,
a campaigner for women's rights. The difference now is that "we
are encouraged to speak out" and more cases are brought to
light.

>The wounds of state terrorism 

The case of those who were arrested and disappeared during the
dictatorship governing the country between 1973 and 1985 is an
unresolved issue on the agenda of Uruguayan democracy, said
Eduardo Pirotto, of the South American non-governmental
organization Peace and Justice Service (SERPAJ). 

Organizations defending human rights have documented around 300
cases of disappearances. A Peace Commission stated in 2002 that
81 individuals (26 in Uruguay and 55 in Argentina) were abducted,
tortured and killed in secret detention centres between 1971 and
1981. 

Successive democratic governments have lacked the political will
to bring the truth to light and bring those responsible for these
crimes before the courts, Pirotto said.

Their justification, he said, is that they are protected by an
amnesty law ratified by plebiscite in 1989. A plebiscite to
repeal the law is to take place next October. 

The Living Letters team heard first-hand testimonies of the
struggle for truth by victims of state terrorism from Macarena
Gelman, the daughter of Argentinean victims of disappearances. 

Gelman was born in November 1976 in Uruguay, where her mother
was detained under the coordinated repression plan of the South
American dictatorships. She was adopted by a police officer and
only discovered her identity in 2000, after the death of her
adoptive father, and thanks to a tireless search by her
grandfather, the Argentinean poet Juan Gelman. 

Macarena Gelman continues her investigations to discover the
truth about what became of her mother, and continues to hope that
justice will be done for those who disappeared. 

Her testimony is typical of those who are searching for their
disappeared loved ones, said Bolioli. "In a way, this shows the
fragility of Uruguayan democracy, dominated by a small group that
claims to be above the law, to control the truth and the fate of
others." 

The work of the churches to overcome violence 

The Living Letters team visited various projects of the
Uruguayan churches and other civil society organizations, such as
the Pastoral Centre for Women and Families, of the Methodist
Church in Uruguay, and the Methodist Instituto de Buena Voluntad,
which offers training for handicapped adolescents. 

At the Voice of Women Foundation, a pioneer organization in the
department of Colonia in southwestern Uruguay, the Living Letters
team had the opportunity to see the work being done since 1992
with victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse. 

The Foundation, formed by members of the Waldensian Evangelical
Church of the River Plate, provides support, prevention and
training and is present in hospitals, schools, churches and other
institutions. 

The Living Letters team also met with representatives of the
First National "Vaccination" Campaign against child abuse
launched in 2003 under the title "Treatment for good treatment"
("Un trato por un buen trato"). The campaign consists of symbolic
vaccinations aiming to raise awareness of the problem. Those who
are "vaccinated" commit to listen to children and teenagers who
are abuse victims, to believe them, and to give them protection.

In the Barrio Borro Ecumenical Centre, an initiative of the
Federation of Evangelical Churches in Uruguay, the Living Letters
team visited a 20-year-old project for children, youth and women
in a northern suburb of the capital city Montevideo where
thousands of low-income families live. The initiative is based on
the belief that society should stimulate excluded sectors,
instead of simply mitigating the effects of an unjust social
system. 

"These visits enabled the Living Letters team to get an idea of
the churches' efforts to respond to social problems in Uruguay,"
Bolioli said. The visit ended with a meeting with church members
and pastors in Montevideo. 

For the Uruguayan churches the visit provided an opportunity "to
reflect and take a fresh look at the ways in which they can
respond to violence, particularly in view of the forthcoming
national elections in October," Bolioli added. 

Living Letters visits are being organized within the framework
of the WCC Decade to Overcome Violence (
http://www.overcomingviolence.org )in preparation for the
International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (
http://www.overcomingviolence.org/iepc ), to be held in
Kingston, Jamaica, in May 2011. 

>[994 words] 

>WCC member churches in Uruguay:
>http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=4742

Living Letters visit to Uruguay and Bolivia:

http://www.overcomingviolence.org/iepc/living-letters-visits/uruguay-and-bolivia.html

>Photo gallery:
>http://www.overcomingviolence.org/?id=6952

Opinions expressed in WCC Features do not necessarily reflect
WCC policy. This material may be reprinted freely, providing
credit is given to the author. 

Additional information:Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507
6363 media@wcc-coe.org

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