Colombia: Days of Prayer and Action 2013

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By Rebekah Sears, MCC Colombia

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After fifty years of internal armed conflict which has displaced over five million people and shattered countless lives, we join with our Colombian sisters and brothers during the upcoming 2013 Days of Prayer and Action for Colombia to say “Now Is the Time for Peace with Justice.”

2013 will be a critical year in Colombia. Peace talks, which were initiated in 2012 to bring an end to almost 50 years of armed conflict in Colombia, continue between the Government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

There have been several failed attempts to reach a peaceful settlement of the conflict, but after 50 years of conflict spreading across several regions of the country, many Colombians are ready for a change.

Several of the issues of contention (which are also part of the agenda of these peace talks) include access and control of land, the participation of civil society in the peace process, the rights of victims, as well as reparations and reconciliation, the impacts of the trafficking of illicit crops and many others.

For this reason, churches, communities and individuals in Colombia, the United States, Canada and other places, through the Days of Prayer and Action for Colombia campaign, are calling on their prospective governments to work towards promoting a just peace in Colombia. Now is the time.

The Days of Prayer and Action for Colombia (DOPA) is an annual campaign, held every March or April, aimed at mobilizing churches, organizations, communities and individuals to take action and to pray for peace and justice within Colombia.

This year, DOPA will run from Friday April 26 to Monday April 29, 2013. It has been running for 7 years, involving hundreds of congregations and communities from various Christian denominations in Colombia as well as North America.

This year, the theme is “Now is the Time for Peace with Justice in Colombia” – following the continuing peace talks and calling for more than just a settlement, but real actions to help promote a just and sustainable peace. Such a peace must reach out from beyond the negotiating table in Havana and into communities across Colombia. We know a lasting peace can only be built on the strong foundation of truth, justice, reparations to victims, and reconciliation at every level of Colombian society.

In the United States and Canada, churches will be calling on their governments to support the Peace Talks in general and also to support foreign policies that would promote peace in Colombia. Such policies include:  reorienting foreign assistance to Colombia so that it is aid for peace, rather than aid for war.  U.S. foreign assistance funds should support the peace process and the implementation of peace accords.

Restructured aid should focus on the safe and sustainable return of land for internally displaced persons and refugees; integration support for those displaced communities that do not wish to return to their places of origin; and alternative economic development programs that respect human rights and the environment and are developed in consultation with local communities; the reintegration of demobilized guerilla fighters and social services for child soldiers. Finally, this new understanding of U.S. aid should help prevent a return to violence by supporting a strengthened justice system, an independent truth commission and an independent mechanism to verify peace accord compliance.

Mennonite Central Committee and our partners in Colombia are working to support this timely call for a just peace. As usual, MCC will be providing churches with a worship resource, particularly geared towards Sunday the 28^th of April, 2013, where churches can share prayers, poems, songs and reflections on the topic of peace in Colombia. Stay tuned for the Worship Resource.

Also, check out the DOPA website for more activities, updates and resources: http://washington.mcc.org/days

Please consider joining us from April 28-29 in 2013 as we pray and take action in Colombia, in North America and all over the world. Now is the time for a sustainable and just peace for the people of Colombia.