In Colombia, an insurgency-counterinsurgency war has left over 200,000 people dead since 1964 and displaced over three million others from their homes. CPT's Colombia delegations will meet with church, human rights and social justice organizers in Bogotá and in Barrancabermeja, the industrial city in the Magdalena Medio region where CPT's full-time team has been based since 2001. In addition, delegates will spend several days in the countryside where communities have been subject to attack and threats by various armed groups. The September delegation will focus on the Opón.

Delegates will visit rural farming and fishing communities along the Opón River in the Magdalena Medio region, where armed groups continue to operate. Many farm families on the Opón river are now facing economic displacement as wealthy landowners buy up surrounding farms. Delegates will hear from displaced families living in Barrancabermeja, and meet with social organizations working for justice locally and nationally. The Opón river communities were a main focus of CPT Colombia accompaniment for several years beginning in 2001, when residents began to return home after being forced to displace due to increasing violence.

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CPT is an ecumenical violence-reduction initiative with support and membership from a range of Catholic and Protestant denominations. CPT has had a continuing presence in the Magdalena Medio region of Colombia since May 2001.

FUNDRAISING EXPECTATION: $2000 US or $2200 Cdn (covers roundtrip airfare).