After marching for over a month, ten-thousand representatives of Colombia's indigenous peoples from 102 towns arrived in Bogotá on 20 November, where they camped on the grounds of the national university for five days. They sought a meeting with President Uribe and the Colombian government to demand that they respect the rights of the indigenous communities. They also wanted to build solidarity with other sectors of Colombian society to join the struggle for a more peaceful country. 

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is forwarding the following urgent action written by the Latin American Working Group (LAWG), with whom CPT’s Colombia team has collaborated extensively.  CPT accompanied the nonviolent protests of indigenous people mentioned below while they were in Bogotá. See http://www.cpt.org/cptnet/2008/11/25/colombia-indigenous-peoples-join-qu...

During November, members of human rights organizations in Barrancabermeja (Barranca) experienced further threats and risks to their safety as they continued their work. CPT-Colombia supported these organizations and leaders through their presence at various gatherings and workshops. In addition, the team continued accompaniment work in the Middle Magdalena region, visiting communities in neighboring municipalities.

One day, when we were visiting my two favorite children in the Opón, the girls invited me to swim with them in the river.  Playing with children gives me a chance to connect in ways beyond my imperfect Spanish and I jumped at the invitation even though I had not brought my bathing suit.  So there we were, me in my T-shirt and underwear, playing tag in the river.  The girls proudly showed me how they could hold their breath underwater.  (Every time they disappeared into the muddy water and strong current, I held my breath until their heads bobbed into view.)

The CPT Colombia team is encouraging its CPT constituents to subscribe to its new CPT COLOMBIA ACTION & SOLIDARITY NETWORK <http://mailman.cpt.org/mailman/listinfo/cpt-colombia-action-solidarity-network>, an interactive list-serve dedicated exclusively to Urgent Actions and other calls to action.