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Transforming People, Transforming US Policies:
20 Year Commemorative Delegation to Colombia
June 13 - 23, 2020
Overview
Join veteran delegation organizer Lyn Clark Pegg and WFP cofounder Gail Phares on two side by side historic delegations to commemorate 20 years of accompaniment and advocacy in solidarity with the Colombian people. We hope to coordinate two simultaneous delegations: one focused in Bogota and one that travels outside the capital, overlapping at the end for action planning and a celebration gathering with historical and current partners.
For the last six decades, Colombia has endured a brutal armed conflict. In many cases, US involvement and military aid have exacerbated internal disputes, leading to gross human rights violations and creating one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises with almost 8 million people internally displaced and over 220,000 people killed. Witness for Peace Solidarity Collective delegates will see the effects of US policy firsthand, analyzing the effects of military aid on communities, the impact of Plan Colombia, the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement and Labor Action Plan, and US cooperation in the post-accords period.
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Learn about issues of internal displacement and armed conflict, grassroots peacebuilding efforts and the peace process, and the work of human rights defenders throughout the country.
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Meet with human rights defenders, displaced Afro-Colombian and Indigenous communities, and other advocates, and return prepared to act in solidarity.
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Reflect upon the impact of accompaniment, policy advocacy, and solidarity work, as we mark 20 years of on-the-ground presence and delegations.
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Gain the knowledge and skills necessary to return to the United States and advocate against harmful US policies, striving for new policies that uplift human rights and support Colombian communities on the ground.
Cost: $1,200 + international airfare
Fundraising help is available. Scholarship opportunities are available.
Join us on this historic delegation to mark two decades of work to build justice in Colombia.
Deadline
Application & $250 deposit due May 1, 2020.
Remaining Balance due May 13, 2020.
Price covers meals, lodging, interpreters, and transportation within Colombia, along with reading and activist tools.
Payment Information
OR
MAIL CHECK (Save us $ on processing fee):
Witness for Peace Midwest
PO box 6078
Minneapolis, Mn 55406
*Please note the name of the delegation on the check
For More Information
For information, contact Gail Phares, gailphares@earthlink.net, Lyn Clark Pegg, carolynpegg@yahoo.com, Ken Gilchrist, kgilchristmn@gmail.com.
Lyn has been involved in social justice issues for most of her adult life: the women’s movement, nonviolent protest against war, anti-racism initiatives, and Latin American issues. She is a retired educator and psychologist, but most of all an organizer/activist on behalf of her community, children, and grandchildren. This is her 20th WFP delegation (to Honduras, Nicaragua, Colombia, Venezuela, and Cuba). She is returning to Colomia to be in solidarity with our partners there who are non-violently resisting political, economic and social oppression and violations of their human rights.
