Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Buga (Agenzia Fides) - "Liberen los secuestrados" (Free the Captives) is the slogan of eighty young Colombians who denounce the scourge of kidnapping in their country and are creating an awareness campaign, which led them on Wednesday, November 18, to meet with Pope Benedict XVI at the end the General Audience. Along with several Colombian Bishops were former captives and relatives of people still being held by kidnappers. In fact, Colombia is still experiencing a very unique situation as regards warfare and violence within the country. The Catholic Church has long been committed to establishing dialogue for the liberation of the hostages and to promoting peace throughout the country. Fides has asked a missionary who lived and worked in Colombia about this difficult situation. Here below, we publish his testimony, maintaining anonymity for security reasons.
"Colombia has lived a long and painful experience of inequality and social injustice, similar to many other countries in the world. But the elements that make it unique, in my opinion, can be traced back to several factors.
1. The geography of Colombia. Few think of Colombia as a mountainous country, because they look more at the fact that Colombia is bordered by two great oceans, Atlantic and Pacific. When the Andes reach Colombia, the chain splits into three other mountain ranges that cross the country from east to west. In this geographical area there are many areas that the State does not reach efficiently, i.e. with the structures of health, justice and administration.
2. The armed rebel groups. Colombia has had several guerrilla groups for many years. At first it seemed like a way of revolutionary proposal, but slowly but surely - or because the historic leaders grew old or because they became more interested in continuing the struggle than in renewing the ideology - these groups have become machines with a highly costly economy. This implies the need to seek money at all costs. Hence the extortion farmers with more economic opportunities, kidnapping for purely economic alliance with drug-trafficking groups.
3. The drug cartels. Until a few years ago, there were one or two powerful groups, in some way identifiable. Now they are fragmented. Instead of large cartels, there are many groups fighting for the maintenance of the fields to cultivate, who optimize lab processes, who invent new routes for drug trafficking, taking advantage of the difficult geography of the area and the strategic position of the armed rebel groups.
4. The failed experiences of dialogue. The release of the hostages has actually been a very difficult process. There has been no coherent and consistent policy on the part of any of the parties involved. So, the common people have begun to lose their patience and now almost prefer not to touch the issue...
5.What can a poor and simple Christian do? I think the first thing is to feel pain, sorrow for their homeland. The hostages are compatriots, as well as the guerrillas, even if we think that they are wrong in fundamental ways. We still have to learn a lot about the problem, consider the processes in the long-term and without acting hastily. We must accompany the protests for respect for human values and not the protests for power. We must be convinced of the importance of active non-violence. A second element is the spirituality: we do not build our own history and we must cooperate closely with God. That means historical patience, negotiating without compromising on values, with an attitude of prayer." (CE) (Agenzia Fides 23/11/2009)
