Fellowship of Reconciliation

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Fellowship of Reconciliation
Working for peace, justice and nonviolence since 1915

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Dear Friends,

Fifteen years ago, forcibly displaced from their lands, campesinos in San José de Apartadó joined together in resistance. Tired of living in fear, they returned home to live on their lands, cultivate their crops, and raise their children. On March 23, 1997, they founded the Peace Community of San Jose.

Today, 15 years later, they celebrate their resistance, their survival and all they have overcome. And they continue to struggle amidst war, where the presence of soldiers, helicopters and combat are ordinary. Their resistance quietly continues amid tree-lined cacao orchards, yucca fields and plantains.

Today, we join the Peace Community to remember the past and celebrate the years to come. Please consider donating in our ten-year anniversary campaign.

In April, President Obama will travel to Colombia to join counterparts from around the region at the Summit of the Americas. The Fellowship of Reconciliation will be present there at an alternative People's Summit. And here at home we are also organizing for change.

Will you join thousands of activists, students and faith leaders to commemorate the Days of Prayer and Action for Colombia? We invite you to stand in solidarity with the 5.2 million Colombians who have been driven off of their land by the armed conflict.

A PLACE TO CALL HOME:
Hand in hand for peace in Colombia

Hundreds of groups from across the country will help us create 5,200 homes to represent Colombia’s 5.2 million internally displaced people’s desire to return home. Will you join us?

Here's how you can get involved this April:

Gather with friends, family, your student group, church group or organization and help us create 5,200 paper houses to represent Colombia’s 5.2 million internally displaced people’s desire to return home. (You don't have to cut out all 5,200. Activists from across the country will be working together on this project.) The "homes" will be delivered to the White House with our call for aid for the displaced.
Help us flood the White House with messages calling for new U.S. policies toward Colombia. We've got 15,000 postcards ready to be sent to President Obama calling on the U.S. to stop funding the Colombian military and instead support aid for aid for the displaced.
Ask your faith community leaders to incorporate a prayer for peace in Colombia or dedicate a worship service to Colombia.
Organize a public event to display the houses you've made and expose the United States' role in Colombia's crisis. Fuel the movement for policies that alleviate -- not exacerbate -- mass displacement.
Learn about the People's Summit that FOR is helping to organize in Cartagena, Colombia.

With more than five million displaced people, Colombia is now home to the world's greatest displacement crisis. Every day, Colombian communities and human rights organizers risk their lives for human rights, land rights and peace in their country.

Now it's more important than ever to stand with the victims of Colombia's violence during the Days of Prayer and Action for Colombia. If you have any questions or would like to get involved, please email us today. We look forward to working with you!

In peace,

Susana Pimiento, John Lindsay-Poland, and Liza Smith

Fellowship of Reconciliation | P.O. Box 271, Nyack, NY 10960
for@forusa.org | www.forusa.org | (845) 358-4601

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A PLACE TO CALL HOME: Hand in hand for peace in Colombia

A PLACE TO CALL HOME:
Hand in hand for peace in Colombia