CPTnet
May 14, 2004
COLOMBIA: Son of the community
by Irene Erin Kindy
When the neighbours heard the motorized canoe, they knew it was
something out of the ordinary. Then the canoe rounded the bend of the
river and pulled up along the muddy river bank. Three community
members left the brief but clear details. Fernando Diaz had been shot in
Barrancabermeja on the evening of May 6. His body was found in Barrio Los
Corales, with five bullet wounds. After sharing their message, the bearers
of this sad news continued up river, stopping at each home.
We CPTers listened to a few friends debrief this news, then went to
the home of Fernando=B9s mother. We cried with her and with her
daughter. "They put an end to my son, " his mother wept on my shoulder.
Fernando was a well known son of the community. He was not perfect,
but everyone had grown up with him, worked with him, laughed with him,
and offered him advice. Though the campesinos are not rich in
financial resources, nearly the whole community left their work and
plans for the day and spent the money and time necessary to be present
with their bereaved neighbours.
As they prepared to take the community canoe into Barrancabermeja for the
wake and funeral, people recounted memories of Fernando. One man commented
that "in Colombia, when you make a bad decision, it costs
your life."
Once in the city, everyone sat at the funeral parlour together. Mourning
requires little language; just the presence of others to share the grief.
There was much sadness, but it was shared among all family members and an
entire community.
A time to die, a time to weep, a time to mourn, a time to embrace, a
time to heal, a time to keep silence, a time to love. For everything there
is a season and a time for every matter under heaven. (selections from
Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8)
The funeral for Manuel Fernando Diaz P. was at 3:00 pm Saturday, May 8,
2004. He was 32 years old.
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