by Pierre Shantz

"For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops.  But in the seventh year the land is to have a Sabbath of rest." - Leviticus 25: 2-3

On May 31, CPT Colombia completed seven years of accompanying communities along the Opón River.  These fisher and farmer families had been displaced by violence and sought refuge in the city of Barrancabermeja.  They first asked for CPT's violence-reduction presence in order to return home and rebuild their lives with a greater sense of security.

Sadly, more than half of those who first returned to re-establish their communities no longer live there.  Over the past seven years, CPTers accompanied grieving families as they buried the bodies of their loved ones killed by armed groups, and said goodbye to families forced to displace again due to renewed threats of violence or because they simply could no longer earn a living.  For them, the time of sowing and pruning here is over.  

But these losses are not the whole story.  We saw two communities come together and demand respect from the armed groups.  Their process spread to the other seven communities in the Opón Township which then received additional accompaniment from other local organizations and government agencies.  

The involvement of more human rights and development groups enabled the remaining families to sow new crops in their fields and prune their new cacao trees.  The armed conflict in the area continues, but not with the same level of danger.

Because we are no longer the only organization working in the area, and because living in the region is less perilous than before, CPT significantly reduced our physical presence in the communities over the past year.  

In a way, our team observed a sabbatical year.  We have not left the communities completely, but we have helped create space for them to flourish and build on their own strengths.