Locations and Dates
ABORIGINAL JUSTICE DELEGATION
to Treaty #3 Territory (Northwestern Ontario)
DATES: September 24-October 6, 2010.
Corporate clear cut logging of Asubpeeschoseewagong traditional territory has destroyed hunting, trapping, food and medicine gathering activities. Indian Residential Schools have deeply impacted families and communities. Mercury contamination discovered over 40 years ago continues to poison residents.
Explore what it means to live in right relationship with the earth and each other. Find out what it means to be an ally to indigenous communities engaged in healing, resisting colonialism and struggling for sovereignty. From a base in the city of Kenora, and visits to Asubpeeschoseewagong traditional lands, the delegation will meet with Indigenous and non-Indigenous community leaders and residents. Delegates will develop an analysis of colonialism, participate in undoing racism training and plan a public witness/nonviolent action as appropriate to confront issues of structural violence.
FUNDRAISING EXPECTATION: $525 Canadian or US. Delegates arrange their own transportation to Kenora, Ontario.
COLOMBIA
DATES: October 13-26, 2010; May 19-June 2, July 14-27, September 22-October 5, 2011; *national delegation (for Colombians) April 16-23, 2011.
In Colombia, an insurgency-counterinsurgency war has left over 200,000 people dead since 1964 and displaced over four million others from their homes. CPT's Colombia delegations will meet with church, human rights and social justice organizers in Bogotá and in Barrancabermeja, the industrial city in the Magdalena Medio region where CPT's full-time team has been based since 2001. In addition, delegates will spend several days in the countryside.
The July 2010 delegation will focus on the Colombian Women’s Social Movement Against War and for Peace. This inspiring coalition of 40 organizations, opposes the militarization of Colombia – including the presence of U.S. military bases in the country, which intensify the exploitation of women and escalate the war.
Some physical rigors are involved in most CPT delegations, such as hiking in mud and heat or mountains, hours-long trips by boat or truck, and generally long days.
FUNDRAISING EXPECTATION: $1900 US / $2200 Canadian, which includes round-trip airfare from a designated U.S. or Canadian city. Those planning to travel from other countries, contact the CPT office for more information.
*National delegation requires Spanish fluency and previous first-hand experience of the Colombian context. Contact CPT Colombia, ecapcolombia [at] edatel [dot] net [dot] co for more information.
IRAQ (Kurdish North)
DATES: October 14-27, 2010 (FULL); March 31-April 13* and October 13-26, 2011*
The Kurds of northern Iraq faced discrimination, terror and death under the regime of Saddam Hussein. After the 1991 Gulf War, they gained a measure of autonomy and safety under U.S. protection. Therefore, as the security situation deteriorated in rest of Iraq following the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, thousands of displaced persons fled to the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) area in the north, where it seemed safer. However, northern border villages have recently been the site of military attacks by Turkey and Iran. As U.S. troops prepare to withdraw in 2010, CPT Iraq plans to monitor the growing tensions between Kurds and Arabs in Iraq.
CPT's delegation will be based in Suleimaniyah, in the KRG. Delgates will meet with representatives of non-governmental organizations, human rights groups, displaced persons, and government officials. They will gain a perspective on the challenges facing people in northern Iraq and the impact there of violence in other areas of Iraq and along the borders of the KRG. The delegation will participate in the work of CPT's longer-term project of reporting on human rights abuses and supporting local reconciliation. Some physical rigors may be involved.
CPT has had a presence in Iraq since October 2002, first in Baghdad and since November 2006 in the Kurdish north.
FUNDRAISING EXPECTATION: $2900 US or $3100 Canadian, which includes round-trip airfare from a designated U.S. or Canadian city. Those planning to travel from other countries, contact the CPT office for more information.
*(2011 dates may shift slightly based on regional airline schedule.)
PALESTINE / ISRAEL
DATES: October 5-18, and November 16-29, 2010; January 4-17, March 8-21, May 24-June 6, July 19-August 1, September 6-19 (German language delegation), and November 15-28, 2011.
Conflict in Palestine/Israel has taken center stage in recent months. Despite involvement of the Quartet on the Middle East and overtures from the Obama administration, the situation for many Palestinians living in the West Bank remains grave. Road closures, home invasions, checkpoints and the presence of militant Israeli settlers in Palestinian villages continue to threaten Palestinian human rights. Israel's separation barrier (much of it built on confiscated Palestinian land) not only separates Palestinian communities from each other, but also acts as a barrier between ordinary Israelis and Palestinians seeking to come together for peace. CPT delegation members will gain a perspective on how these issues affect daily life.
Delegates will meet with Palestinian and Israeli human rights representatives and
peace workers in Jerusalem and Bethlehem. They will visit Palestinian families whose home and livelihoods are threatened by expanding Israeli settlements. They will travel to the city of Al Khalil (Hebron) and the village of At-Tuwani in the South Hebron Hills and experience firsthand CPT's work alongside Israeli and Palestinian partners. They will challenge the structural violence of the Occupation through nonviolent public witness.
Some physical rigors are involved, such as walking in rough, hilly terrain, heat in summer and damp chill in winter, and generally long days.
CPT has had a continuous presence in the West Bank since 1995.
FUNDRAISING EXPECTATION: $2750 US / $2950 Canadian, which includes round-trip airfare from a designated U.S. or Canadian city. Those planning to travel from other countries, contact the CPT office for more information.