ABORIGINAL JUSTICE DELEGATION

to Asubpeeschoseewagong (Grassy Narrows, Ontario)

DATES: August 14-23 and October 9-18, 2009.

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) seeks participants for a delegation to the First Nations community of Asubpeeschoseewagong (Grassy Narrows), located in the Treaty 3 territory, with visits to other nearby First Nations communities and the northwestern Ontario town of Kenora.

In 1999, the Ontario government granted a 20-year license to Abitibi Consolidated allowing them to clear-cut Asubpeeschoseewagong traditional lands. Grassy Narrows community members started blockading Abitibi logging contractors in November 2002 with CPT accompaniment through that winter. The blockade met with partial success; nevertheless, nearly 50% of Asubpeeschoseewagong territory has been clear-cut, further destroying traditional hunting, trapping, food and medicine gathering activities   

In May of 2008, Grassy Narrows First Nation signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ontario government to negotiate over several years a long-term agreement for the protection, management and use of the forest. On June 3, 2008, the recently merged company Abitibi-Bowater announced that it will withdraw from logging the territory in question. No long-term agreement has yet been signed with the government; the threat of corporate clear-cut logging continues; and First Nations members are criminalized for activities on their traditional territory.

Kenora (pop.16,000) is an important regional center for thirteen Anishinaabe communities who are members of the Grand Council Treaty 3. Situated on the rocky shores of Lake of the Woods, Kenora's economy is sustained by summer tourism and resource extraction. There is a strong sense of division between non-aboriginal and aboriginal residents and visitors, with aboriginal residents and visitors frequently experiencing racially-based mistreatment.

The delegation will spend time on traditional Asubpeeschoseewagong territory, document the effects of clear-cutting and learn about Anishinaabe struggles for justice. In Kenora, the delegation will meet with aboriginal and non-aboriginal community leaders who are working to improve relations between non-aboriginal and aboriginal residents. Delegation members will develop an analysis of colonialism, participate in undoing racism training, and plan a public witness/direct action focused on Aboriginal sovereignty issues.

FUNDRAISING EXPECTATION: $425 US or $500 Canadian. Delegates arrange their own transportation to Winnipeg, Manitoba or Kenora, Ontario.

COLOMBIA

DATES: July 14-27 and September 22-October 5, 2009. National delegation (for Colombians) December 12-19, 2009. Each delegation will have a specific focus as indicated below.

In Colombia, an insurgency- counterinsurgency war has left over 200,000 people dead since 1964 and displaced over three 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 where communities have been subject to attack and threats by various armed groups. The specific communities will vary for each delegation as indicated.

July 14-27, San Pablo: In San Pablo, a municipality along the Magdalena River in the south of the province of Bolivar, there have been 13 murders since the beginning of this year, including the assassination of mining leader Edgar Martinez Ruiz. The south Bolivar region has witnessed continued pressure from, and fighting among, paramilitary groups. Furthermore, the violence continues to rise with a recent wave of death threats against human rights organizations and CPT partners that work in the region. The delegation will meet with these grassroots organizations to understand how the conflict affects people living and working in San Pablo. Despite the threats, the organizations continue to call for human rights, justice, and peace in Colombia.

September 22-October 5, Tiquisio: Tiquisio is located at the foot of the northern tip of the Sierra de San Lucas – the mountain range in which most of the artisanal gold mines in south Bolívar are located. After massive displacements many residents have returned and have made great progress in community formation and development. The community process is threatened because of heavy military presence in the area. Recently the Pastoral Team in Tiquisio displaced because of paramilitary death threats, but the local catholic priest has since returned despite the threats. Delegates will meet with grassroots organizations and learn about the struggles of building and maintaining community in the midst of armed conflict in which neither state nor illegal armed actors respect the community’s neutrality and autonomy.

FUNDRAISING EXPECTATION: $2200 US / $2575 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 delegations are specifically designed for Colombians and conducted in Spanish. (Other individuals with a high degree of familiarity with the Colombian context and fluent in Spanish may also be considered.) For more information or to apply contact CPT Colombia, ecapcolombia [at] edatel [dot] net [dot] co. 

 

PALESTINE / ISRAEL

DATES:  May 19-June 1(full), July 21-August 3 (full), October 6-19, November 17-30, 2009; January 5-18, May 18-31, July 20-August 2, October 5-18, and November 16-29, 2010. Special delegation, Reformed Church in America/Christian Reformed Church in North America, April 6-19, 2010.

Conflict in Palestine/Israel has taken center stage in recent months.  Despite recent elections in Israel, 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.

CPT has had a continuous presence in the West Bank since 1995.

FUNDRAISING EXPECTATION: $2750 US / $3200 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.

 

IRAQ (Kurdish North)

DATES: TO BE ANNOUNCED (Tentative Autumn 2009).

The Kurds of northern Iraq faced discrimination, terror and death under the regime of Saddam Hussein. As the security situation deteriorated in southern and central Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, thousands of displaced persons have fled to the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) controlled area in the north. Recently, northern border villages have been the site of military attacks by Turkey and Iran.

CPT's delegation will be based in Suleimaniyah, in the KRG. Delgates will meet with representatives of non-governmental organizations and 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 broder. The delegation will participate in the work of CPT's longer-term project of building bridges and human rights reporting.

CPT has had a presence in Iraq since October 2002, first in Baghdad and since November 2006 in the Kurdish north.

FUNDRAISING EXPECTATION: $3500 (US or Cdn), which includes round-trip airfare.