When we vote thinking only of ourselves, the consequences always fall on the impoverished: communities that face abandonment as a state policy, who resist it, and now must worry because they are enemies of the state.
In Colombia, farmers, who earn their living by cultivating the land, suffer the real consequences of the armed conflict: environmental destruction, forced displacement, disappearances, threats, and even death. It is in their territories that armed groups fight tooth and nail for control of the country, and where communities are caught in the crossfire of a war they never asked to be a part of. They are victims, yes, but they are also communities that resist. And they are not alone. Miners, Indigenous people, and Afro-Colombian communities have spent years building peace amidst the war, choosing to be the protagonists of their own liberation.
Fourteen years ago we arrived in the community of Guayabo. There in a small community in Santander, the farmers of Guayabo were facing eviction. The police ordered them to leave their lands and called them invaders and guerrillas fighters. The community joined hands and began to sing songs of praise. When the police saw and heard them, they didn’t know how to react. This action was a step towards reducing violence and forever marked the identity of the community. It made them understand two fundamental things: first, that God was with them there, by their side; and second, that to dismantle violence a great deal of creativity was needed.
Just two weeks ago, the country elected a far-right government that is deeply racist, classist, homophobic, sexist, and harbors a deep hatred for vulnerable communities. At that moment, we were afraid because everyone we worked with, including us, went from being Colombian citizens to being enemies of the state. For a few days we fell into a deep sadness, not knowing what to do or where to go. I asked myself so many questions: can we continue to support the community? Can my presence as a gay man offer anything to the community? I had no answers. I was simply overcome by a profound paralysis.
We decided to go and find the answers where the experience was, and we went to the Guayabo community. We met with the community to eat, to think together, and the members of the community reminisced about stories of resistance, including that story of the police. It reminded us of two fundamental things: first, that God was with us there, by our side; and second, that to dismantle violence, you need a great deal of creativity.
That is why, today, I assure those reading that we are preparing to resist, using all our creativity. I invite you to join us in prayer.
Our Father
Our Mother
who art in heaven,
but also here on earth
in the faces of the poor,
in the faces of the humble,
in the faces of those who demand justice,
in the faces of those seeking justice,
in the faces of the murdered and the displaced,
in the faces of those threatened and those facing legal proceedings
Hallowed be thy name;
Praised be your name
Your name, which is a symbol of hope
Hope for all who suffer
Those who suffer looking at the sky
Searching for your face in that sky
Seeking your justice from heaven
Thy kingdom come;
Your peace come to us
Your peace that is a passion for justice
Your justice, which is love for freedom
The freedom of the oppressed
Those oppressed by the rich
The rich who have power on earth
In the land of the poor
Thy kingdom come
That kingdom of peace, love, and justice.
Thy will be done;
That will for peace, that will for justice
Justice for my brothers and sisters
My murdered brothers/sisters
Killed by persecution
Persecution for their work
Their work, which is your will
Your will for peace
Give us this day our daily bread;
Give us this day our daily bread of freedom.
The one we have kneaded with our tears
With the tears of mothers who lose their children,
With the tears of parents fleeing war
Give us bread, bread of justice, bread of truth, bread of love
Forgive us our trespasses;
Forgive us and teach us to forgive
Because only through forgiveness will we know your love
Your love that is forgiveness
That forgiveness is simply an act of love
Do not lead us into temptation;
The temptation of indifference,
The temptation to believe that we do not have a fundamental role in liberation
The liberation of us poor people
Deliver us from temptation
That silences us and extinguishes us
And deliver us from evil;
That evil that makes us unjust
Of that evil that exploits workers
Of that evil that mistreats women
Of that evil that impoverishes our people
Of that evil that takes land away from the peasants
That evil that corrupts our leaders
Of that evil that remains on the side of the powerful
Give us freedom…
Amen
