Contents
Letter from the directors
Milena Rincón – Program Director
Muriel Schmid – Adminstrative Director
Muriel Schmid – Adminstrative Director
In the last 12 months, CPT has continued to accompany and make visible the voices of those who, in each of our programs and also around the world, resist the various structures of violence and oppression with courage and hope. As a CPT partner tells us – we are “resisting the machinery of destruction and death.” The political and protective accompaniment carried out by the CPT teams in Colombia, Palestine, Greece, Iraqi Kurdistan, Turtle Island (Canada and the United States) would not have been possible without the trust and support that both partner communities and groups, as well supporters and constituents, continue to provide us.
During the past year, we saw how Colombians protested against unjust economic and social measures and continued to demand compliance and implementation of the peace agreement; we shared how Israel’s military occupation continued to be defied on a daily basis in Palestine; we reported on the impact of the Turkish government’s military attacks on the civilian population in Iraqi Kurdistan, and how the abuse conducted by the Kurdish Regional Government against freedom of the press and expression continued to be denounced; we documented how migrants in Greece and the US/Mexico border actively lobbied the system that denies them their right to a safe shelter; and we witnessed how First Nations on Turtle Island defended their ancestral and sacred lands from capitalist destruction.
All these forms of resistance, these struggles and nonviolent movements, as we know, continue to be addressed with repression, discrimination, violence and stigmatization by governments and military authorities. In all these contexts, CPT has had the opportunity to accompany, unite, and strengthen many solidarity networks who reject all types of violence and oppression. Together with those we accompany, CPT continues to push for change.
However, 2021 was not just a year of accompaniment and work for peace, it was a year of celebration, change, and renewal as well!
We celebrated 35 years of continuous work as an organization, of supportive presence, of learning and building a different reality together with those we accompany. Throughout 2021, while adjusting to COVID-19, each program organized face-to-face and virtual meetings as part of this anniversary. To close the year of celebration, CPT organized its first virtual Peacemaker Congress that gave us the opportunity to honor the past and see how we can advance in our commitment to peace.
We changed! As an organization, after a very careful process of reflection over several years, we affirmed a new name that honors our diverse membership and highlights the contributions – including spiritual – and skills of each member within CPT. Did we change our work? No, Community Peacemaker Teams will continue to provide protective, supportive and political accompaniment based on the mission, vision, values and principles that have guided the work of our organization all along.
We are renewed! All our communication platforms were updated to reflect our work in a dynamic and interactive way, and to make visible the resistance of the communities and groups that we accompany. We trust that our new communication strategy will make it easier for the voices of CPT partners to reach a greater number of people who are encouraged to learn about the peacebuilding work they carry out and to actively support their actions. You can always support us by following and promoting CPT’s work on social media networks: Facebook, Instagram, Website, YouTube, Twitter.
Yes, the current global context is not very hopeful. Wars, invasions, climate change, pandemics, repression, environmental destruction, and many other oppressive dynamics are part of our daily news. Our commitment as an organization continues to be about making visible all the voices of hope, the seeds of change that also arise and grow each day, depending on the protection of Life for the Earth, the Territories, and all species, including humans.
We trust that this Annual Report offers you an opportunity to learn about how we lived this second year of the pandemic and how we continue to work for peace inspired by the communities, groups and organizations that we accompany. Thank you for your support towards peace with justice!
Where we work
34
Full timers
Including interns
133
Reservists
Agua Prieta, US/ Mexico Borderlands
Colombia
Turtle Island Solidarity Network
Lesvos, Greece
Palestine
Iraqi Kurdistan
Programmatic Strategy
Unarmed Accompaniment
CPT provides accompaniment for human rights and land defenders, both individuals and communities. Our physical presence hopes to provide safety by drawing attention to the threats people face.
Advocacy
Listening to the message of our partners and amplifying their voice, we advocate government and society for change that can bring about lasting justice and peace
Nonviolence Training
CPT equips individuals and communities with skills to nonviolently resist oppression
Documentation
CPT documents incidents of violence that can be used for advocacy, news and media, and truth telling
Undoing Oppression
At the root of all violence is oppression. CPT strives to undo oppression within our own organization and provide our constituency with tools to undo oppression in their own community
Celebrating 35 years of action
Amy Yoder McGloughlin – Member-at-large, Steering Committee
207 signed up for the congress. 18 organizations sponsored the event. $20,271 was raised.
CPT’s 35th Anniversary celebration was held on September 25, 2021 on Zoom. Folks from all over the world came together to celebrate the partnerships we have built over the years, which have enabled us to do the work of transforming violence and oppression.
Even though it was on Zoom, and we were separated by kilometers and time zones, and even though we were weary from the long pandemic, it still felt like a party – because there was so much to celebrate! CPT has come so far and learned so much from walking in solidarity with our partners from all over the world.
Our guest speaker, Padraig O’Tuama, honored our work through art, poetry and storytelling. O’Tuama is the former director of the Corrymeala Community, Ireland’s oldest peace and reconciliation community. For many years, he brought people together by exploring story, conflict, their relationship with religion and argument, addressing preconceived notions and violent attitudes towards “enemies.”
A central story O’Tuama shared was one from the Christian Testament–the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man. Lazarus was a poor, sick man that lived outside the house of the rich man. He dreamed of the scraps from the rich man’s table. One day both men died. Lazarus went to heaven, and the rich man to hell. The rich man saw from hell that Abraham was by Lazarus’ side, and he begged Abraham to send Lazarus to quench his thirst. And he was denied. So he begged that Abraham send Lazarus back to his family to warn them. And he was denied again. Abraham said “your family has the law and the prophets. If they don’t believe that, they will not believe a man who has risen from the dead.”
O’Tuama noted the ways that, even after death, the rich man continued to assert his power. He called out from hell to Abraham, telling his ancestor to order Lazarus to help him. He never directly addressed Lazarus, even from hell. As the rich man faced the impact of his power on Lazarus, he was still–even in death–ordering people around.
This story, O’Tuama said, calls us to analyze our power. How are we holding our power? Can we go to the edges of our power and examine it? Examining our power is a practice of liberation for all. We must name the past, and also look at the here and now. In our work and life together, who decides, who wins, who pays? Those that have the most power in our spaces are the ones who hold the most anxiety, so pay attention to the anxiety.
As a Steering Committee member, O’Tuama’s words spoke into the Undoing Oppressions conversations we’ve had over the years at the Steering Committee level. These conversations have sometimes been difficult and anxiety producing. And these conversations have–at the same time–been liberating. When we’ve been able to change our religious language around the table, to include folks of all faith perspectives devoted to peace, I can feel the table expand with new life and new energy. When we’ve been able to change our reliance on English as the only language at the table, I’ve witnessed the table expand to accommodate new wisdoms and perspectives. The Undoing Oppressions work required that those of us around the Steering Committee table notice who decides, who wins, and who pays.
O’Tuama’s presentation also brought me into reflection of the transformation of the teams over the years. It has been life changing for teams to be able to move from bodies led by White, North American and Eurocentric folks, to teams led by locals, who know best the struggles and joys of life in their community. There is hope and joy in these places, even in occupied territories, and our liberation is bound up in turning our faces towards hope and imagination.
The 35th Anniversary celebration was a celebration of how far we’ve come, and also encouragement to keep going. Padraig O’Tuama’s poems and stories will stay with me in this work, encouraging me to keep noticing, to keep celebrating, and to continue to have hope and imagination. And the teams continue to inspire me with new leadership, and new perspectives on the work.
Congratulations, CPT, on 35 years in the struggle for liberation. Let us have the courage to continue in steadfast hope, until all are free.
Onwards!
Land Defenders in Wet’suwet’en Territory
Turtle Island Solidarity Network Partner Highlight
In 2021, CPT’s Turtle Island Solidarity Network (TISN) focused on providing support to Land Defenders in Wet’suwet’en Territory. In June, an accompaniment team, in partnership with Mennonite Church Canada, spent a month with partners at Unist’ot’en. In October, CPTers went to Gidimt’en Checkpoint for 3 weeks, returning in November as part of a solidarity team composed of multiple organizers from the Toronto area.
The relationship with Wet’suwet’en Land Defenders began in 2020 when CPT sent two teams to the territory and continued to be built within home communities, as CPTers organized and attended solidarity actions across Turtle Island.
Wet’suwet’en territory covers 22,000 square kilometers of what is now known as British Columbia (BC). The whole territory remains unceded. Within the Wet’suwet’en nation there are five hereditary clans: The Unist’ot’en are part of the C’ihlts’ehkhyu (Big Frog) Clan, while the Gidimt’en (Wolf/Bear) are their own clan. Each camp/checkpoint has been established under the authority of these clans’ respective hereditary chiefs.
Unist’ot’en Camp was established in 2010 on the route of a proposed pipeline. The camp includes a Healing Center, which provides community members with cultural programming and a place of healing. Gidimt’en Checkpoint was established in 2018 to control access to Cas Yikh House territory within the larger Gidimt’en clan territory. Coyote Camp, also within Gidimt’en territory, was built in September 2021 to block Coastal GasLink (CGL) from drilling under Wedzin Kwa (the Morice River), the sacred waters of the Wet’suwet’en peoples. Both the Unist’ot’en and Gidimt’en are resisting the construction of the CGL pipeline through their territories. If completed, the pipeline would connect the fracking operations in northeastern BC with a liquified national gas (LNG) facility on the Pacific coast. All five Hereditary Wet’suwet’en Chiefs have unanimously opposed the CGL pipeline and all pipeline projects in their territory. In 1997, the Supreme Court of Canada also ruled that the Wet’suwet’en had not given up rights and title to their land and that Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs must be consulted prior to the implementation of construction projects on their territory.
In violation of the Wet’suwet’en peoples’ right to free, prior, and informed consent, the BC Supreme Court granted CGL a permanent injunction in December 2018. This injunction “authorized” the RCMP to forcibly clear a path through Gidimt’en Checkpoint and Unist’ot’en Camp. The police violence has been led by the Community-Industry Response Group (CIRG), a specialized RCMP task force created to suppress resistance to industry projects in BC. In the last three years, CIRG has led three militarized raids on Wet’suwet’en territory (January 2019; February 2020; November 2021). The latest raid of Coyote Camp and Gidimt’en Checkpoint resulted in the arrest and forced removal of over thirty Land Defenders and supporters. Most of these individuals are still facing charges.
The Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs remain firm in their stance even as construction of the pipeline continues. The Likhts’amisyu (Fireweed) clan has also been actively resisting the pipeline. Thus far, CGL has not succeeded in drilling under Wedzin Kwa. Calls for support continue to come from both Unist’ot’en and Gidimt’en. Gidimt’en has also launched an #RBCiskillingme campaign, encouraging allies to put pressure on the Royal Bank of Canada to divest from the CGL pipeline project.
The Turtle Island Solidarity Network has been honored to have joined the struggle alongside the Wet’suwet’en Land Defenders.
United for Liberation Prisoner Defense Campaign
Iraqi Kurdistan Campaign Highlight
In October 2020, CPT Iraqi Kurdistan launched the United for Liberation Prisoner Defense Campaign. At its inception, the campaign focused on advocacy for three of CPT’s partners – Sherwan Sherwani, Badal Barwary, and Omed Barushky – all of whom were incarcerated for bringing attention to the Kurdistan Regional Government’s corruption. CPT-IK began this campaign with the hope that Sherwan, Badal, and Omed would be released from prison and reunited with their families.
As CPT-IK advocated for these three prisoners, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) continued to escalate its incarceration of activists publicly criticizing government corruption, particularly activists who were from the Badinan region of Iraqi Kurdistan. As such, CPT expanded its advocacy, accompaniment and focus, to eventually include 81 independent journalists and civil rights activists from the Badinan region who were imprisoned.
At the launch of the campaign, CPT collected hundreds of signatures to put pressure on political officials in Iraqi Kurdistan to release the Badinan prisoners. The team also collected signatures for letters of support, sent to partners in prison, to remind them that they are not alone in their struggle. These actions were inspired by the many prisoner defense campaigns that had been previously organized, and were conducted at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when CPT-IK was forced to shut down its field work.
After field work resumed, the CPT-IK team were able to expand their actions. The team accompanied the Badinan Prisoners by observing 15 of their court trials. At these court trials, the team documented the harm the Badinan activists experienced in prison and shared their reports with consulates and international organizations with the hope that they may place pressure on the KRG to release the activists from prison. CPT-IK members conducted dozens of media interviews and participated in a number of press conferences. Bringing attention to the violence and repression faced by civil society in Kurdistan has enabled public conversation to shift its focus away from the government narrative, toward the resistance of those who advocate for civil rights.
CPT-IK has also met with many families whose loved ones have been imprisoned by the government, and has followed up with their requests for advocacy, which has included accompanying them to meetings with government officials, consulates and international organizations. All of these actions have successfully placed pressure on the KRG – its repression on freedom of expression has not gone without witness and response.
The campaign’s primary goal was always liberation: Liberation for civil rights activists who were incarcerated for their courage to act. Liberation for those whose loved ones were taken away from them. And liberation for civil society, where everyone can practice freedom of expression without punishment. The United for Liberation Prisoner Defense Campaign has borne results: After a joint pressure from individuals and fractions of the KRG, Iraqi Kurdistan’s civil society, diplomatic representations and international organizations, that CPT-IK helped to foment, the Badinan Prisoners began to be released.
Currently 65 of 81 Badinan Prisoners have been freed, including CPT’s partners Badal Barwari and Omed Barushky. A decree issued by the President of the Kurdistan Region to reduce sentences by more than a half will likely liberate an additional five in 2022. CPT-IK hopes to continue this work until all Badinan Prisoners are free.
Through Their Lens
Palestine Impact Highlight
Two years ago, CPT-Palestine launched Through Their Lens: a project which uses photography as a way for Palestinian children, living in several areas near the Old City of al-Khalil (Hebron), to process the trauma of living under the Israeli occupation. Through Their Lens provides these children with a platform to tell their stories, independent from adult interferences and biases.
Working with children has always been part of our work: Each morning, during the school week, we monitor the checkpoints used by children to access their schools. Over the years, we have built good relationships with these schools, their educators and the children who attend them. In addition, our accompaniment work in the Old City has enabled us to get to know the kids and their families well. It was through these relationships, and listening to the families and our partners, that the Through Their Lens project was born.
The children who have been part of the project are aged between 13-16 years – a crucial period for a Palestinian child, who is having to grow-up faster than most and doesn’t always have the space to be a child, to share their creative thoughts and express themselves. As a Palestinian myself, I found it hard to open-up at that age and I am still learning how to do so. One of the main challenges we’ve faced is the children not permitting themselves their feelings or experiences, being scared of how it might reflect on them.
CPT has facilitated several sessions with the children, including a workshop on Children’s Rights. We asked the children to write a story about what their rights mean to them. I want to share a conversation between myself and 13-year-old Nidal:
“When I say ‘play’ what do you think of?” I asked.
“When we used to play football with my friends in the neighborhood,” Nidal said. “Why did you stop playing?” I asked.
“Because we are older now, most of my friends had to go and work to help their families and it can be unsafe with the soldiers around,” Nidal said.
When we get used to abnormal conditions, we don’t recognize the normal. We don’t feel that it’s worth talking about, we can’t see how it’s significant and how it’s affecting us.
That’s why CPT-Palestine tries to provide these children with an open space, where they can choose what they want to talk about, and freely express themselves, sharing their hopes and fears, and what they want for their future. We teach them different tools and ways to communicate, which they can then use in everyday life.
In a different group, Sadeel, was able to open up to fellow participants and team members, telling us:
“Everyone in the world has their own favorite game or talent. My favourite sport is cycling. I played a lot on the bicycle because I learned to ride it when I was a child. I enjoyed riding it with family and relatives. But when I grew up it became different, people would say “What is this? Girls playing on bicycles? Bicycles are made for boys, not for girls”. I believe that bicycles were not made for a specific gender, but for both boys and girls.”
It’s challenging for us, as much as it’s challenging for the children, to accept people’s different thoughts and visions that are known to be prohibited.
We enjoy working with the kids, and I believe they have a lot to share and to give to their community if they get the opportunities. I hope that we were able to open a window for them to realize how important it is to talk about their feelings and recognize every little thing they went through and embrace it, to be proud of their story and own it.
Care of community, Community of care
“One of the most vital ways we sustain ourselves is by building communities of resistance, places where we know we are not alone.” –bell hooks
For 35 years, CPT has nurtured a global community to counter violence and oppression. Peacemakers from all corners of the world have strode together, arm in arm, toward collective liberation, resisting powers that seek to kill and destroy. We turn our faces together toward liberation. We thrive when we support one another. Community care is central to who we are.
Teams have implicit and explicit practices that foster resilience and thriving in challenging circumstances. CPT is more than a workplace– we envision a world of communities, working together to transform violence and oppression. We are part of a worldwide movement for justice, and commit to relationships that honor each other’s individuality, while building a powerful collective in the face of violence. As we continue to grow into an organization in which many peacemakers who live and work in their home communities, our strategies for care have to shift toward more sustainable work and care practices for our team members to thrive under difficult circumstances.
It takes attention and intention to build supportive community when the threat of violence is continual. As we continued in another year of pandemic, we found creative ways to build community remotely, and teams have their own practices to sustain themselves locally. For example, the Care Coordinator, Melissa Berkey-Gerard, formed the “Care Collective,” a group of folks from each team who come together to share ideas for how to help one another thrive. CPT gathers online to share spiritual practices across religions and beliefs, such as the CPT-wide Spiritual Gatherings, and teams reflect together and ground spiritually in their work. After experiencing or witnessing violence, teams debrief together, sharing how they are coping and what they need. This year, the Care Coordinator was part of a committee that revised the policies on addressing grievances and conflicts, toward an approach that centers care and transformative justice.
Mental health care, especially for those witnessing and hearing stories of violence and oppression, is central to our care model. CPT offers full medical and mental health coverage, and in the past year we were able to offer more culturally appropriate options for mental health treatment. the Care Coordinator offered trainings on trauma, self-care, grounding exercises and revised the Psychosocial Care Resource Guide to include more resources in Spanish, Arabic and Kurdish.
The Care Coordinator visited the Iraqi Kurdistan team to facilitate a multi-day retreat, a space for healing after a long pandemic, to grieve and celebrate together, to process and design ways to work together going forward. the Care Coordinator accompanied the team to court in support of Badinan prisoners, and visited partners who have experienced bombing and shelling.
For 35 years, CPT has remained committed to a vision of diverse communities living justly and peaceably with all creation. Vision and hope are central to our sustainability in this work, so in our gatherings online or in person, we frequently create space to dream of the day when borders are dismantled and the weapons of war are no longer used. It is in community that we find power, courage to resist and the strength for collective liberation.
US/Mexico Borderlands
22757
Migrants have come through the CRM from December, 2020, through October, 2021.
2
CPT reservists have been supporting migrants in Douglas, AZ/Agua Prieta, Sonora since 2014.
The Centro de Recursos para Migrantes (CRM)
In the spring of 2020, the Trump administration used the authority of Title 42 of the US Public Health Code to close the US/Mexican border to asylum seekers, Mexican and other foreign citizens with “legal” documents, and to any undocumented people who came into the US through the desert. By December, 2020, CPT partner, the Centro de Recursos para Migrantes (CRM) in Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico, began receiving large numbers of migrants who had been expelled – not deported – from the US under that law. Since 2014 CPT reservists, Jack and Linda Knox, have volunteered at the CRM, a space where migrants are able to receive food and drinks, information, clothing, and first aid. Throughout the winter of 2020/2021, the CRM maintained rigid health protocols in order to prevent the spread of COVID among the migrants and the volunteers, constructing an outdoor shelter and installing temporary outdoor portable toilets. The work of welcoming these expelled persons has been the primary focus of the CRM until the present time.
Centro de Atención al Migrantes Exodos (CAME)
In June, the long-awaited new migrant shelter (CAME) held its official opening celebration. CAME – Centro de Atención al Migrantes Exodos – was previously housed in the Sagrada Familia Iglesia Cathólica for 20 years, but outgrew the space in the church as hundreds of asylum seekers arrived from 2018 to 2020. With the help of many generous donors and a capital campaign by Frontera de Cristo, a Presbyterian Border Mission Project, the former catechism building of Sagrada Familia was renovated and enlarged in order to house up to 100 migrants. Local volunteers, including CPT reservists, support CAME, offering people a secure place to stay, a warm bed, three meals a day, the support of a psychologist, clothes and health supplies, and enrichment classes in English or crafts.
Aegean Migrant Solidarity
25
Instances of racist violence were recorded in Lesvos, perpetrated by citizens’ militias with links to far-right groups and police officers. This is the second highest recorded number of incidents in the whole of Greece.
6
Trials were monitored by CPT. Several were trials of migrants accused of people smuggling, but who were seeking asylum themselves. Others were accused of arson for fires that burned down Moria camp.
The Racist Violence Recording Network (RVRC)
The AMS team became members of the Racist Violence Recording Network, a pan-Hellenic network of migrants rights groups monitoring racist attacks. In May, RVRC published its 2020 Annual Report. The AMS team contributed extensively to the report with interviews about the far-right attacks that happened in Lesvos in January through March 2020, as well as helping to coordinate the contribution of friends and partners on the island who had similar experiences. The report helped to bring recognition to the issue of racist violence in Lesvos.
Trial Monitoring
In June, the trial of 4 members of the Moria 6 – teenage migrants from Afghanistan accused of burning down Moria camp – took place in Chios court. The AMS team, along with their partners initiated a solidarity campaign to support the accused with material help while they were detained. In the end, the defendants were sentenced to ten years in prison each. The trial attracted a lot of international press about the lack of access to fair trials for migrants in Greece.
In addition, trials of the Vial 15 took place in Mytilene court. The case was similar to that of the Moria 6 – fifteen men were accused of arson for a fire that happened in Vial camp on the island of Chios. The fire broke out after a woman died during the Covid-19 lockdown, while no health precautions were taken in the camp. While one defendant was recognised as a minor and will be tried later in a juvenile court, the remaining 13 were all released on time served, having spent 14 months in pre-trial detention.
Palestine
394
Times checkpoints were monitored during the times that Palestinian children were walking to school.
20
Demonstrations attended in solidarity with the local community in H2 and South Hebron Hills.
Stories Within Stones
The project’s aim is to document the collective memory and oral history from people who have lived in the Old City within the H2 area. The team highlights physical buildings as concrete examples of occupation and focuses on a person’s memory of these spaces that have been affected or changed under occupation. It’s a project that brings stories to life from unique places in the Old City of Al-Khalil/Hebron, breathing life into a place with memories that have been stolen through occupation. Watch an episode.
Be The Change
CPT-Palestine, alongside partner organizations, brought together Palestinians from different backgrounds, working for justice and equality for Palestine. The aim of the initiative is to create a Palestinian community that is able and ready to provide frameworks for multi-racial, multi-ethinic, multi-faith anti-oppressions work that is centered in the liberation of both the local and global community.
Defund Racism Campaign
CPT-Palestine is part of a Palestinian-led movement to end the use of ‘charitable’ funds raised in the United States to carry out the mission of Israeli settler organizations. It aims to uncover wrongful acts being funded by these organizations through the use of their charitable status, stop the exploitation of US charitable laws that fund settler extremism and violence, and as a result, the subjugation and displacement of Palestinian communities.a
Colombia
515
Homes visited in partner communities.
225
Hours walked in territories accompanying partners.
Virtual Visit to El Guayabo
The CPT-Colombia team hosted their first “virtual visit” to the El Guayabo community. The team put together videos of interviews, meetings, and a tour of the area. Participants were able to see what the community is like, learn about the context, and above all, the community’s hopes for its future.
CAHUCOPANA
With the signing of the peace agreements and the departure of the former FARC guerrillas from rural Colombia, the ELN, FARC dissidents and different paramilitary groups, took possession of areas that the government did not manage to implement an effective presence. The government’s ineffectiveness has caused a serious humanitarian crisis; in several regions of the country, murders of social leaders, clashes, extortions, and displacements have increased alarmingly, putting at risk the work of partners who live in these areas. CPT-Colombia has had the opportunity to accompany CAHUCOPANA in its work for the defense of human rights in northeast Antioquia. The team witnessed the serious security situation in the region and we were able to accompany several public denoucement actions about the threats and murders in the places where CAHUCOPANA operates and works with peasant and mining communities.
The National Strike
The pandemic deepened the social, economic, and political crises already in existence throughout Colombia. This multitude of crises added to the already serious situation of insecurity experienced in rural Colombia, which forced citizens to gather in the main cities of the country and demand that the national government intervene to mitigate historical situations that are becoming increasingly unbearable. CPT-Colombia accompanied the marches in Barrancabermeja, and the young people in their resistance and just demands.
Iraqi Kurdistan
14
Meetings with political officials, where CPT-IK advocated for its partners.
15
Court trials attended, where CPT-IK accompanied their partners facing prison.
United for Liberation Prisoner Defense Campaign
CPT-IK initiated the campaign to advocate for its partners – civil society activists and journalists who were unjustly imprisoned for speaking out against government corruption. 81 people have been arrested in a crackdown on freedom of expression by the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG). The team accompanied these partners in prison and attended all of their court trials throughout the year. CPT-IK celebrated the freedom of its partners Dilshad Guharzy and Badal Barwari after they were released from prison, but continued to campaign for the release of the others.
Turkey’s Operation Claw-Lightning
In April 2021, Turkey launched a cross-border military operation. It claimed that the operation targeted the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to eliminate terrorism in the Kurdistan Region, but their aerial and artillery bombardments have directly targeted civilians. The strikes have devastated the region where hundreds of families live. Turkey’s bombings not only threaten the livelihood of families, but also their lives. Many civilians have been injured and even killed by Turkey’s bombardments, and more than 1,500 civilians from 22 villages have evacuated their villages to escape Turkey’s assault. CPT-IK has extensively documented the impacts of Turkey’s Operation since it began, meeting with many families directly affected and writing reports on its impact.
Turtle Island Solidarity Network
5
Accompaniment trips to Indigenous Land Defense sites trying to stop a pipeline.
2
Colonial statues toppled
Accompaniment
In June 2021 a CPT and Mennonite Church Canada accompaniment team responded to the invitation to go to Unist’ot’en in Wet’suwet’en Territory. The Team spent one month on the Yintah learning from Land Defenders and supporting the Healing Center. In the summer, our first CPT Team arrived at Line 3 to accompany Water Protectors. CPT was able to send another Team a few weeks later and supported individual CPTers in visiting Line 3.
In the fall, a Team of 4 CPTers arrived to Gidemt’en in Wet’suwet’en Territory. CPT spent three weeks on the ground supporting the Land Defenders as they try to stop the CGL Pipeline.
1492 Land Back Lane
Foxgate Development stopped building on Haudenosaunee Lands at 1492 Land Back Lane. Land Defenders had reclaimed the site since summer 2020 and withstood raids, assault and harassment by the Ontario Provincial Police, criminalization from the court, and a military-style raid.
Building Partnerships
Throughout 2021 CPT has been excited to work in coalition with multiple groups. This has allowed us to take to the streets, organize events and nonviolent direct action in pursuit of Indigenous sovereignty.
Reports
No Return: The Civilian Impact of Turkey’s Operation Claw-Lightning
A report from the CPT-Iraqi Kurdistan team documenting the impacts of the Turkish Armed Forces’ (TAF) Operation Claw-Lightning on the civilian population living in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). Operation Claw-Lightning is a cross-border military operation that Turkey began on April 23, 2021.
Incarcerating the Marginalized
In November 2020, the CPT-Aegean Migrant Solidarity team published a report alongside their partners borderline-europe and bordermonitoring.eu, which compiled five years of trial monitoring for those accused of ‘facilitating illegal entry.’ Since it was published we have seen much more media attention for cases of migrants accused of smuggling, as well as stronger solidarity campaigns for the accused with the support of members of the European Parliament.
We are Watching: Human Rights Report on Violence Experienced By Mi’kmaw Fishers
The CPT-Turtle Island Solidarity Network released a report on the violence experienced by the Mi’kmaw lobster fishers in 2020, while enacting their treaty rights.
CPT Palestine Emergency Report: Incidences from Auguat to September 2021
There has been an increase of violence by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) against children when they cross the checkpoints. Soldiers have increased their use of tear gas and stun grenades during the morning and the afternoon periods when children are starting and finishing class. CPT members have been present on the ground and have witnessed the increased violence. This Urgent Incidents report contains all incidents documented by CPT from 16 August – 19 September 2021.
Trial of the VIAL 15
The CPT-Aegean Migrant Solidarity team published a report on the trial of 15 migrants, known as the Vial 15, accused of burning VIAL Camp in Chios. It exposes the struggle migrant defenders face for access to a fair trial.
Reports
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Financials 2021
Revenue
Individual Contributions: 630,970
51.5%
Congregational Contributions: 83,184
6.8%
Grants: 181,310
14.8%
Delegations: 807
0.1%
Special Gifts: 119,892
9.8%
Others: 209,535
17.1%
Total: 1,225,698
Expenses
Program and Operational Costs: 62,497
6.05%
Peacemaker Corp: 696,066
67.44%
CPT’s financial model focuses on equipping, training, and building a volunteer base of peacemaker corps. These fulltime, part-time, and reservist volunteers are our primary resource. The peacemaking work of CPT is profoundly human in its coalition-building and physical/political accompaniment which is fully staffed by a corp that receives stipends and healthcare.
Program Expenses: 208,897
20.24%
Iraqi Kurdistan
43,540
Colombia
46,540
Aegean Migrant Solidarity
24,267
Turtle Island Solidarity network: 6,245
Palestine
81,785
US/Mexico Borderlands: 0
Undoing Oppressions: 7,016
Delegations: 0
Training: 0
Fundraising & Admin: 64,521
6.25%
Total: 1,031,981
Membership List
Steering Committee List
Co-Chair: Victoria (Tori) Bateman (At-Large Member)
Co-Chair: Steve Heinrichs (Mennonite Church Canada)*
Treasurer: Wilson Tan (At-Large Member)
Secretary: Nathan Perrin (Friends United Meeting)
Marie Benner-Rhoades (On Earth Peace)*
Gisela Cardozo (At-Large Member)
Benni Isaak-Krauss (Deutsches Mennonitisches Friedenskommittee / German Mennonite Peace Committee)
Annelies Klinefelter (At-Large Member)
Ruth Noel (Presbyterian Peace Fellowship)
Juan Carlos Rojas (Congregation of St. Basil)
Chrissy Stonebraker-Martinez (At-Large Member)*
James Thomas (At-Large Member)
Amy Yoder McGloughlin (Mennonite Church USA)
Peacemaker Corp – Full-time, Part-time and Reservist
CPT Palestine Team
Abdallah Maraka (intern), Palestine
Ahmad Abu Monshar (intern), Palestine
Ameera Nader (intern), Palestine
Baha Sultan (intern), Palestine
Shahd Yasser (intern), Palestine
Tarteel al-Junaidi, Palestine
CPT Iraqi Kurdistan Team
Kamaran Osman, Iraqi Kurdistan
Mohammed Salah, Iraqi Kurdistan
Runak Radha, Iraqi Kurdistan
CPT Colombia Team
Jhon Henry Camargo, Colombia
Marcela Cárdenas, Colombia
Natalia Vaca, Colombia
Pierre Shantz, Canada
Jhony Arango, Colombia
CPT Aegean Migrant Solidarity Team
Names withheld for security reasons.
Turtle Island Solidarity Network*
Amy Peters, Canada
Allegra Friesen Epp, Canada (TISN intern)
Brenna Cussen, USA
Carol Rose, USA
Carol Spring, USA (Alumni)
Chuck Wright, Canada
David Janzen, Canada
Emily Green, Canada
Esther Kern, Canada
Esther Townshend, Canada
Jill Foster, Canada
Jonathan Brenneman, USA
Kathleen Kern, USA
Kody Hersh, USA
Murray Lumley, Canada
Natalie Maxson, Canada
Peter Haresnape, England
Robin Buyers, Canada
Tim Nafziger, USA
Weldon Nisly, USA
US/Mexico Borderlands
Jack Knox, USA
Linda Knox, USA
CPT Administrative Team
Alicia Rynkowska, England – Development Coordinator*
Caldwell Manners, India – Communications Coordinator
Carolina Gouveia Santana, Brazil – Colombia Program Support Coordinator*
Julie Brown, USA – Outreach Coordinator*
Hannah Redekop, Canada – CPTnet / Social Media Editor*
Kryss Chupp, USA – Personnel Coordinator
Lukasz Firla, Czech Republic – Iraqi Kurdistan Program Support Coordinator/ Delegations Administrator
Mark Frey, USA – Administrative Coordinator / Finance Manager
Milena Rincón, Colombia – Program Director
Mona el-Zuhairi, Palestine – Palestine Program Support Coordinator
Muriel Schmid, Switzerland – Administrative Director*
Rachelle Friesen, Canada – Canada Coordinator*
Rûnbîr Serkepkanî, Kurdistan – Aegean Migrant Solidarity Program Support Coordinator
CPT Circle of Care
Amy Yoder McGlouglin, USA
Carol Leland, USA
Christi Hoover-Seidel, USA
Melissa Berkey-Gerard, USA – Psychosocial Care Coordinator*
Nirmala Nataraj, USA
Weldon Nisly, USA
Peacemaker Corps – Reservists
Andreas Andersson, England
Art Arbour, Canada
Marcus Armstrong, England
Linus Bengtsson, Sweden
Jonathan Brenneman, USA
Mike Brown, USA
Robin Buyers, Canada
Salvador Castro, Colombia
Dave Corcoran, USA
Katherine Crosby, USA
Dan Dale, USA
Marian DeCouto, Canada
Merwyn DeMello, Afghanistan
Owen Dempsey, Scotland
Jenny Dillon, USA
Rebecca Dowling, Australia
Laurens van Esch, Canada
David Etherington, USA
Rezhiar Fakhir, Iraqi Kurdistan
Dariusz (Darek) Firla, Czech Republic
Jill Foster, Canada
John (Johann) Funk, Canada
Wanda Georgis, Canada
Peggy Gish, USA
Sergio Gomes, USA
Gladys Gómez, Colombia
Susan Granada, Philippines
Emily Green, Canada
King Grossman, USA
Pilar Guerrero, Colombia
Julián Gutiérrez, Canada
Peter Haresnape, Canada
Christopher Hatton, Germany
Jamie Hazelwood, Colombia
John Heid, USA
Steve Heinrichs, Canada
Kathleen Helbling, USA
Paul Helbling, USA
Kody Hersh, USA
Bob Holmes, Canada
Marius van Hoogstraten, Germany
Evarossa Horz, Germany
Josh Hough, USA
Daniel Huizenga, Canada
Sherin Idais, Palestine
Mo’tasem Isied, Italy
David Janzen, Canada
Bethany Johnson, USA
Ken Jones, USA
Tomáš Jurásek, Czech Republic
Jennifer Keeney Scarr, USA
Esther Kern, Canada
Kathleen Kern, USA
Rebaz Khorsheed, Iraq
Cliff Kindy, USA
Annelies Klinefelter, Netherlands
Chris Knestrick, USA
Alwyn Knight, England UK
Marianne Kronberg, Sweden
Lemuel LaRotta, Colombia
Caitlin Light, USA
JoAnne Lingle, USA
Cory Lockhart, USA
Jim Loney, Canada
Alix Lozano, Colombia
Murray Lumley, Canada
John Lynes, England
Dave Martin, USA
Natalie Maxson, Canada
Louise McGechaen, Scotland
Cathy McLean, Canada
Rosemarie Milazzo, USA
David Milne, Canada
Rob Moloney, Ireland
Peter Morgan, Australia
Jessica Morrison, Australia
Sylvia Morrison, Ghana
Michele Naar-Obed, USA
Tim Nafziger, USA
Yousef, Palestine
Paul Neufeld Weaver, USA
Sean O’Neill, USA
Kate Paarlberg-Kvam, USA
Lucila Pabón Díaz, Colombia
Juan Sebastián Pacheco Lozano, Colombia
Juvenal Pacheco, Colombia
Alejandro Pallares, Colombia
William Payne, Canada
Jasmine Pilbrow, Australia
Lisa Pires, India
Nell Potter, Australia
Carole Powell, Australia
Doug Pritchard, Canada
Jane Pritchard, Canada
Kasia Protz, Ireland
Juliane Pruefert, Germany
Beth Pyles, USA
Steve Ramer, USA
Rachel, USA
Paul Rehm, USA
Sara Reschly, USA
Maurice Restivo, USA
Carolina Rodríguez, Colombia
Jenny Rodríguez, Colombia
Greg Rolles, Australia
Randy Sánchez, Colombia
Daan Savert, Netherlands
Ulrike Schmutz, Germany
Irene van Setten, Netherlands
Hilary Simpson, Canada
Chloe Skinner, England
Allan Slater, Canada
Char Smith, USA
Michael Smith, USA
Sarah Sommers, USA
Harmeet Sooden, New Zealand
Annika Spalde, Sweden
John Spragge, Canada
Jerry (Cletus) Stein, USA
Colin Stuart, Canada
Inger Styrbjörn, Sweden
Sumaz Tahir, Iraqi Kurdistan
James Thomas, USA
Leia Tijou, USA
Esther Townshend, Canada
Stewart Vriesinga, Canada
Joel Wallenberg, England
Maarten van der Werf, Netherlands
Rosie (Rosemary) Williamson, Canada
Terra Winston, USA
Jen (Jay) Yoder, USA
Brian Young, USA
Chihchun Yuan, Taiwan
*Members of Turtle Island Solidarity Network. TISN is largely comprised of CPT Reservists