Marylen Serna Salinas, a coordinator of the Small Farmer's Movement in Cajibío, visited Central New York in 2004, the second year of our Sister Community. While in Syracuse we visited the offices of Senators Clinton and Schumer and Rep. James Walsh (R-25th NY). We shared the history and mission of the relationship of Central New York (CNY) and Cajibío with their respective staff. Marylen gave her perspectives and rationales on issues concerning her: U.S. drug eradication program; U.S. military aid to Colombia; free treade agreements. We gave written information to the staff to share with the senators and representative.
Following each meeting, the Sister Community sent a letter of appreciation with specific issue questions asked. There was no response from these offices to our questions but a form letter thanking us for our interest was sent. All of our representatives in Congress have supported Plan Colombia, giving the drug war as their main reason.
After leaving Central New York, Marylen visited Washington, DC and was accompanied to several meetings in Congressional offices by witness for Peace staff. Marylen is an articulate speaker who knows her subjects well. She speaks as an organizer of campesinos who has had firsthand experience of the results of U.S, foreign policy in rural Colombia.
In 2006 Rep James Walsh wrote a letter of support to the American Embassy in Bogotá for Cajibío's John Henry Gonzalez who had applied for a visa to visit CNY. This was successful. John Henry also visited our local Congressional offices while he was here for two and a half weeks. Local newspapers publicized the visits of both Marylen and John Henry. Each kept a busy schedule meeting with church groups, community organizations, organic farmers, Native American and youth groups. There's no question that our Congressional representatives know about Central New York's relationship with Cajibío, but they've not responded to letter or visit. Essentially they support the U.S. State Department's Colombia policy.
During John Henry's visit the Syracuse Common Council recognized John Henry and the Sister Community during a public meeting and passed a watered down resolution in support of the relationship. The City Council of Ithaca had already passed a similar resolution which spoke more directly to U.S. policies in Colombia, the continuing violence there, Colombian citizens displaced internally, and the failures of the drug eradication program. Members of the Sister Community in Ithaca later reported back to the Common Council after a delegation to Cajibío. This report back publicizes our work and also strengthens the relationship with the City Council. We might request their help in responding to an alert by asking them to write a letter to a government official, i.e. from one government agency to another.
Since the mid-nineties CNY activists have vigorously opposed the U.S. Army's School of Americas. (Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation). Such activism is closely related to our work in Colombia. Colombia has the largest number of SOA/WHISC graduates of any country and continues to send officers to the school for counter-insurgency training. The SOA is a big part of U.S. foreign policy in Colombia. When we lobby against the SOA we always speak about human rights abuses in Colombia, to connect these violations to the training all Colombian officers receive in the U.S.
Since our Sister Community was formed a Central New York delegation has visited Cajibío four times. Each time we return to CNY we report to the community. Several times we have been able to meet with our Congressional staff members. Having been to Colombia feel we become better advocates for our positions. Through delegations we see and experience, if only briefly and in a privileged way, the realities of the country. We hear firsthand the voices of the campesinos, human rights worker, labor organizers, and government officials (in Bogotá).
When members of the Sister community respond to alerts from Cajibío or other areas of Colombia by letters, we send copies to our Congressional representatives. There have been times when we've asked them to call the State Department or the U.S. Embassy in Colombia about a particular incident. We don't get reports back on these requests. One of the most positive results from international pressure on an alert of which we were a part was the release from prison of a Cauca labor leader in Popayán three days after his arrest. Results are not always so immediate or knowable.
In 2006 and 2008 CNY members of the Sister Community met with the Democratic candidate for Congress (25th NY), Dan Maffei. A relationship has been established, our concerns about U.S. policy in Colombia have been shared, and written information has been give to the candidate. This year Maffei has a good chance of winning and he has assured us his office door will always be open to us.
The Latin America Working Group (lawg@lawg.org), located in Washington, DC, is an excellent source for upcoming legislation regarding Colombia. Its staff has written a new report, The Other Half of the Truth, which explores the opportunities for truth, justice and reparations available to victims of paramilitary violence, through the official processes established by the Colombian government. We will send this report as well as other relevant reports to our Congressional representatives as part of our legislative work. Much of our legislative effort is educational, e.g. trying to tell the story of the situation in Colombia from the perspective of the citizens of Colombia, the campesinos of Cajibío.
CNY/Cajibío Sister Community uses the information sent to it by CSN, Adam Isacson's reports from the Center for International Policy and the Latin America Working Group to stay-up-to-date with legislation coming up in Congress. The LAWG website also gives reports on how Congressional representatives have voted.
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