Christian Peacemaker Teams • www.cpt.org • October-December 2012building partnerships to transform violence and oppression Vol. XXII, No. 4

of the

Timessigns Iraqi Kurdistan.............. 2Aboriginal Justice.......... 6Colombia.................... 8Palestine...................... 10

COLOMBIA ABORIGINAL JUSTICE

USA: P.O. Box 6508 • Chicago, Illinois 60680 • Tel: +1-773-376-0550 • Fax: +1-773-376-0549 • e-mail: peacemakers@cpt.orgCanada: 25 Cecil St. Unit 310 • Toronto, Ontario M5T 1N1 • Tel: +1-416-423-5525 • Fax: +1-416-423-7140 • e-mail: canada@cpt.org

LAS PAVAS VICTORY!In a long-awaited victory for the subsis-tence farmers of Las Pavas, the ColombianRural Development Institute (INCODER)published a “definitive decision” on 14November to expropriate all remainingproperties of the estate from oil palmgrower Aportes San Isidro. (cont’d page 8)

TEN YEAR BLOCKADEDecember 2 marked the tenth anniversaryof Grassy Narrows’ Slant Lake blockade,now the longest-running indigenouslogging blockade in Canadian history.

(cont’d page 6)

TURKISH BOMBING KILLS TWOAbout 1:00am on 7 November, Turkishmilitary jets attacked a group of Kurdishcivilians, killing two men and woundingtwo others. The men were transportinggoods over the mountains between Iranand Iraqi Kurdistan and had stopped torest when the strike occurred. CPT-Iraqi Kurdistan team membersmet with one of the survivors, RebazAhmed Ismail, and his family at a hospitalin Sulaimani on 8 November. Rebaz lostone leg in the attack; the other was seri-ously injured.

Rebaz said that he and his group hadbeen traveling this specific road into Iranfor at least three years. He stressed thatneither he nor any of his group were armed. Villagers observed a large number ofjet planes flying over the mountain regionin the two days prior to the attack. Apart from two news agencies, noother media and no governmental repre-sentatives had met with this survivor of afatal military attack well within IraqiKurdistan’s borders by one of its neighbors.

cont’d page 2

IRAQI KURDISTAN

Exploded ordnance collected in Sunneh village.

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IRAQI KURDISTAN

Turkish cross-border attacks in Iraqi Kurdistan intensified after the U.S. began provid-ing Turkey with intelligence in 2007. After a grassroots campaign by CPT and localpartners, civilian casualties ceased for over a year until this strike.

CPT urges 1) journalists to heighten their coverage of Turkish attacks in Iraqi Kurdistanand to highlight the resulting civilian casualties; 2) the Sulaimani governorate and KurdishRegional Government to meet with Rebaz and to support him and other victims of theTurkish cross-border bombings; 3) the Kurdish Regional and the Iraqi Central Governmentsto pressure Turkey to cease all military action within Iraqi Kurdistan; and 4) the interna-tional community to speak out against Turkey’s violations of the human rights of Kurds onboth sides of its national boundaries.

Everyone will live in peaceand prosperity, enjoyingtheir own grapevines and figtrees, for there will be noth-ing to fear.- Micah 4:4

Just over a year ago we firstmet the children of Sunnehvillage for the first time.CPT-Iraqi Kurdistan visitedthem in Gojar IDP (Internally DisplacedPersons) camp where they had fled withtheir families during the incessant cross-border shelling of 2011. Their school hadbeen damaged by the attacks. We heardstories of children waking every nightwith nightmares. Their faces and mindswere stressed from life in the tent camp. On 20 November 2011, UNICEF(United Nations Children’s Fund) orga-nized a commemoration of InternationalChildren’s Day at the school, which hadbeen repaired and freshly painted. Theywanted the children to know they had notbeen forgotten. The walls were decoratedwith balloons, tinsel and dozens of draw-ings and paintings by the children. Manyof the drawings reflected images of the

cont’d from page 1

children’s experiences over the precedingmonths – lots of planes and helicoptersdropping bombs onto small villages. Fast forward to November 2012.CPT-Iraqi Kurdistan has kept in contactwith the school. We have shared theirstories in the form of a report and a video.Many of the students recognize team mem-bers and look forward to our monthly visits. This past summer their lives werefree of bombardment. For an unknownbut welcome reason, Iran and Turkey al-lowed the villagers to live a normal lifethroughout the entire growing season.Villagers not only planted gardens, butharvested them. Families tended goatsand sheep in peace. Children gained an-other year in age and grew in maturity. For International Children’s Day, theschool was decorated again. The balloonsand tinsel were back. So were the artistictalents of the students. Team members,admiring the children’s paintings anddrawings, were struck by the difference inimages from the previous year. The art-work depicted serene village life: themountains, the big sky, herds of animals,planting and harvesting, playing and liv-

‘NEATH VINEAND FIG TREEby Kathy Moorhead Thiessen

Children from Sunneh village 2012.

Children’s drawing, Sunneh 2011.

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IRAQI KURDISTAN

ing. Not one showed a bomb. The youngstudents were joyous, dancing and cele-brating just being children. For this moment in time, the childrenof Sunneh and their parents are able to liveunder their vine and fig tree without fear.Our prayer is that this scriptural promisewill endure.

Kathy Moorhead Thiessen, from Manito-ba, Canada, works half time with the IraqiKurdistan team.

IN PRAISE OFKURDISHNONVIOLENCE

A five-nation CPT delegation visitingKurdish areas of Turkey and Iraqi Kurdis-tan 5-17 October learned about nonviolentinitiatives from an Iraqi Mullah and inter-viewed a Kurdish social worker in Turkeyfacing eighteen years in prison. From Diyarbakir, Turkey, to IraqiKurdistan’s mountain villages and city ofSulaimani, the delegates met with peoplewho have experienced discrimination andoppression just for being Kurdish. Villag-ers who have endured bombing and shell-ing by neighboring countries affordedthem hospitality. Families told of sonskilled allegedly by security forces duringthe Spring 2011 Kurdish Uprising inSulaimani. Activists shared about beingthreatened for speaking out against vio-lence and injustice. The mayor of rural Sidakan guidedthe delegation through the constructionsite of a permanent Internally DisplacedPersons (IDP) camp being built in prepa-ration for future Turkish and Iranian at-tacks. Reflecting on 2012 when the areawas quieter than in previous years, he saidit would be ideal if the camps would neverhave to be used for displaced people.

He suggested that a tourist camp or teach-ers’ housing would be a much better use ofthe new facility. The delegates, from Canada, IraqiKurdistan, the Netherlands, Sweden andthe USA, held two press conferences dur-ing their visit – one on 10 October inSidakan, reporting on the cross-borderattacks, and the other on 15 October inSulaimani. Their statement at the closing pressconference, attended by family membersof people killed during the 2011 demon-strations, concluded, “As we leave we willtake with us the resilience of villagers whorebuild their houses again and again afterbeing bombed, the bravery of religiousleaders trying to bring about peacethrough nonviolence, and stories of theamazing hospitality Kurdish people haveshown us.” They ended the conference bysinging, “Dona Nobis Pacem” (“Grant usPeace”).

The delegation’s media statement is avail-able at: http://goo.gl/9djLO. For infor-mation on CPT delegations see:http://cpt.org/participate/delegation.

“UNTIL ALL ARE FREE”KURDISH SOLIDARITY IN CALIFORNIAby Sarah Thompson

“Bayani bash!” I tried my few Kurdishwords on the group of lively protestors gath-ered at the CNN building on Sunset Boule-vard in Hollywood, California. “Bayanibash!” one man called back, looking slightlypuzzled that a young African-Americanwoman had greeted him in Kurdish. Luqman Barwani and the Kurdish Na-tional Congress of North America had or-ganized a 48-hour-long solidarity hungerstrike on 12 November – day 63 of a hun-ger strike initiated by 700 Kurdish politicalprisoners in 76 different prisons throughout

Turkey. The prisoners, beginning tosuffer serious health affects, havebeen joined by more than 10,000 sol-idarity hunger strikers. One of the protesters handed metheir statement, which I read aloud:“The Kurdish struggle for equalrights has made historic gains inrecent years. Turkey has responded

cont’d page 4CPT delegates hold press conference in Sulaimani.

4

by imprisoning thou-sands of Kurdish democ-racy advocates, includingelected parliamentarians,mayors, intellectuals,lawyers, journalists, stu-dents, and human rightsdefenders. The Kurdishmovement continues tocall for a democraticsolution to the conflictwithin Turkey’s territorialborders…The root causeof the hunger strike is the Turkishgovernment’s refusal to accept a negotiat-ed solution to the Kurdish issue and itsendeavors to crush any democratic resis-tance to its unjust policies.” I had joined a CPT delegation to Tur-key and Iraqi Kurdistan in October 2012.After returning from the delegation Imoved to California and was thrilled tomeet active Kurdish people there. For thehour that I joined the hunger-strike I feltlike I was back in Kurdistan as I listenedto their stories and hopes for the region. Barwani lives in Thousand Oaks, Cal-ifornia which, according to Ventura Coun-ty orientation materials, is “known to be agreat place to raise a family, enjoys awardwinning schools and is consistently ratedamong the safest cities in the country.” Itseems like Barwani has achieved theAmerican Dream. Why would he spendhis time on the street going hungry, sleep-ing in a tent, and holding banners? “Because none of us are free until allof us are free,” he told me, “and the worldneeds to know what is happening to theKurdish people.” I shared that part of my work as aCPT delegate is to tell about what I

(cont’d from page 3)

IRAQI KURDISTAN

learned and to find creative ways to be insolidarity with the Kurdish struggle forrecognition – which is the human strugglefor dignity – so that, together, we canbuild a partnership that transforms vio-lence and oppression. A young Kurdish-American womannext to me said, “Though you only knowa few words in Kurdish, it warmed myheart to hear you say them as you arrived,because, where I am from in Turkey,Kurds are afraid to talk to one another intheir mother tongue.” Among the reformsthe Kurdish movement seeks are laws thatwould allow them to use their own lan-guage in education and legal defense. It took a miracle of trust and generos-ity to get me to the protest. The bike I wasriding through the middle of Los Angelesblew a tire three miles from the site. Iapproached a woman walking her dog toask if I could borrow something – a car, abike, anything - and she dug out a smallfoot-powered scooter for me to use. Inormally wouldn’t have had the courageto approach a stranger like that, but expe-riences of hospitality in places such asKurdistan encouraged me to take the risk.It worked. As strangers become friends and weshare in one another’s struggles, we scootcloser to the feast of equality and dignitywhere all are welcome.

Sarah Thompson served as an at-largemember of CPT’s Steering Committeeuntil taking the position of interimOutreach Coordinator. She moved fromIndiana to California, USA to help expandCPT’s networks there.

Sarah Thompson (second from left) with Kurdish solidarityhunger strikers in California. photo by Luqman Barwani

Kurds in California join a hunger strike insolidarity with political prisoners in Turkey.

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IRAQI KURDISTAN

HUNGER FORRIGHTEOUSNESSby Bud Courtney

On 23 November, the team received a callfrom a partner in the Federation of CivilSocieties, an organization of SulaimaniNGO’s of which CPT is a member, invit-ing us to a gathering in front of the Kurd-istan Parliament offices. A group of sixmen with physical disabilities were on thefourth day of a hunger strike. Would CPTcome and stand with them for a while? As we arrived, an ambulance carriedtwo of the men to the hospital to be givenintravenous fluids. They had not beeneating or drinking anything for days. We sat in the tent for some time. Atone point, my friend from the Federationsuggested that I come back the followingevening with my guitar. I arrived the next evening to find thesix men, calling themselves the “DisabledGroup,” and one of their friends in thetent; no press, no cameras, no fanfare. Wesat around the kerosene heater, drank hotbanana milk, and played music.

This is why I came to Kurdistan. Iknow I can’t change the world. But I canshow up. I can sit with those who stand, asbest they can, for nonviolent change, whoinvite others to join them in their struggle.

These men, seeking better conditionsfor the 125,000 disabled in the KurdishRegional Governorate, vow not to eat untilParliament meets their demands. They willremain camped in front of the Parliamentbuilding – building their own community. They speak very little English, and Ispeak no Kurdish. Yet, every night I amgreeted and made to feel like one of thefamily. I am always amazed at the hospi-tality of the people here in the MiddleEast, perhaps even more so in this tent, bysix friends on a hunger strike. Each day I visit, we sit and laugh andsmile and cry and hold each others hands.Each day I ask if they are feeling okay,and if anyone from Parliament has visitedthem. They say they are fine, but noofficials have come yet. The Parliamen-tarians do not realize what a wondrous giftawaits them within that tent.

CPT Reservist Bud Courtney is part of a Cath-olic Worker community in New York, USA.

CPTers serving the Iraqi Kurdistan team October-December 2012 were: Bud Courtney (New York,USA), Lukasz Firla (Cesky Tesin, Czech Republic), JoAnne Lingle (Indiana, USA), RosemarieMilazzo (New York, USA), Carrie Peters (Pennsylvania, USA), Sandra Milena Rincón(Colombia), Garland Robertson (Texas, USA), Kathy Thiessen (Manitoba, Canada), PatrickThompson (Cardiff, Wales). Delegation members 4-17 October were: Marie Bodnar (Manitoba,Canada), Marius van Hoogstraten (Amsterdam, Netherlands), Cory Lockhart (Kentucky, USA),Kanar Midhat (Sulaimani, Iraqi Kurdistan), Sheima Qamar (Gothenburg, Sweden), Julia Schmidt(Ohio, USA), Sarah Thompson (California, USA), Alfred van Wijk (Oostzaan, Netherlands).

Six hunger strikers camp in front of the Kurdish parliament demanding better conditionsfor people with disabilities.

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ABORIGINAL JUSTICE

TEN YEAR BLOCKADE

The Grassy Narrows community invitedCPT to accompany their blockade in 2002because of potential violence from loggersor police. CPT maintained a presence thereuntil the summer of 2004 and has continuedto support the community’s nonviolentstruggle for sovereignty.

In late October, the Grassy Narrows’Women’s Drum Group sent an open invi-tation to celebrate the 10th anniversary oftheir logging blockade: “On 2 December 2002, Grassy Nar-rows Anishinabe community membersmobilized in a powerful direct action tostop the destruction of our way of life andhabitat by stopping logging trucks fromentering our territory. Many supportershave joined us in this fight. This industri-al logging was destroying a way of life forour people as they cut massive areas ofour forest against our will and carried ourtrees off to the mills since the early 1950s …Since December 2002, our com-munity has taken on this big logging in-dustry. We succeeded in kicking out theworld’s largest paper company – Abitibi –and we are still fighting against othercompanies like Weyerhaeuser, which aretrying to regain access to our forest. Wewill continue to fight against this culturalgenocide. Please join us in celebratingour resistance, our sovereignty, and ouraction in defense of the earth.”

(continued from page 1)

CPT’s AboriginalJustice Team (AJT), incoalition with Environ-mental Justice Action inToronto and otherfriends of GrassyNarrows across TurtleIsland (North America),took attentive notice ofthis invitation and start-ed planning multiplecelebrations across thecontinent. AJT organized aSacred Fire and Feast infront of the OntarioLegislature at Queen’s

Park in Toronto on 2 December. Duringthat same week, 25 other towns and citiesacross Turtle Island held screenings of thefilm, “As Long As the Rivers Flow: TheGrassy Narrows Blockade Story,” manyof them organized by CPT members orformer delegates. Through ten years of fighting toprotect the land and organizing for self-determination, the Grassy Narrows com-munity has gained:· continent-wide recognition of thefairness of their struggle through educa-tion and public actions;· scientific support for their position onmercury poisoning and detrimentallogging practices;· an Ontario Court of Justice ruling thatthe Ministry of Natural Resources andlogging companies must respect GrassyNarrows trap lines (which in practicerecognizes their traditional territory).

Most importantly, the community isrecovering their way of life with initia-tives like the Women’s Drum Group, theChildren Drum’s Group, the Trapper’sCenter and the Wild Rice project. All thiswork has made Grassy Narrows one of themost inspiring initiatives in Turtle Island! It reminds us why we keep doingwhat we do – because we believe thatanother world is possible, an earth wherea diverse collection of communities andviewpoints live together in peace andsocial justice.

Join a CPT delegation to Grassy Narrows andhear their story first-hand (http://goo.gl/MkWRb).

Grassy Narrows Blockade

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ABORIGINAL JUSTICE

Have you seen a story,Touched a memory,Smelled the pain,Read an old face.Felt the same old wind,That they did,And noticed that your whole being is drowning?I was wandering in those empty fields,Hiding behind the white bark birch trees,Touching the abandoned swing,Rolling on those small hills,

Near the round lake,Where they had to run every day.Behind the pinesWhere I could not goAnd you cannot see,There is a cemetery.Keep a minute of silenceFor the kids that were forcedInto Residential Schools.

WATERSHEDEXPEDITION

The Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug(KI) First Nation has been particularlyproactive and creative in asserting theircommunity’s rights. Through their groundbreaking WaterDeclaration, KI defines their protection ofBig Trout Lake and its 13,025 square kmwatershed. Their Consultation Protocol sets theconditions for mining companies to workwith the community on extraction projects. This autumn, community membersundertook a 350 km canoe trip through

CPTers serving the Aboriginal Justiceteam October-December 2012 were:Emily Green – student intern (Ontario,Canada), Julián Gutiérrez (Risaralda,Colombia), Peter Haresnape (Cam-bridgeshire, England), Rebecca Johnson(Ontario, Canada), Chris Sabas (Iraniannational & naturalized U.S. citizen livingin New York, USA).

photo: Melinda Enns

BEHIND THE PINESby Julián Gutiérrez Castaño

their traditional territory, following atrading route used by their ancestors andvisiting historic sites along the way. Recently, two youth from the com-munity created a video called “Learningto Run the Rapids.” While having boat-loads of fun, their educational efforts alsohelp to protect the watershed. Through activities like this, KImembers demonstrate and publicize theircontinued presence on the land and theirdedication to protect it as part of theirindigenous identity and cultural expres-sion.

See stunning images from the ExpeditionPhoto Gallery at http://goo.gl/EjVQS.For more information about the KI’sstruggle to protect their lands seewww.KILands.org.

Julián Gutiérrez Castaño from Risaralda, Colombia serves full time with CPT’s Aboriginal Justice Team.

Woodland caribou bull, KI First Nation.

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COLOMBIA

CPT-Colombia has accom-panied the community of LasPavas through the highs andlows of their nonviolentstruggle to regain their landsand livelihood since theywere forcibly evicted in 2009.

According to INCODER, with theland now under government control, thecase can finally “proceed to material recu-peration and titling in favor of the ruralpopulation.” Plots expropriated earlierthis fall, primarily waterways and wet-lands, should never have been allowed tobe held privately, the agency ruled.

The Buenos Aires Farmers Associa-tion (ASOCAB) – the organization towhich 116 families from Las Pavas belong– celebrated the news by thanking God,supporting churches and organizations,and responsible government agencies.

While praising the decision, the fam-ilies also called for its orderly fulfillmentamidst ongoing threats. In recent months,Aportes San Isidro has stepped up intimi-dation tactics against ASOCAB farmersand has threatened retaliation because ofINCODER’s decision.

How and when Colombian authori-ties will implement the ruling remains tobe seen. Aportes San Isidro and its largeoil palm extensions continue to operate inportions of Las Pavas, while ASOCABmembers cultivate other portions.

The violence and oppression faced byASOCAB members in Las Pavas are em-blematic of the problems of land-grabbingand forcible displacement in the contextof Colombia’s decades-long armed con-flict. The community’s persistent, faith-ful, nonviolent response to a catalog ofwrongs has enabled Las Pavas to becomea high-profile test case for land reform.

Since Juan Manuel Santos was elect-ed President in 2010, some 27,000 landclaims have been registered with the gov-ernment. The effectiveness of the nation’sland restitution efforts will have a signifi-

cant impact on prospects for peace. It mayalso shape ongoing talks between the Co-lombian government and FARC guerrillas.

ASOCAB members have “hope thatthe journey ahead will be positive, andthat we may finally obtain what we havecalled the Miracle of Las Pavas.”

ASOCAB Statement (excerpts)

We offer our thanks to God, in whomwe have believed…and to all who havecontributed to making the truth of our caseknown to the world. Today we received adecision that responds to that truth.

…We have waited so long. It hasbeen six years since we started this legalprocess, and a lifetime of resisting allkinds of abuses – forced displacement,illegal evictions, proxy attacks, damage toour crops, contamination and drainage ofnearby wetlands, stigmatization fordefending our rights, persecution of ourleaders, direct and indirect death threats,physical assaults, killing of our livestock,destruction of ourhomes and shelters,closure of our road-ways, preventing ac-cess to our work andfreedom of movement,creation of parallelorganizations to de-stroy our social fabricand countless otheraggressions – all in anattempt to deny ourrights. Yet we havewithstood it all becausewe are a community ofgreat faith and hope,

(continued from page 1)

LAS PAVASVICTORY!

Colombian police forcibly evict Las Pavas farmers in 2009

“Traveling to the promised land - the Miracle of Las Pavas”

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COLOMBIA

made up of struggling, humble, simple,honest people committed to the commonwelfare who believe that there is no evilthat lasts a hundred years.

…We are very pleased and satisfiedwith INCODER’s historic decision. Wesee it as reflecting the justice previouslydenied us, and as an opportunity for theprompt restitution of lands to which wehave rights and from which we haveearned our livelihoods and sustained ourfamilies for many years.

…We call on the national and interna-tional community and all state agencies touphold the decision of INCODER and toassure that the rights acquired by our com-munity are respected.

…Once again we give thanks to Godand ask God to grant wisdom to the insti-tutions that protect the rights of thepeople, especially the farmers like us whohave been harmed the most, since that iswhat will contribute to the peace weColombians so desperately need.

Buenos Aires, El PeñónSouthern Bolívar province, Colombia

November 16, 2012

RAISING CHANGE

The victory of the Las Pavas communityshows again what following Jesus’ way ofliberating love and creative nonviolencecan do. This community’s incrediblecommitment and courage embody thespirit of grassroots struggle that has ani-mated CPT’s work for 26 years. Your help makes it possible for us tocontinue the work of building partner-ships to transform violence and oppres-sion. Supporters responded to ourSeptember appeal in the USA with 242donations totaling $30,644 whichmatched the challenge of a generous do-nor who made an additional gift of$10,000. Thank you! We are experimenting with a newopportunity to stretch your generous do-nations even further. An online givingplatform called Crowdrise lets you joinour fundraising team. You get your ownpersonal page and tools for reaching out toyour networks to spread the word aboutCPT’s work in Colombia, Iraq, Palestineand Canada. Or simply donate.

Between now and 10 January,Crowdrise is offering a $50,000 grant tothe organization that raises the most mon-ey; $30,000 for second place and $20,000for third. We believe that, with CPT’sworld-wide network of peacemaker sup-porters, we have a real chance to meet thisgoal. We need both donors and teammembers for that to happen. The whole Colombia team has takenthe lead by setting up personal pages foreach member. They’ve already won amatching grant of $500 on Crowdrisewith their amazing fundraising work.

Please visit www.cpt.org/crowd forsimple instructions on how to join us.

If you can’t do Crowdrise, we stillneed your support. You can use the en-closed envelope to send us a check. Ifeveryone who receives this newslettergives $3 (the cost of a cup of coffee formany readers), we’ll have enough money($45,000) to support three full-timepeacemakers in the field for 2013.

With wishes for a safe and meaningfulholiday, we thank you for being part of the“T” in Christian Peacemaker Teams.

CPTers serving the Colombia team October-December 2012 were: Eddy Ewert – intern(Wienhausen, Germany), Ramyar Hassani –intern (Sanandaj, Iran), Drew Herbert(California, USA), Caldwell Manners(Meghalaya, India), Sandra Milena Rincón(Colombia), Amanda Robinson – intern(Colorado, USA), Jenny Rodríguez(Colombia), Pierre Shantz (Colombia),Sarah Sommers – intern (Ohio, USA),Stewart Vriesinga (Ontario, Canada).

“Traveling to the promised land - the Miracle of Las Pavas”

10

OH, FREEDOM!

CPT-Colombia joined one ofits partner organizations,CAHUCOPANA*, in cele-brating the 1 Novemberrelease of Claudia MaríaMayorga from eight monthsin prison.

This mother, grand-mother, friend and peacebuilder was found innocentof sedition (rebellion) charg-es filed earlier this year. Herarrest is an example of the many injusticesperpetrated against Colombian humanrights workers on a daily basis, often withno public visibility.

CAHUCOPANA and other organiza-tions assert that the detention of Mayorgaand community leaders like her is part ofthe Colombian government’s strategy ofrepression against grassroots peace pro-cesses and human rights organizationsthat denounce continuing violations. “We honor the good name of thiswoman who has dedicated her life to

COLOMBIA

peace through concrete action in a landwhere violence was sown,” said ColombiaCPTers. “Claudia Mayorga is committedto building a country of justice, peace andlove and we thank God that justice hascome for Claudia in time to be with thepeople she loves at Christmas.” CPT accompanies Claudia Mayorga’sson, Carlos Morales, an educator and or-ganizer for CAHUCOPANA.

*CAHUCOPANA is a human rights orga-nization of small farmers from the rural

PALESTINE

UNICEF AmbassadorVisits Hebron

The United Nations Children’s Fund(UNICEF) Goodwill Ambassador, AgnesChan, visited the old city of Hebron andthe CPT office on 6 November, togetherwith a UNICEF delegation, to see first-hand effects of the occupation on childrenand their education. The delegation alsowanted to verify how money donated byUNICEF was being put to work in the area.

Chan thanked CPT and the Ecumeni-cal Accompaniment Project in Palestineand Israel (EAPPI) for their work inHebron, ensuring that children can accessschool with more dignity. “EAPPI and CPT act as a check-point,” she said, holding soldiers account-able to their mandate, deterring abusesand documenting those that occur for theworld to see. Chan spoke with many children whodescribed daily bag searches and deten-tions as well as soldiers carrying out prac-

tice routines, pretending to shoot asthe children walk to school. Seeing flowers that Palestinianshad planted at their homes near check-point 56 to keep beauty around themand maintain pride in the face of greathardship nearly brought her to tears. CPT thanked Chan for her visitand for UNICEF’s support of theHebron team’s work.UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, Agnes Chan, speaks

with Palestinian children in al-Khalil (Hebron).

Claudia Mayorga with her family after being released from prison.

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PALESTINE

NOT ANOTHERSETTLEMENT!

Israeli settlers moving into a house inHebron means bad news for neighboringPalestinians. Past experience shows thatsettler violence increases. Security mea-sures implemented by Israeli authorities toprotect the settlers are harsh. More deten-tions. More harassment. More restrictionson movement for Palestinians – closingroads to vehicles, closing shops, and evenclosing pedestrian routes forcing much lon-ger journeys to work and school. Such was the case when Israelisettlers illegally occupied the vacantPalestinian-owned Al-Rajabi building inHebron in March 2007. This four-storymulti-unit building is strategically locatedto link the large settlement of Kiryat Arba(about 7000 residents) to smaller settlerenclaves inside Hebron’s Old City. Israeli police eventually evicted thesettlers in December 2008 after the IsraeliHigh Court ruled that some of the papersclaiming settler ownership of the propertywere fraudulent. However, the Al-Rajabi case is backin court and Palestinians in the neighbor-hood are very worried. In September, despite the HighCourt’s 2008 decision and the fact that allIsraeli settlements in the West Bank areillegal under international law, a Jerusa-

lem Magistrate’s Court granted ownershipof the building to the settlers, clearing theway for them to move back in. An October injunction put a hold onthat ruling, but fears are growing that thecurrent legal process will be unduly influ-enced by politics leading up to an earlyelection and consolidation of conservativeleadership in Israel. According to the UN Office for theCoordination of Humanitarian Affairs(OCHA), settler violence against Palestin-ians “is not random criminal activity; inmost cases, it is ideology-driven, orga-nized violence, the goal of which is toassert settler dominance over an area.” CPT recently interviewed a numberof families who live near the Al-Rajabibuilding and Kiryat Arba settlement. Allof them reported numerous experiences ofharassment and violence from settlers liv-ing in the area. They expressed fear of thisviolence increasing if settlers are allowedto reoccupy the Al-Rajabi building. One Palestinian mother said, “Duringthat time [2007-2008], settlers were vio-lent towards us and our children. Theyburned houses and tried to break into ourhome. I’m extremely nervous because thegirls must walk past the Al-Rajabi build-ing in order to get to school.” CPT is working closely with, the He-bron Rehabilitation Committee (HRC)and others to stop settlers from re-occupy-ing the Al-Rajabi building.

(continued page 12)

Al-Rajabi building in al-Khalil (Hebron). Say “NO” to another Israeli settlement.

12

PALESTINE

Palestinian familieswho lived through the2007-2008 settler occu-pation are asking for yourhelp: “We are pleading toall those who will listento stop this. If settlerscome back again we willface the same issuesagain. That time wasvery stressful for us. Itput a strain on our familyrelations.”

URGENT ACTION:

Please contact the gov-ernment officials listedbelow to prevent anothernew settlement in Hebron.

Sample text for message:

Dear _____, The international community isgravely concerned about the decision toallow settlers to reoccupy the Al-Rajabibuilding in Hebron, West Bank. In 2007and 2008, when settlers last occupied thishouse, settler violence and harassment ofPalestinians in the area increased. The four small settlements alreadyinside Hebron have caused immensephysical, social and economic sufferingfor local Palestinian residents. Anothersettlement would not only violate article49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, butwould cause greater suffering and wouldwork against the roadmap towards peace. Please urge Israeli authorities to pre-vent the formation of a new Israeli settle-ment in Hebron’s Al-Rajabi Building.Sincerely,

Please Contact:

� your Ambassador and/or Consul Gener-al in Israel (http://goo.gl/6Shig)� the Israeli Ambassador in your country

(http://goo.gl/uDYdN)� Israeli Minister of Defense, Ehud Barak,

Fax: +972.3.691.6940, +972.3.696.2757;e-mail: minister@mod.gov.il� your member of parliament or congress� UK - http://goo.gl/ZEmDc;� Canada - http://goo.gl/HWr11� USA - http://goo.gl/DHLGo

AN UNHOLY DAY

On Sundays back home, I sleep in, have aleisurely breakfast and take a beautiful,ten-minute walk along the lake shore tomy local church. A heron perched on arock often peers at me as I go by. Then Iwalk through a wonderful field of blue-bells, or daffodils, depending on the sea-son. As I walk the rocky path up throughthe fields, I hear the bell toll and passthrough a kissing gate before I enterthrough the grand church doors where thewelcomer greets me with a handshake.Then I go and find my place on a pew.After the service the congregation gathersfor coffee and biscuits. This ritual helpsme keep my holy day of rest and prayerand reminds me of God’s goodness. Friday is the Muslim holy day. InHebron, the main prayer is around11:30am at the beautiful IbrahamiMosque. The call to prayer is as holy as

Israeli soldier points weapon at passing Muslim worshippers

Muslim worshippers stopped on way to mosque

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the tolling bells in my home church. Thejourney these worshipers go through ev-ery week however is very different frommine. First of all, worshipers must passthrough a checkpoint with a turnstile atboth ends and a metal detector in themiddle. Men, young and old, must takeout keys and money from their pocketsand remove their belts to go through.Women often have their bags searched. Itis not unusual for the Israeli military to letonly one person through at a time. Thequeue then stretches for blocks. Peoplecan wait for over an hour. Even after getting through the check-point, the border police can call you over,body search you again and take your ID. Armed soldiers and border police areeverywhere. They often point their weap-ons directly at people, including womenand children. After the first checkpoint with bagand body searches, worshipers must passthrough yet another checkpoint and metaldetector.

PALESTINE

After prayers, worshipers leaving themosque must wait in line again as Israelisoldiers return their IDs one by one. Can you imagine being subjected tothis tiresome, degrading ordeal everyweek to be able to worship? Why doMuslim worshipers in Hebron have to gothrough all of this on their holy day?Because in this land, the victims are theones to be punished. In 1994, Israeli Baruch Goldstein en-tered this mosque and opened fire killing29 Muslims at prayer. Israeli authoritiesthen closed the mosque for severalmonths. When it reopened, it was dividedinto two parts, a synagogue and a mosque. There are no checkpoints on the syn-agogue side. There is a metal detector;however, CPTers often observe Jewishsettlers walking down Worshipers Way,the road to the synagogue, with gunsacross their shoulders. The guns remainwith them as they enter the synagoguegardens. After such a massacre, this doublestandard treatment seems terrifyingly un-fair, and utterly unholy.

Twelve CPTers and from Canada, England,Germany, Palestine, Philippines, Swedenand the USA served the Palestine teamOctober-December 2012. Thirteen delega-tion members 22 October – 4 Novembercame from Brazil and the USA. Five dele-gation members 19 November – 4 Decem-ber came from Canada and the USA. Nameswithheld due to the State of Israel’s policy ofdenying entry to many peacemakers.

Israeli soldiers check IDs of PalestinianMuslims on their way to worship

Palestinian Muslims going to pray at the mosque in Hebron must pass through Israeli checkpoints

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USA / MEXICO BORDERLANDS

HUMANE BORDERSby John Heid

They shall not hunger or thirst, nor thescorching wind or the sun strike them; forone who has compassion for them leadsand guides them beside springs of water.

- Isaiah 49:10

On the weekend before Advent, I joinedvolunteers from Humane Borders, a Tuc-son, Arizona-based humanitarian group,on their annual service trip to the U.S.-Mexico border. Humane Borders placeswater stations in the Sonoran Desert bor-derlands to aid people crossing the haz-ardous, remote terrain. Brilliant blue flagshoisted above these water drops promi-nently mark each site. The annual U.S. Thanksgiving week-end project focuses on an area where 14Mexican workers died ofdehydration in May2001, as chronicled byLuis Alberto Urrea in“The Devil’s Highway.”The landscape is austere.No fences. No powerlines. No buildings. Noevidence of human habi-tation beyond scatteredartifacts of the ancientHohokum civilization,spent shells from thenearby Barry GoldwaterBombing Range, apetroglyph site, and acouple flyovers by Bor-der Patrol helicopters. The sky was seam-less blue as we wadedfor miles through seas ofwaist-high creosote bushes and chollacacti. Occasionally a jackrabbit darted byus. Lizards outnumbered birds. Temper-atures this time of year range from 40s Fat night to 90s F in midday. Surroundingmountains create a soup bowl effect to theterrain. In the hours we walked, the dis-tant peaks seemed to keep moving furtheraway from us. Over the course of three days, five ofus replaced the tattered, sun-bleached blueflags of seven water tanks and checked thestructural status of each site.

Humane Borders volunteers havebeen walking this route for a decade anddespite their efforts, the number of deathsin the desert has only risen. This past year,179 bodies were recovered from the Tuc-son sector of the border, many in the areawhere we walked. In Washington there is talk of statuschange for people without documentationcurrently in the U.S., along with escalatedborder enforcement. The net result ofmore militarization can only be moredeath along this so-called Devil’s High-way. As we unpacked our gear back inTucson late Sunday evening, I glanced upat the Humane Borders garage wall andnoticed Isaiah 49:10 in bold black print –a stark counterpoint to the public policy ofthese times, and a fitting meditation forAdvent.

Between 2004 and 2007, CPT’s Border-lands project partnered with local groupsalong the US-Mexico border to reduce thenumber of migrant deaths in the desert,advocate for just and comprehensive U.S.immigration reform, and call for compas-sionate treatment of immigrants. Al-though CPT no longer maintains afull-time team there, CPT Reservists, in-cluding John Heid, continue to supportthe work of local groups.

Volunteers with Humane Borders refill water tanks for migrantscrossing the desert border from Mexico to the USA.

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LETTERS

Each Wednesday, CPT publishes Prayersfor Peacemakers, brief prayer requestsbased on our project work in Canada,Colombia, Iraqi Kurdistan and Palestine. We recently asked recipients ofPrayers for Peacemakers for feedback.Here are just a few of the responses.

I am always glad to see [the prayers]. Iknow they will be short, to the point, andalways something I want to pray for. Inever feel manipulated or have reservations.

Christine ReichmanAlaska, USA

I love how short they are. I rarely makeexcuses for procrastinating over theprayer. I will pray straight away. Otherlonger e-mails tend to get put off until later.

Matt Manchesterinternet

The format is great. Succinct but clear.Rosemarie Milazzo

New York, USA

I appreciate the short, weekly format. Igenerally read the request and take time forprayer right then and there at my computer.

Robin BuyersOntario, Canada

Just the right length for church bulletinannouncements!

Edgar RogalskiOntario, Canada

Keep up the good work of linking prayerto action.

anonymous

To receive Prayers for Peacemakers,e-mail peacemakers@cpt.org and ask tobe added to the distribution list.

CANADA / USA

PEACE, PIES AND PROPHETS…

CPT has teamed up with Ted & Company TheaterWorks to put the “fun” in fundraising.The U.S./Canada tour combines theater and comedy with a “stealth” pie auction. SinceMarch the tour has auctioned off more than 300 pies and raised over $40,000 for CPT.

Ted Swartz’s innovative, interactive satire, “I’d Like to Buy an Enemy,” unpacks issuesof justice and peace, confronts the fear that is ingrained in North American culture, and getspeople laughing. Shows are currently scheduled for:• January 25 – Seattle, Washington, USA (http://goo.gl/QyxVq)• January 26 – Portland, Oregon, USA (http://goo.gl/P3fgG)• February 1 – Oakland, California, USA (http://goo.gl/oyTu7)• February 2 – Pasadena, California, USA (http://goo.gl/ScZlU)• February 9 – Henderson, Nebraska, USA (http://goo.gl/DEPnV)• February 10 – Beatrice, Nebraska, USA (http://goo.gl/3uVOG)• March 16 – McPherson, Kansas, USA• April 5 – Waterloo, Ontario, Canada• April 13, 2013 – Leamington, Ontario, Canada To bring a Peace, Pies & Prophets show to your community,contact Megan at Ted & Company TheaterWorks; email:office@tedandcompany.com; phone: 540-560-3973.

Signs of the Times is produced up to four times a year. Batches of ten or more are available to institutions,congregations, and local groups for distribution. Any part of Signs of the Times may be used withoutpermission. Please send CPT a copy of the reprint. Your contributions finance CPT ministries including thedistribution of 15,000 copies of Signs of the Times. The work of CPT is guided by a 12-member SteeringCommittee. CPT’s Peacemaker Corps includes 32 stipended workers and 150 Reservists living in fiveCanadian provinces, four Colombian departments, Czech Republic, Egypt, England, Germany, India, Italy,Netherlands, New Zealand, Palestine, Philippines, Scotland, Sweden, Taiwan, Wales and 30 U.S. states plusthe District of Columbia.

KEY EVENTS 2013See www.cpt.org for more information

Peacemaker Delegations• Aboriginal Justice: 3-13 May; 9–19 August;

27 September – 7 October• Colombia: International: 30 May – 12 June; 17–30 July; 19 September – 2 October National (for Colombians): 23–30 March• Iraqi Kurdistan: 25 May – 8 June (German Language only); 14–28 September• Palestine/Israel: 25–18 March; 21 May – 8

June; 13–26 August; October & November2013 dates to be announced

Peacemaker Trainings• January: 4 January – 4 February 2013; Chica-

go, Illinois, USA (apply by 15 October, 2012)• July/August: 12 July – 12 August 2013; Chicago, Illinois, USA (apply by 1 May 2013)

Steering Committee Meetings• 16–20 April; Toronto, Ontario• 15–19 October; Conference Call

Christian Peacemaker Teams is a program of active peacemakingsponsored by Church of the Brethren/On Earth Peace, FriendsUnited Meeting, Mennonite Church Canada, Mennonite ChurchUSA, Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, Congregation ofSt. Basil (the Basilians), Every Church a Peace Church, andPresbyterian Peace Fellowship.

South Hebron Hills – On 6 December, the Israelimilitary demolished the mosque in the village ofUm Fagarah at the request of Israeli settlers froman illegal settlement outpost nearby. Themosque had also served as the community’sschool. Two days later, one hundred internationaland Israeli peace activists marched fromat-Tuwani to Um Fagarah to show support forthe villagers. Under the watchful eye of Israelisoldiers and police, the group gathered aroundthe rubble in prayerful witness to the demolitionof what was a place of worship and education.

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