The situation worsened after the murder of Jorge Eliecer Gaitan, the sole Liberal presidential candidate, in 1948. The Liberal peasants completely lost their patience and organized guerilla groups, which became problems for the authorities. The police and army were harassed, responding to the aggressions of the Conservative death squads with similar acts of cruelty and hatred.

In 1950, the Conservative candidate, Laureano Gomez, was the only one to run for president. Once Gomez was elected, the political violence increased and the Liberal guerillas became so strong that they were able to hit the army hard. The government lost support of its party in 1953, which enabled General Gustavo Rojas was able to overthrow Gomez. The government presented amnesty to Liberal guerillas, most of whom accepted. Those that did not accept the disarmament agreed to ceasefire with the government.

In 1957, General Rojas was overthrown by a Liberal-Conservative coalition, which agreed to alternate in power for 16 years. It was expected that the violence would end between them, and the well-known communist threat in Latin America would be confronted. The agreement, called the National Front, seemed praiseworthy if the parties had not forbidden the political participation of other political groups in the presidential and congressional elections.

Conservative president, Guillermo Leon Valencia, took power in 1962. During this time there was a lot of discontent and the National Front experiment was understood to be more of a game played by the country’s political and economic elites trying to monopolize power. In 1963, the government decided to bomb and clear Liberal guerrilla bastions that were communicating with the Communist party. The insurgents marched toward other regions and they declared themselves the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC) in 1964. This was the first communist guerrilla group in Colombia. The Ejercito Nacional de Liberaciaon (National Liberation Army, ELN) was formed in 1965, which was also communist and aspired to repeat the Cuban Revolution.

Conservative president, Guillermo Leon Valencia

Liberal, Carlos Lleras, was elected president in 1966. He had hopes to defuse the FARC in the rural areas, but there was little improvement. During this time another communist group was born, Ejercito Popular de Liberation (Popular Liberation Army, EPL).

The 1970’s elections were fraudulent, and Conservative candidate, Misael Pastrana, was elected although majority of people supported General Gustavo Rojas. The electoral fraud made enthusiasm for the armed struggle increase among opponents of the National Front, and boosted the idea that legal alternatives were worn out. Out of this, another insurgent group was formed, this time out of nationalists. They called themselves the April 19 Movement (M-19). The Pastrana government, the last of the National Front, had to deal with the acts of this latest insurgent group. The M-19 carried out spectacular strikes, which affected public opinion more than the military itself.

In 1978, Julio Cesar Turbay, the elected president, designed and implemented the National Security Statute. This statute was based on the national security doctrine and was in tune with the U.S. geopolitical interests. After many years, the country woke up to its own reality: economic inequality, the restriction of political space, arbitrary justice, and a government that only serves the interests of a certain people. Social movements grew and awareness about national problems among the Colombian people was raised.

The government of Belisario Betancur replaced Turbay’s government in 1982. Betancur had based his presidential campaign on a great national reconciliation that would put an end to the country’s social problems. Through this, he has intended for the insurgent movements to demobilize and opt for non-violent ways of engaging in political opposition. His government granted a broad amnesty to political prisoners, the second one since 1954, and optimism about a negotiated and pacific ending to the social conflict seemed to be a realistic possibility.


Belisario Betancur

By 1986, the political panorama had completely changed. The hopes for peace had vanished and all the armed actors were on a war footing and willing to engage in drastic solutions. The kidnappings of members of the Columbian upper class rattled nerves, and the murder and forced disappearance of social leaders and amnestied guerillas became regular tactics of the dirty war. Drug traffickers had accumulated so much economic and political power that they challenged the establishment. The incoming president, Virgilio Barco, decided to use a tougher policy towards the insurgency groups and at the same time still supported the social investment that many social sectors demanded.

At the end of Barco’s government in 1989, the government had started peace talks with the M-19, one of the most active insurgent groups, which demobilized. In spite of this, political violence was taking off: three presidential candidates were killed, the leftist political movement and the Patriotic Union were exterminated, and paramilitary groups started to emerge. A dirty war was developing.

In 1990 César Gaviria replaced Virgilio Barco as president. Once in office, Gaviria decided to initiate a constitutional change to allow the insertion of the M-19 into legal political life. This change had considerable public support. However, instead of creating more political openness, this situation only served to intensify the dirty war in which the Columbian government was participating. Paramilitaries began their extermination practices against anyone who could be a guerilla sympathizer. Large massacres started taking place and investigations pointed out links between the Columbian security forces and private armies, which were paid for and supported by landowners and drug traffickers.

The regions most affected by this situation were on the northern coast of Columbia, especially the province of Córdoba, Sucre, and Bolívar. There, the paramilitary groups that defended large ranchers started a slow but progressive expulsion plan against guerilla groups who were attacking the landowners. Massacres continuously took place.

Since the end of the 1980’s and throughout the 1990’s, the Columbian social panorama was suddenly changed by the permanent displacement of people who fled from the political violence and the dirty war unleashed by the offensive of the paramilitary groups and the army against guerilla enclaves. Landowners took advantage of the situation by acquiring land by force or by paying bargain-basement prices to the small farmers who were leaving.

In 1994, in the midst of that violent and complex situation, President Ernesto Samper took office. Samper represented a hope for peace talks and greater social investment. However, his government was strongly attacked by the U.S. in response to accusations that his electoral campaign had received money from the drug trade. While Samper dedicated himself to defense against such allegations, his social programs were bare and uncoordinated.


Past President, Ernesto Samper

In 1998, Andrés Pastrana replaced Samper as president and chose two contradictory alternatives in his government. He started peace talks with the FARC, the oldest guerilla organization in the country, and he also agreed to implement the famous Plan Columbia with the U.S. government. This plan required an enormous investment, mostly militarily, to fight coca cultivation and the international distribution of cocaine.

This contradiction was latently maintained and went without major problems during the first two years of his presidential period, but the lack of results during negotiations with the FARC produced disappointment, intensifying the paramilitary campaign. The forced displacement and massacres that were carried out permanently by the anti-subversive actors appeared to be in some way justified by urban public opinion, who did not understand the FARC’s scant interest in moving forward toward a demobilization or at least a cease-fire.

By 2001, the disappointment in the peace talks with the FARC was practically massive. The presidential candidates campaigning to replace Pastrana criticized, in various degrees of emphasis, the shortcomings of the peace talks.

By 2002, the situation became worse in all the conflicted regions. With the negotiation process with the FARC finished, and a new desire to resolve the conflict through a military route, the country elected Álvaro Uribe. His discourse about strengthening the deterrent capacity of the state, as well as the restoration of the principle authority as a means of achieving order in the country, excited voters and returned them to the hope for peace and daily tranquility.

The first consequence of Uribe’s election was the insertion of the anti-subversive fight into Plan Columbia’s agenda. At the beginning, this plan had been crafted to combat the illegal cultivation and distribution of narcotics, but as it was expanded to include combating subversive groups, with the argument that all of them had more than strategic links with the drug trade. Even thought the levels of hope increased among Columbians because of the speedy security measures that the Uribe government took, things have not been easy for this government.


Álvaro Uribe

In the last two year, the Uribe government has been strongly criticized by the international community because of its tendency to put the protection of human rights on the backburner. Massive detentions, attempts to confer judicial functions to security agencies, scornful declarations against human rights organizations, and the grudging acceptance of the International Criminal Court’s mandate have created reticence among international institutions and other countries about the real possibilities of achieving a just peace through the governments plan.

The distrust of President Uribe’s peace policy extends to the talks with the paramilitaries regarding their demobilization. Given the accusation that Uribe has been more obliging to these armed groups, few people, even at the national level, want to support a process that could lead to the pardon of terrible crimes committed by them. Even the U.S. government, which sponsors this type of “national security” policy in Latin America, has shown caution and demands the extradition of several paramilitary leaders who are negotiators in the peace talks.

Although there is a dead calm in the regions where the armed conflict is more critical, serious events have continued to happen. The number of forced disappearances has increased in the last year, as well as the number of political assassinations. Detailed security reports also indicate that the guerillas have continued attacking military forces and the civilian population.

The future, never completely predictable, supposes a greater degradation of the violence and a greater polarization among the Columbian people. Because of that, it is admirable to see how three communities, Tierra Alta (Córdoba), Sincelejo (Sucre), and Zambrano (Bolívar), continue unshakable in their hope of being able to influence local, regional, and national spaces in order to achieve peace with justice and equity.

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History of the Churches

Cristo El Rey Church, Tierralta

Children from Christo el Rey; Photo taken by: Phillip Cryan

In 1978, twelve faithful brothers and sisters picked one of their largest homes and congregated there to pray and honor God. Soon, it became a church of 75 members of true believers. The brothers and sisters spent time doing worship activities and continued their search for more activities and goals as their church matured within its conceptions and social commitments. They had a clear idea: they were God’s people and violence would never be the right route.

Their first act was the establishment of the Getsmani school in 1980. Three classrooms were established with “cañaflecha,” which is a regional traditional plant used to make the famous Cordobeses vueltiaos hats. They believed and understood that the Christian Church’s performance was connected to the social development of their community and neighbors.

By 1983 the congregation had grown into a church and by 1984 there were 116 brothers and sisters. A short decrease in members soon improved to 146 members by May 1986. The church then began working with World Vision, an international organization that ran a nutritional program for children. Through World Vision, Cristo El Rey built several settlements, such as Villa Hermosa and Villa Nazareth for church members and migrants, which led them to develop more programs to help the humanitarian crises with the help of international funding. They wanted to work in favor of the well-being of their community and try to gain support of local authorities, without forgetting their spiritual nourishment. In 1984 the pastor himself built a temple on land that was partially donated and bought by the community.

The Proyecto de Desarrollo Cristiano was created to seek national and international funding for nutritional, educational, health and recreational programs for children. The 1980’s were known as a period of growth for Cristo El Rey.

The first humanitarian assistance challenge arose for in 1196 for Cristo El Rey church. 64 families forcibly displaced by the paramilitaries were forced to flee because of threats and massacres and ended up in Tierralta. Four days later, shelter was provided to the displaced by families living in the area and soon after, 24 more displaced families arrived.

By 2000, the church had received a third wave of forcibly displaced persons. In 2002, 81 more displaced families arrived for whom the church helped find land and build houses. A new Getsemani school was built in Villa Madeira to help the displaced children, which was the first settlement the church helped build.

Tierralta is the city where peace talks with paramilitaries currently take place. Paramilitaries entered Villa Madeira and killed a member of the church during service, accusing him of being a guerrilla. This event motivated the church’s leaders to confront the paramilitaries and ask them to respect the church’s members and its sacred places. When the church’s worshippers become threatened or harassed, the church takes action in pacific confrontations.

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Remanso De Paz Church, Sincelejo, Sucre

Romanso de Paz; Photo taken by: Phillip Cryan

In 1990 the Macayepo region, of the Bolivar providence, was a prosperous area inhabited primarily by small farmers. As throughout the Atlantic Coast, Evangelical communities were common; and the region had six churches. The Evangelicals of the area routinely carried out social development projects, such as the improvements of roads, building bridges, campaigning against the disease leishmaniasis and holding registration events for the citizens.

It is common for those in Colombia not to be legally registered. Because of this lack of registration, most people do not have access to basic health care or education, along with other essential public services. Through the work of the Evangelicals, over 400 Macayepo citizens were registered.

These citizens were often terrorized by the local paramilitary. Funded by ranchers and the national navy, the paramilitary made incursions into civilian lands. They bombed and assassinated innocents along with carrying out the forced disappearances that are all too familiar in Colombia.

This violence deeply affected the Evangelical communities. The paramilitary accused Evangelicals of siding with the guerrillas. In between their attacks on their villages, the citizens slowly began to emigrate towards larger cities and towns for safety.

If the paramilitary attacks weren’t sufficient terror devices, the guerrillas added thousands of landmines to the area, as protection from the paramilitary. Most of the surrounding fields are still impossible to farm with the threat of these traps. The guerrillas also used the civilian population as protection, putting these peasants in the way of the paramilitaries and army. Little by little, the Evangelical communities accumulated a great number of dead brethren. Several of the congregations in the region were displaced by the violence.

In October of 2000, the paramilitary attacked, burning huts, killing cattle and massacring innocents to set an example. This caused a mass exodus, in which most of the displaced population headed to Sincelejo. Earlier, several people had to flee to Sincelejo, because they were on the guerilla’s blacklist. If the civilians tried to communicate or negotiate with the guerillas, they were labeled as supporters of the paramilitary.

It was in Sincelejo where the displaced congregated and started meeting with four other churches already in the area. Funded by the Mennonite church and the Justapaz program, there were able to create the church, Remanso de Paz. Through this new congregation, they formed the APORTAZ association.

Since the new church was made up of five smaller churches, the members had to learn extreme tolerance to create unity between themselves. Originally the displaced peoples were very confused in the new region. The urban rhythms of the city shook up the more traditional refugees. The congregation together was able to acclimate itself to the new scene.

As the organizing continued, Remanso de Paz bought land on the outskirts of Sincelejo. This land was originally used as a rubbish dump. Through teamwork, and extreme determination, they were able to transform it into productive fields; this time, free of landmines. These fields were key in ensuring self-sufficient agriculture for the Caribbean Coast. Through negotiation with the local government, Remanso de Paz was able to pay the farmers a daily wage and train them in meat processing, pottery and weaving.

Now, Remanso de Paz has obtained scholarships for members to complete basic education, as well as musical training. The newly formed Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar has started funding for a soup kitchen program for children. It also has an agreement with three small private schools to provide volunteers to work these kitchens.

One important fact that Remanso de Paz is proud to point out is how they will help anyone in need, Christian or not. Those who arrive in Sincelejo in search of refuge will find it. They also are able to find invaluable information about becoming registered as displaced persons. This important condition gives them access to vital social protections from the Colombian government.

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Peniel Church, Zambrano
Zambrano is a city in Columbia that was placed in a hard to reach area and it is a city that has been and is now, a drug trafficking base. Safety is a huge issue in this town because of many anti-guerilla attacks. Currently, Zambrano is at about three miles from any major transportation route. The distance away from good trading routes has made this town very poor.

The Penial Church was founded in 1997 to help the community of Zambrano from the violence associated from drug trafficking and from the poor quality of life forced upon the city. The Penial Church did not have the privilege of having a pastor until about a year after it was created. A female missionary arrived and worked very hard to organize a congregation with Christian Values. Two pastors took over after a year of her work and have been there since, creating a haven for Zambrano families and growing a large congregation. These pastors founded the Quadrangular church in 1999, where they made efforts for evangelization work: work that would also help peoples material needs. This church has had much success through many hardships. In 2001, two attacks were put upon this church and the town suffered blackouts from blown electric towers. As the Penial Church continued to receive guerilla attacks, many families became too afraid to leave their houses. The Church started to reach out and visit individual homes to help with this problem. Although Penial church is still in danger of attack, it has succeeded in creating better economic stability with families in Zambrano. Currently, they have a vegetable field and a bakery that families and youth groups work together on. In addition, they are promoting a housing project for 120 families and fostering different arts, such theatre and painting, among its members.

History of the Sal y Luz Project

The Sal y Luz project, founded in October of 2004, partners six Midwest faith communities from three states (Iowa, South Dakota, and Minnesota), the Lutheran World Relief organization, and three Columbian peace sanctuary churches. The partnership is founded upon the common goals of peace, solidarity, advocacy, and global education of the conflict in Columbia. The project arose when three peace sanctuary churches in Columbia were chosen to gain global attention for the continuing conflict in Columbia. The Lutheran World Relief organization, which sponsors the project, then sought out sister churches/communities in the Midwest. Although the peace sanctuary churches in Columbia are overcoming many of the obstacles that have arisen due to conflict, as Rev. Esther Gonzalez of Zambrano, Columbia stated, “Peace requires a global effort.” Representatives from the peace sanctuary churches, such as Rev. Gonzalez, have been traveling throughout the Midwest visiting not just the six sister faith communities, but also surrounding areas to raise awareness and support for the Sal y Luz project and spread the message that peace in Columbia is possible.

The project name Sal y Luz refers to Matthew 5:13-16 (You are the salt of the earth… you are the light of the world) which serves as inspiration for the work of the peace sanctuary churches in Columbia. The six Midwest faith communities include Gustavus Adolphus College of St. Peter, MN, Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN, Freeman, SD, Iowa City, IA, and Southeastern, MN (Northfield). The stories of how these six faith communities became involved in the Sal y Luz project vary, but one example is that of Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN.

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How Gustavus Became Partners with the Sal y Luz Project

Colombian's Enjoying Snow for the First Time; Photo Taken by: Lutheran World Relief

On July 1, 2004, President James Peterson received a letter from the Lutheran World Relief organization explaining a need for support for “Give Peace a Place Campaign.” “Give Peace a Place” is a campaign for all Colombians to have a place to live, a place at the negotiation table, and a place in the U.S. policy. The Lutheran World Relief organization asked for help in their development, relief, and peace building efforts by raising awareness about the Colombian crisis. It was requested for awareness to be spread locally and with national leaders.

President Peterson accepted the request and opened the doors for student and faculty members to start raising awareness of the Colombian crisis. Currently there are about 80 Gustavus students and faculty members that are involved in helping with the Sal y Luz project.

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Goals of Gustavus for the Sal y Luz Project

After speaking with Daria Hashemi-Rad, intern for Noreen Buhmann, one of the coordinators of the Gustavus Sal y Luz project, the purposes of the Sal y Luz project at Gustavus were found to be internal hope, student involvement, providing of aide in a social aspect, rather than military, and an overall focus on awareness of the Colombian crisis. It is hoped that there will be a strong base of students interested and involved in the Sal y Luz project at Gustavus to make it flourish and continue through the years. These are not only the goals of Gustavus, but all six sister churches share these common goals.

Recent Contributions of Gustavus to Sal y Luz

Student involvement is a very important part of the Sal y Luz project at Gustavus. March 14-18, 2005 was known around campus as Colombia Week. During this week awareness was spread through tabling at the Student Union, with information packets provided. On March 17th, 2005 delegates of Colombia had a luncheon with students that showed interest in the Colombia crisis. That evening there was an open panel, in which students and faculty could learn more about the Sal y Luz project and ask any questions that were had. April 26th, 2005 was National Call In Day where phones were made available to call state representatives requesting that the U.S. aide for Colombia be used towards social reform rather than military use. Letters to state representatives were also sent out posing the same request.