Colombia has the world's second largest population of internally displaced persons (five million) due to the half-century internal armed conflict—the longest-running war in the Western Hemisphere (since 1964). Control for territory and popular support among the three main groups (left-wing rebel forces FARC & ELN, right-wing paramilitaries, Colombian police/military) has left 220,000 killed, 75% of them non-combatants. Since 2000, the US has exacerbated the violence by sending more than $9 billion in mostly military assistance. Colombia, which has both Pacific and Atlantic coastlines, holds strategic interest for the US for global trade and military posturing.
Join us as we share food and listen to Marcos drop some knowledge about Human Rights, Peace and Justice in Colombia. He wiill be in Cleveland to talk about the work his work with the Christian Peacemaker Teams and the challenges faced by the rural communities and human rights workers and organizations There are 7.7 million people displaced since 1985 according to the Colombian government. 2017 saw the implementation of the Peace Accords between the Colombian national government and the FARC, the largest of the revolutionary guerilla organizations.
