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FALL, 2001: Volume 6, Issue 3 Excerpts from Searching for Kimy: A Personal Account by Julia Graff
Note: Internationals from a number of groups accompanied the Embera-Katío
in their search for Kimy Pernía Domicó. Among them was Julia Graff from
Witness For Peace (WFP). The following excerpts are from Witness
for Peace Newsletter, Summer 2001.
…Because of the risks involved, [the Embera-Katío] invited us to participate
as accompaniers. They asked us, as international observers, to walk
along side them, and after careful reflection, we accepted. This is,
after all, what it means to be in solidarity with God’s people—to share
a portion of their pain, to assume some of their risks, and to live
and trust and doubt and love right along with them. The idea was that
the paramilitaries might not retaliate if foreign observers were present,
since the international community would be more involved. Unfortunately,
this reflects the fact that we live in a world that values the lives
of US citizens more than it values the lives of Colombian indigenous
people. Still, there are no guarantees in this chaotic and unpredictable
war, and we knew that when we got on the plane.
When we arrived to the town that would be the organizational hub of
the march, we found that 800 indigenous people from all over the country
had already arrived and set up camp in the town square. Some had traveled
two days by bus to participate in the search of a brother they had never
met.
We marched under the oppressive sun for six hours straight on Saturday,
but Sunday was declared a rest day to allow the swollen feet of the
barefoot women to recuperate. Surprisingly, there were no threatening
incidents while we were there, but neither was Kimy returned to us.
In the middle of the paramilitary stronghold, we laid down each night
under a common tarp on a common pavement, with 800 brothers and sisters.
I’m sure we uttered 800 similar prayers: “Please let Kimy be alive,
please protect us from harm in the night, and please give us strength
for the march.” And we slept in the middle of uncertainty, with no walls
and no locks, only our faith to give us good rest. Despite all the rumors,
despite the fear and the terror all around us, there was an incredible
spirit of unity and common purpose.
By the third day, I had made friendships, and smiles greeted me in
all directions. Everywhere I looked, I saw enormous courage and faith
to move mountains. What else but faith allows one to leave her land
and meager earnings for two weeks to travel with small children to an
unknown region in order to confront a powerful evil? What else but an
extraordinary sense of community and brotherhood moves 800 people to
unite in a non-violent act of solidarity and sacrifice?
…But mostly, I will remember that God never asks us take it all on
ourselves, that just when we feel most powerless; we need to rely on
our community at all levels. Community implies commitment and responsibility
to one another, it implies support and sacrifice.
For more information contact:
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