Mennonite Weekly Review

BOGOTA, Colombia — A break-in this month at Justapaz, a ministry of the Colombian Mennonite Church and a Mennonite Central Committee partner, is raising concerns about the safety of church leaders and members involved in human rights and peace work in Colombia.

Two computers with information about programs documenting human-rights abuses and coordinating peace work were stolen. These are joint programs of Justapaz and the Justice and Peace ministry of the Colombian Evangelical Council of Churches.

Nine other computers, an office safe and a fax machine were untouched. Justapaz staff believe the break-in was aimed specifically at information the office has been collecting about human-rights abuses.

One of the computers belonged to MCC worker Janna Hunter-Bowman and had a database of testimony about human-rights abuses against members of Co­lombia’s Protestant churches, as well as profiles of churches’ peace ministries.

The computer held names of grass-roots church leaders and members who were documenting abuses — dangerous work given the country’s armed conflict.

Both stolen computers also contained detailed information on how churches have been working for peace, which can also be controversial and dangerous.

The first report of the documentation project that Hunter-Bowman helps to lead, “A Pro­phetic Call: Colombian Protestant Churches Document Their Suffering and Their Hope,” documents 29 assassinations of men, women and children linked to congregations, 84 cases of people forced to flee their homes, 21 civilian combat-related injuries, four arbitrary detentions and other human-rights violations. It also relates how churches are living out their faith with hope and perseverance.

“The Justapaz and Colombian Evangelical Council of Churches program is important because it offers a trusted outlet for church people to report their victimization and contribute to justice and advocacy efforts as well as to Colombia’s historical memory,” Hunter-Bowman said.

Justapaz director Jenny Neme is concerned that the information in the computers will be used to intimidate, silence or harm the victims, local churches and people gathering the information named in the computers’ files.

Many victims or families of victims in Colombia’s armed conflict see the church as the only safe place and were grateful for the chance to recount their stories.