Mennonite Weekly Review

Almost two years ago I visited Colombia as part of a Mennonite Central Committee learning tour. While there I met Pastor Rosendo Romero. At that time Pastor Romero was living with his family in an area where Colombia’s paramilitary demobilization took place.

Theo Sitther is a legislative associate for international affairs at the Mennonite Central Committee Washington
Office.

In 2004 the Colombian government initiated a process that demobilized 30,000 paramilitary forces and promised access to truth, justice and reparations for the victims of Colombia’s long running conflict.

However, Colombia’s millions of victims have been systematically denied this access. Through threats and assassinations, more than 60 rearmed paramilitary groups have intimidated victims from seeking truth, justice and reparations.

Pastor Romero, his family and his church members are just some of the victims caught in the middle of this injustice and violence.

When I met the pastor in 2007, he explained that he had received threats from the local paramilitary group. Even though the incident was reported to the police, no action was taken.

In fact, the police were known to have close ties with the commander of the armed group, and Pastor Romero continued to receive threats. Nevertheless, when I met him he was determined to stay and be a pastor to his community.

Threats continued, and in March 2008 Pastor Romero was warned of an impending killing spree. Days later the pastor with his wife and three children fled the area. They are now part of the more than 4 million internally displaced population of Colombia.

In a recent interview he stated: “It got to be too much; my nerves were getting the best of me. I couldn’t sleep… . I won’t ever go back there.”

Pastor Romero’s story is just one among many. Taken together, the stories compound to tell of one of the worst humanitarian crises in the Western Hemisphere.

In 2008 alone, more people were displaced from their homes than at any other time since 1985. On average, 1,500 people were forced from their homes daily.