Mennonite Weekly Review

QUITO, Ecuador — For many Colombian refugees who have come here, fleeing political and drug-related violence was not the end of their trials.

Ecuadoran and Colombian children learn together in Sunday school at Quito Mennonite Church in Ecuador. The Colombian children in this photo no longer live in Ecuador. Many refugee families pass through Quito on the way to a third country. — Photo by Linda Shelly/MMN

In Ecuador they have encountered discrimination and suspicion, and have been denied employment.

Some of those refugees to whom Quito Mennonite Church has ministered had a chance to tell their stories during a March visit from U.S. and Colombian participants in the Ecuador Partnership.

The partnership brings together indigenous people in Ecuador, congregations from Mennonite Church USA’s Central Plains Conference, the Colombia Mennonite Church and Mennonite Mission Network.

Sitting in a large circle in the dining room where they have biweekly fellowship meals, Colombian refugees spoke about their experiences. Pseudonyms are used because of safety concerns.

“For nearly 40 years we lived with violence: bands of guerrillas and vigilantes,” Pablo Ortiz said. “When out walking, we didn’t know which groups we would encounter. We were frightened.”

After decades of living in fear, and in order to protect their children from being forcibly inducted into military service, Ortiz and his wife, María Rosa, left their family farm in rural Colombia.

“Eventually we crossed the border to Ecuador,” Ortiz said. “We came without anything.”

César Moya and Patricia Urueña, Colombian Mennonite leaders initially sent by their church in 2000 to promote indigenous theological education in Ecuador, felt called to begin a church where they could put into practice what they were teaching. A year later, Quito Mennonite Church opened its doors.

The congregation quickly became aware of the plight of fleeing families in their city. With the joint sponsorship of an Episcopal church, it established the Colombian Refugee Project. The project provides a supportive community, temporary housing and workshops on trauma counseling, spiritual health, financial management, business administration and home economics.