Legislation to Close the School of the Americas

From the School of the Americas Watch Website:

HR 2567 Campaign

Representative Jim McGovern and 42 other members of the House of Representatives have reintroduced the Latin America Military Training Review Act. This legislation would suspend operations at the SOA/ WHINSEC, investigate torture manuals and human rights abuses associated with the school, and conduct an assessment of military training in Latin America.

Has your House Rep cosponsored HR 2567? Check out the list of cosponsors at the bottom of this page. If not, take action and be a part of the legislative campaign to close the SOA/ WHINSEC!

First step: Click here to email and fax an automatic letter to your House Representative and ask them to cosponsor HR 2567!

Here are some resources to help you with your work:

Check out the list of HR 1707 cosponsors from 2007-2008 to see who still needs to sign up Use this sample letter as a guide to write to your Member of Congress Tale a look at other sample resources in the sample materials section Check out our sample phone script and make a quick phone call to Congress! You can contact the DC office of your Representative by calling the Capitol Hill Switchboard toll free at 1-800-473-6711, (or 202-224-3121). Ask to speak with the foreign affairs legislative assistant and here is a suggested message for you to convey: "As a constituent living in _________, I am calling Congressman/woman ________ to urge him/her to contact Rep. McGovern and ask to be a cosponsor of the Latin America Military Training Review Act, also known as HR 2567. This legislation would suspend operations at the School of the Americas, renamed WHINSEC, and investigate the history of human rights abuses and failed policies of the institution. New information indicates that WHINSEC has allowed known human rights abusers to instruct and receive training at the school. Argentina and Uruguay are two more countries that have made public announcements they will no longer send students to the school, citing the negative image and history of this institution. Despite demands by Congress to have oversight over the curriculum and promote human rights, the Pentagon is now denying all requests to provide information to human rights organizations and the public about students and graduates of the school. I urge you to contact Cindy Buhl in Representative McGovern's office and ask that your boss be added as a cosponsor of this legislation. I hope you will represent my views and support this bill." Other important Links: Legislative 101 Flyer Roll Call results for the May 2008 Defense Authorization Amendment "Names" Amendment Information Roll Call results for the June 2007 Foreign Ops Amendment Learning about your Representative An important part of a successful meeting with your Member of Congress on the SOA/ WHINSEC issue in the 111th Congress is doing your homework. Here are some key places to get the information you need to know the history and background of your legislator and their support (or oppositon) to the issue: Check out the list of cosponsors for HR 2567. These Members of Congress support a suspension of operations at the SOA/ WHINSEC, an investigation of the school, and an assessment of U.S. foreign military training List of the new members in the House of Representatives for the 111th Congress Vote results for the June 2007 Foreign Ops Amendment to cut funding for the SOA/WHINSEC House of Representatives homepage Senate homepage Congress.org, a comprehensive source of information about Congress For more information on the detailed history of SOA Watch's meetings with your Representative and their voting history since their election to Congress, contact the DC office. Tips and Resources on Setting up a Meeting SOA Watch has pulled together tips on setting up a meeting with your Member of Congress that will help you with all of the ins and outs of a successful meeting with your legislators. Cosponsors of HR 2567 (as of 5/25/09 - date of last cosponsor) 42 + McGovern Rep Baldwin, Tammy [WI-2] Rep Bishop, Timothy H. [NY-1] Rep Brady, Robert A. [PA-1] Rep Braley, Bruce L. [IA-1] Rep Capuano, Michael E. [MA-8] Rep Carson, Andre [IN-7] Rep Clay, Wm. Lacy [MO-1] Rep Conyers, John, Jr. [MI-14] Rep Cummings, Elijah E. [MD-7] Rep DeLauro, Rosa L. [CT-3] Rep Driehaus, Steve [OH] Rep Ellsworth, Brad [IN] Rep Farr, Sam [CA-17] Rep Fattah, Chaka [PA-2] Rep Frank, Barney [MA-4] Rep Grijalva, Raul M. [AZ-7] Rep Gutierrez, Luis V. [IL-4] Rep Higgins, Brian [NY-27] Rep Hinchey, Maurice D. [NY-22] Rep Hodes, Paul [NH] Rep Holt, Rush D. [NJ-12] Rep Kind, Ron [WI-3] Rep Kucinich, Dennis J. [OH-10] Rep Lee, Barbara [CA-9] Rep Lewis, John [GA-5] Rep Lynch, Stephen F. [MA-9] Rep Maloney, Carolyn B. [NY-14] Rep Markey, Edward J. [MA-7] Rep McCollum, Betty [MN-4] Rep McDermott, Jim [WA-7] Rep Moore, Gwen [WI-4] Rep Oberstar, James L. [MN-8] Rep Platts, Todd Russell [PA-19] Rep Price, David E. [NC-4] Rep Rothman, Steven R. [NJ-9] Rep Schakowsky, Janice D. [IL-9] Rep Serrano, Jose E. [NY-16] Rep Tonko, Paul [NY] Rep Waxman, Henry A. [CA-30] Rep Welch, Peter [VT] Rep Wu, David [OR-1] Rep Yarmuth, John A. [KY-3]

Martha Pierce's Work in Guatemala

First, this community was different from the one that I visit every year in several ways. For one thing, it’s much smaller; although it’s kind of divided into two sections (one higher up the mountain than the other) the group I was with has a stronger relationship with the smaller/higher section because most of the people there are related to one family, the Vicentes, who came to Chicago through the sanctuary movement in the 1980’s and still live there and participate in the activities of their host church (University Church UCC) and also of the Sanctuary Alliance. The father of this family, Virgilio, is a wise elder, and accompanied us on the trip, which for him was a visit to his brother and numerous other family members. It wasn’t his first trip back; he and other members of the group had been there 5 or 6 times before. This village was one of the 660 or so that were completely destroyed by the Guatemalan army in the 1980’s; Virgilio’s parents, grandparents, and about 30 other relatives were massacred at that time, along with the rest of the people in the village. Those who were able to flee survived by hiding in the mountains, fleeing from army bombardments and patrols, for several years; others fled into refugee camps in Mexico or to other parts of Guatemala; Virgilio and his family went to the U.S. So the folk from University Church are helping them to rebuild their village, by providing support for a water system, helping to build the school, and giving scholarships to students who want to study beyond 9th grade (they have to leave the community and live in the nearest large town for this). Most of the people now have houses made of wood, with laminated tin roofs, instead of just sticks and plastic as when they began, but there’s still no electricity in the village and of course no indoor plumbing. It’s not really a village in the sense of having streets and stores and stuff like that; the 10 or 12 houses are scattered around on the hills, each with its own small fields (or “milpa”), and there is one small community building, which is where we spent most of our time. The women of the village cooked meals for us there, and we all ate together; some of our group slept in tents which they had brought. It gets quite cold at night there, and the stars are unbelievably brilliant, and roosters don’t crow only at dawn. All of the people speak the language K’iche, and most also speak Spanish; our meetings involved lots of translations from one language to another to another, and back again (Spanish-English was my department), and I’m sorry to say I didn’t learn any K’iche words except “maltiox” which means “thank you.” In addition to arts & crafts projects to do with the kids, and a couple of soccer balls, and some yarn for the women who wanted to learn to knit, the group brought a small solar-powered camping lantern for each family, which thrilled the women a great deal. These will enable them to see their way home in the dark at night, and provide more light for their cooking; they’ll also mean the people don’t have to spend so much money on candles, and perhaps help avoid burning the children or houses with the candles. For many people of this group it was a great reunion to see their village friends again, and we were greeted with hugs and smiles, and everybody on both sides cried when we left.



Before we went up to the village we spent a couple of days in Guatemala City, where we had meetings with various people and organizations who work on human rights and social justice issues. One of these was the Forensic Anthropology Foundation, which carries out exhumations of clandestine burial grounds left from the internal conflict. They carefully exhume the bodies, examine them and document the evidence of how they died, etc. and then return the remains to the families for a proper burial. The point of this is both to provide dignity to the victims, and also to develop the proof needed to prosecute those who are responsible. Needless to say, this is dangerous work, and the people who do it are constantly threatened. We saw a video about their work, and then went to see the actual lab: 6 or 8 tables with skeletons, or partial skeletons, laid out on them, with lab workers carefully documenting every detail. It was quite moving to see the tiny bones of a 2-year-old child, and the skull of an old woman with only 1 tooth left in her jaw. Before we went I was concerned that our friend Virgilio might be disturbed by this experience, since his own parents were killed and buried somewhere on the mountainside, but he was very interested and even asked for a copy of the video. He brought it to the village – Saqa Ja is its name – and one afternoon while we were there we all gathered, men, women, children, visitors and villagers, at Virgilio’s brother Guadalupe’s house, where they have a solar panel that powers a tv with a video player, and we watched the video together. Most of the people and all of the visitors wept during the movie, and afterwards many of them spoke quite movingly about their own experiences. Most of that was in K’iche, but it wasn’t hard to get the point of their stories, especially as occasionally there would be a word in Spanish: “army” or “helicopter” or “massacre” or “suffering.” The next day they decided to have a Mayan ceremony to remember their murdered family members. Everyone gathered in a circle, sitting on the grass, and the spiritual leader created a traditional Mayan ceremonial altar in the middle. This is a circle marked out by flower petals and pine needles, with flowers and candles of different colors at the 4 cardinal points, and two candles in the middle – blue and green to symbolize earth and sky. Various kinds of incense, spices, sugar, chocolate, and seeds are sprinkled around in a mound, and more candles are placed on the mound, and the whole thing is set on fire while the priest waves incense over it and prays. Various people gave him lists of names of their loved ones who had been killed, and as he chanted and prayed for each one, three women kneeling upright by the edge of the circle sang/told the story of each person, while holding offerings of bread in their hands. After this ceremony, which went on for quite a while, they also had a celebration for the 10th anniversary of partnership with our group. They had made a welcome poster, and another poster with photos from previous years (including one that was taken several years ago when our Chicago group brought a man from the community, German, to the U.S. for a speaking tour – he stayed here at our house, and I took him and his traveling partner, Mateo, to the top of the John Hancock Building, and we had a souvenir picture taken!) Then we all shared a corn drink, and Virgilio gave candy to all the kids, and it was quite festive.



What else? Lots more, of course. Yes, the hike was difficult – rocky, steep, and narrow – but with spectacular views at every turn; I was grateful for the people and mules who helped to carry my packs. The village is quite hard to get to, but they are all very excited that the local government has promised that this time, for sure, they will build a road to them. We’ll see. It could be a mixed blessing in some ways, but they would like to be able to get their crops to market more easily, and also to bring materials to the village.



What work did we do there? Just the work of accompaniment, I guess. It is such an honor and a privilege to be with people like that – to “encounter God at the margins,” as one woman puts it, and to find that “slowly our centers of gravity move outside of ourselves and we find ourselves suddenly dancing with friends in unknown places and with great joy.” Yes, we did dance!

INESIN Newsletter (continued)

INESIN ACTVITIES REPORT

Strengthening Communities

• Visits to rural communities (Pacayal, Zapotillo, Pablo L. Sidar, Chamic, San Gregorio) to support the ecumenical groups of the community gardens project with workshops and socio-cultural presentations (October-January)
• Pregnancy and Birth Workshop in Marqués de Comillas (November)
• Introduction of the new volunteer in the secondary schools of Pacayal and Zapotillo (November-December)
• Preparation and realization of the 1st Inter-Community Meeting in Comalapa (November)
• Visits to the communities of Chamic and Pablo L. Sidar to realize a diagnostic on trash management October-November)
• Participation in a course on organic gardening and food security in Veracruz (December)
• Systematization of the trash management diagnostic results, workshops planning (December-January)

Ecumenical Studies

• “Positive Transformation of Conflict” Workshop with CORECO in Tuxtla (October)
• Celebration of the Week of Prayer for the Unity of all Christians - 100 years - in Tuxtla and San Fernando (October) Presentation of the exposition on ecumenism at the Annual Meeting of Peace Builders in Comitán (November)
• 3rd session of the Ecumenical Course on Pastoral Reading of the Bible at INESIN (November)
• 4th session of the Ecumenical Course on Pastoral Reading of the Bible at INESIN and graduation of its first generation (January)
• Ecumenical Workshop on Biblical Hebrew for local translators (December)

Gender Studies

• Preparation and realization of the 3rd session of the Course on Pastoral Accompaniment in cases of Domestic Violence / DAPVF (October)
• Participation in the catechists meeting in the parish of Huixtán (October)
• Evaluation of the 3rd session and preparation of the DAPVF’s 4th session (October-January)
• Information and awareness rising on INESIN’s work with family violence prevention to groups and parishes in Switzerland (October-December).

Mayan Indian Theology

• Participation in the International Congress of Liberation Psychology in San Cristóbal (November)
• Work meetings with the Ecumenical Coordination of Indian Mayan Theology – preparation of the Annual meeting in Sibah’a (October-November)
• Follow-up meeting for the tsostil participants of the Spirituality Course / DIACHE (January)
• Participation of the 17th Ecumenical Mayan Indian Theology Meeting in Sibah’a (November)
• Participation in the catechists course on “Family” in the parish of Zinacantán (January)

Institutional Strengthening

• Preparation, realization and systematization of INESIN’s annual evaluation session (October)
• Reception and coordination of a delegation for Women from Mennonite Central Committee (Oct)
• Realization and systematization of three work team coordination meetings (October-January)
• Renting of lodging and food services to five local groups and civil organizations (October-January)
• Reception and accompaniment of a group of Lutheran seminary students from the USA (Nov)
• Coordination and systematization of two institutional planning meetings (December-January)
• Construction of the second lateral wall around the property (December)
• Roof repair on INESIN’s offices (December-January)

External Relations, Contact with partner organizations

• Visits of Ricardo Torres y Marion Meyer from the Mennonite Central Committee of Mexico (October-December)
• Presentation of INESIN and its projects to parishes in Switzerland (November-December)
• Edition and distribution of INESIN’s sixth Newsletter in 3 languages (November-December)
• Diffusion of Season’s Greetings to all INESIN’s partner organizations in 3 languages (December)
• Participation in the Mennonite Central Committee Mesoamerican Retreat in Nicaragua (January)

BRIEFLY

Testimony of participants about the work on gender in separated

groups during the DAPVF 3rd session:

“As women, we value the bravery of the men. We had never seen men as wounded; we always saw them as strong. The image of a vulnerable man invites us to rebuild ourselves together. We want to search for ways to open our hearts and sincerely share between both women and men.”

“As men we see that there is a great deal of interest in the women for the things to go well between men and women. This is also needed for the men. It is important for us to oppose to what society and the church say about the roles of women and men.”

Institute for Intercultural Studies and Research Newsletter

October 2008 to December 2008

INTRODUCTION
Happy New Year dear friends! From INESIN and its entire staff, we are pleased to send you many greetings and wish you all the best for the beginning of 2009. We are returning with energy and faith to our activities and are anxious to start new ones. During the next months we hope to live new challenges, and many more moments of sharing and learning. Meanwhile we would like to share with you about our activities during the last weeks of 2008. We are, as always, very grateful for your support in our work.

EDITORIAL
"Closing circles"
Months and years pass by but it is only when we
stop and look behind that we can see the route
we’ve been walking on and all the achievements
we’ve obtained. That is exactly what we had the
chance to do as the staff of INESIN with our annual
evaluation session at the end of October 2008. This
exercise also allowed us to start planning the
coming new year with a clearer mind.

But before this, at the beginning of October, we
welcomed a new colleague, Blaise Obrist, civil
service volunteer from DM-exchange and mission
(Switzerland). He’ll help us with awareness building
workshops on the environment with secondary
school students in the Sierra region. We’re glad to
welcome him and wish him a nice time with us.
In October and November we celebrated 2 sessions
of our training courses (Pastoral Accompaniment in
cases of Domestic Violence and Pastoral Reading
of the Bible), which are important meetings and
were attended by many people in a very successful
way.

November was also a month for making contacts
and public relations with the participation of our
team in meetings like the International Congress of
Liberation Psychology in San Cristóbal, the Annual
Meeting of Peace Builders in Comitán and the
Ecumenical Mayan Indian Theology Meeting in
Sibah’a (Ocosingo).

Finally in December we closed the year with a very
nice picnic with the whole team.

CENTRO ROMERO BORDER – CROSSING EXPERIENCE

Sponsored by Illinois Maya Ministry of the Illinois Conference of the United Church of Christ

Friday, October 16 - Friday, October 23, 2009

Friday, October 16: Arrive at the Romero Center. Settle at hotel and meet at the center for evening dinner. Leave for home after lunch on Friday, October 23. (Book return flights for 2:30pm or later).

Centro Romero Center for Border Ministries

173 W. Hall Ave

San Ysidro, California 92173

This week long event will center on issues concerning the USA/Mexico border region. The group of 10-15 members and friends of UCC churches in the Illinois Conference will be organized by the Rev. John Buttrick and the Rev. Faye D. B. Buttrick, members of Illinois Maya Ministries.

The purpose of this immersion experience is to be introduced to the complexity of life on the border and to develop a better understanding of the impact of the global economic trends and economic policies on social conditions, health, gender, culture, immigration and labor rights as well as on the environment. There will be opportunities to experience firsthand life in communities like Chilpancingo, Dolores and Colonia Postal, among others in Tijuana. Participants will also meet farm and maquiladora workers, newly arrived migrants from Mexico and Central America and government immigration enforcement officials on both sides of the border.

Faye is an Intentional Interim Minister in the Illinois Conference of the UCC and is on the national boards of the UCC Wider Church Ministries and Common Global Ministries, a partnership of the UCC and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). John recently retired as the Western Association Minister of the Illinois Conference, UCC. Faye has traveled to Chiapas, Mexico and Guatemala. She has volunteered at Humane Borders in Tucson, AZ. John has made several trips to Chiapas, walked the 78 mile desert Migrant Trail from Sasabe, Mexico to Tucson, Arizona, and spent time at one of the Arizona desert camps set up to rescue migrants in distress. Both John and Faye have participated in Borderlinks educational programs out of Tucson, Arizona.

FINANCES

A fee of $450.00 covers pre-immersion reading materials, shuttle from the airport, food, programming and international health insurance.

Lodging will be $27.50+ tax double occupancy (total for seven nights, $192.50+ tax).

$55.00+ tax single occupancy, (total for seven nights, $385+ tax).

Register at the Economy Inn, San Ysidro: 619 / 428 – 6191

Approximate roundtrip airfare to San Diego: (Feb 28): from Peoria, $407, From Chicago, $369 - $413. These rates will probably fluctuate between now and September. You may have your own source for a good fare. We researched Travelosity, Orbitz, and Expedia. Plan to arrive in San Diego between 2 & 4 PM, if possible, on Friday October 16. Book return on Friday October 23, 2:30 or later.

Mail Registration by September 15, 2009 to: Border Experience, Revs Faye and John Buttrick, 1006 N. Maplewood Ave, Peoria, IL 61606

Name:

Address:

Phone & e-mail:

Church affiliation:

Any mobility or dietary issues:

Enclose $450.00 registration fee. Make checks out to Illinois Conference of the UCC.

IMPORTANT ITEMS FOR YOUR PLANNING

+ You must have a valid passport, to be used for our trips to Mexico.

+ As we receive your reservations we shall send e-mails to all registrants so that you may connect with one another if you need a roommate.

+There will be a block of rooms reserved at the Economy Inn, San Ysidro in the name of Centro Romero. To book your lodging phone : 619 / 428 – 6191

+After you have made your flight reservations, e-mail your itinerary to John and Faye so we can coordinate transportation from airport to Centro Romero. It would be helpful if we can all plan to arrive in San Diego between 2 and 4 PM to be picked up by the shuttle. (Return flights on Oct. 23 should be no earlier than 2:30pm)

+There will be an orientation meeting for all participants: Saturday, October 3, 2009

+Questions, more information: John and Faye Buttrick, 309 / 637 – 5749 or buttrickfj1@att.net

Centro Romero is a ministry of Justice and Witness Ministries of the United Church of Christ and the California-Nevada Conference of the United Church of Christ.

BorderLinks Delegation in May 8-14, 2009

Delegation
The purpose of our delegation is to experience the international border between the United States and Mexico in the company of Mexican pastors, guided by the Borderlinks staff.
Borderlinks provides food, lodging, translation, accompaniment and program staff. You can find out all about them at their website: www.borderlinks .org

• Our Journey
  We will meet at BorderLinks in Tucson, Arizona on Friday, May 8 at 9:00 am. Most will arrive a day or so earlier may meet us there. Please be on time. We will conclude on Thursday, May 14 with supper. Please check with Michael Swartz before you buy your airplane tickets.




• Accommodations
  Simple, comfortable dormitory style accommodations arranged by Borderlinks. Good food. Do look at the website.




• Travel
  Please make your own arrangements after conferring with the delegation leadership. We can help make sure you are traveling with one or more delegation members.

Leadership
Who is going so far?
· Rev. Felix Ortiz-Cotto, Common Global Ministries.
· Rev. Michael Swartz, Illinois Maya Ministry.
· Rev. Justino Perez, CGM Missionary
· A representatives of:
· Alianza de Iglesias Cristianas Evangelicas Discipulos de Cristo
· Junta General de Iglesias Cristianas Congregaacionales de Mexico
· Confraternidad de Iglesias Cristianas Evangelicas Discuplos de Cristo
· We can accommodate 13 persons in total on the delegation.

For more information contact Rev. Michael Swartz

1. Telephone: 309/788-6357


2. Email: revswartz@gmail.com

Photos: Top - Previous BorderLinks group at Casa de la Miseracordia in Nogales.

Second - shopping for Fair Trade Coffee at Aguaprieta.

Third - A US watchtower with surveillance camera atop the wall between US and Mexico.

Fourth - Art decorating the wall decorated by Mexican Artists.

Report from one of our Partners--Guatemalan Cultural Action (ACG)

Asociación Acción Cultural Guatemalteca, ACG

February 9, 2009

Guatemalan Cultural Action

2008 Report

Guatemalan Cultural Action (ACG) was established in 1989 as groupings of Mayan Guatemalans affected by the civil war in that country were able to return to their rural lands and rebuild their lives. Prior to 1989, they had lived as refugees in Mexico or had been internally displaced during the conflict. Global Ministries has partnered with ACG since its beginnings. ACG has four main objectives: 1) to promote community projects in the area of education, culture, economics, and ecology; 2) to promote Mayan and Christian spirituality as inspiring and encouraging sources of meaning for community work; 3) to promote ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue in promotion of a climate of harmony, peace, and solidarity within rural, indigenous communities; and 4) to provide training for the communities on their human rights and how to defend them.

In 2008, ACG created a three year plan for 2008 to 2010. The Strategic Plan 2008-2018 also was elaborated through several workshops that included representatives from various communities and members of the ACG Board of Directors. Through two ACG General Assemblies it was possible to elect a new Board, create the Strategic Plan 2008-2018, and review what has been accomplished during year 2008 in order to plan for the work in 2009. The monitoring commission of ACG had two meetings to ensure all operations were going as projected and to make suggestions for the work ahead. The ACG administration worked on revision and authorization of documents, meetings, and proceedings with the help of ACG's Executive Director.

Additional achievements included:

* Repairs and maintenance at San Carolos Borromeus Farm and marketing of their products.
* The creation and distribution of the Association News Bulletin to inform the communities in Guatemala and in other countries.
* The "Bees" Project for credit and savings, utilized by 710 women between January and November 2008.
* Distribution of 42 irons and other materials to build firewood-efficient "Thrifty" stoves in the Santa Elena and Nueva Libertad communities.
* 31 students helped through ACG's scholarship program.

Limited economic resources forced a reduction in personnel but ACG continued to push through the work in 2008.

The Strategic Plan 2008-2018 will serve as a guide in achieving all priority projects and programs. ACG is most proud of the success of the Women’s Program. ACG’s goal for 2009 is to reach 1,000 beneficiaries and to continue to lay the groundwork for self-sufficient programs. As in the past, the participating families will benefit from the moral, spiritual, and financial support of ACG through projects, education, community participation, and personal rights.