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Embassy Visit

Hello

As part of my orientation I went with a delegation to visit Matthew (Mat) Johnson, the US Embassy Human Rights officer. To my surprise we were in agreement with him on many things he had to say. He wasn't the demon I unconsciously expected to encounter. Although I come from a position that generally distrusts anyone from the US government, I am grateful for the grace to be able to see the human being beneath the position.

Here's some things Matthew shared, many of which I found we agreed upon.

According Sindicato de Escuela Nacional de Laborales, a reputable national labor organization, there has been a 68% decrease in labor homicide under the Uribe government in the last year. He added this is a great improvement, but that there is still a long way to go, with which I wholeheartedly agree. Matthew said that Barranca is clearly controlled by the Paramilitaries, and that there are clear links between Paramilitaries and Colombian government forces. I was surprised he admitted this. He added that crime without consequences or impunity was probably the greatest problem in Colombia. It sure is a big problem here.

Matthew also remarked that US Aid is always linked to a government demonstrating respect for human rights. I question how true this is, though it is good that it is a US foreign policy goal, and it is something to challenge our government to follow through on. We asked you to join in challenging our government on this earlier in one of my letters.

During the course of the time we spent with Matthew, we said that we thought that drug rehabilitation in the US was much more effective at solving the drug problem than other means.

Matthew said something to the effect that it might be so, and that he would be happy to see that happen. However, that would take a change in US policy, and that is made in the halls of Congress. This really brought home to me the importance of our tirelessly keeping at letting our legislators know in this instance that drug rehabilitation in the north is much more effective at solving the drug problem than is aerial spraying. This is where your help is so important.From the farmers here we learned that aerial spraying actually forces them to become more dependent on coca because when they spray with Roundup it kills everything. However, the farmers have found that if they pull the leaves off the coca plants soon after the spraying, the plants come back. So actually in the end everything else is killed except coca, and so the farmers become even more dependent on coca. More effort needs to put into
promoting alternative crops. In one area where we work, they do not grow coca; the farmers have told us that they don't ever want to start growing coca because it will just bring the armed groups, which brings violence. I come away with the feeling that Matthew was in a lot of ways a good person at heart, despite my questions about his smooth talking at times. That's probably why he's a diplomat. I have him on my prayer list now.Please keep these things in your thoughts and prayers as you work on letting your legislators know about this concern. Thanks again for your interest and efforts for a better Colombia.
Jim

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