Jim's Peacemaking

 Dear friend,                           Making Peace with Isis.                                                            First I want to say I do not condone what Isis is doing. It is more than very wrong. The following is to help us understand what created Isis, what makes people join them and to find a good solution. Is doing the same old thing using bombs working?  It seems it clearly is not bringing peace, but mushrooming creating more deaths and hate toward the USA . What if Isis was bombing your town and killed your son, mother or brother? Then suppose ...

Widows From the Violence: Finding Healing in Mutual Support by Peggy Faw Gish Naomi & Hope among the most vulnerable of the victims of Boko Haram, are the women in Nigeria who have not only lost their homes and family possessions, but also their husbands, and have to find a way to care for themselves and their children alone.  In my three months among them, I have met a number of such women, but three, I have come to know more personally. Naomi  One-year-old “Hope” crawls around on the floor of the reception area at the headquarters of EYN (Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria, or the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) in Jos.  She has a quick smile and inquisitive face.  Every time she heads toward the door to the outside steps, Naomi, her mother, gets up and catches her just in time.  Naomi was working as a secretary at the former headquarters near Mubi, when Boko Haram attacked there on October 29, 2014. She and her daughters, Blessing (18) and Hope (1) f...

Colombia!  Peace is Drawing Near!  I am very encouraged as I sense significant progress is happening in the talks in Cuba between the FARC and the Colombia government.  I sense Peace is coming to Colombia.  Alleluia! Here are some reasons why.   The reconciliation between perpetrators and victims that is happening in the peace talks. These are very similar to the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions that happened in South Africa to bring reconciliation there. The process is getting campesinos farms that they lost during the war back into their hands. What happened is they often had to sell their land very cheaply and quickly to escape the violence.  Returning the land is a very difficult and tricky thing but it is beginning to happen. In a recent in-depth article in the Chicago Tribune ( Page 1 ,  Page 2 ,  Page 3 ) many victims were interviewed, they all said they wanted to forgive and get on with ending t...

¿Has Estado en La Habana? "Tú has estado en las conversaciones de paz iniciadas por Santos en La Habana?" Le pido a la mujer frente a mí en el desayuno. "Sí yo era parte de un grupo de víctimas Colombianas que fueron a compartir con nuestros autores cómo se sentía estar en el extremo receptor de sus armas. Esto es parte de las conversaciones que van a poner fin a la guerra civil. Fue realmente bueno. Sentí que realmente me escucharon.” "¿Cuál es ese botón dices que llevas puesto?", Añadió. Yo le respondí "dice “Orar por la Paz" Ella respondió. "Eso es una buena cosa." Ella era parte de una reunión de unas 15 líderes de comunidades llamado por Ricardo Esquivia. Su propósito era para ellos para averiguar juntos la mejor manera de responder a una petición de ayuda de Argos, una empresa internacional de cemento.  Argos compró miles de hectáreas de tierra muy baratos de campesinos cuando tuvieron que abandonar sus tierras ...

Been to Havana? Hello Friends, ”You’ve been to the peace talks initiated by Santos in Havana?” I ask the woman across from me at breakfast. “Yes I was part of a group of Colombian victims who went to share with our perpetrators how it felt being on the receiving end of their guns. This is part of the talks going on to end the civil war. It was really good. I felt they really heard me.” “What’s that button say you’re wearing?” she added.  I answered “it says Pray for Peace” She responded. “That’s a good thing.” She was part of a meeting of various community leaders called by Ricardo Esquivia.  Its purpose was for them to figure out together how best to respond to a request for help from Argos, an international cement company.  Argos had bought up thousands of acres of land for a song from campesinos (farmers) when they had to leave their land because of the violence.  Now Argos wants to talk about how to improve its image by its response t...

Hola amigos,                           ¿Por qué hay Atrocidades?                                 05 de noviembre 2014   "Jim, ¿por qué la gente hace atrocidades, como hacer la guerra, matar unos a otros y las mujeres y los niños?", Preguntó este profesor de la izquierda en una de las 16 charlas en una escuela secundaria en Barranca. Yo le respondí: "Bueno, eso es una pregunta difícil. Voy a tener que pensar en eso. Justo al lado del manguito de una serie de cosas vienen a la mente. Primero Dios nos ha dado libre albedrío. Somos libres de hacer las cosas terribles si decidimos.   La televisión es probablemente parte de por qué también. ¿Cuántos asesinatos vemos allí cada semana? Me imagino que nos dice inconscientemente que matar es sólo una parte de la vida en el mundo de hoy. Otra es jugar juegos en Internet donde uno tir...

 Dear Friends,              Hope for Justice and Peace      10/29/14    One student in La Mesa shared, “Before the class I had little hope for peace and justice in Colombia, but now I have hope. Thank you so very much.” Another student in La Mesa where I gave 17 talks remarked, “I really appreciated that you I talked about how God wants Catholics and Protestants to work together rather than fighting each other. I really agree with that.”  I always stay with the Quiroga family in Barranca. We really enjoy each other and do a lot of teasing. It is fun. Roberto and Eberty also made a point to encourage me to keep up the talks, saying they felt it is good and very important for Colombians.  Here is Roberto, Robertito, Sasha, and Eberty.  When I was here a couple of years ago, Roberto the father was beginning as a council member in Barranca a city of 300,00...