Colombia is on the verge of a transformation. For decades, war has ravaged the country side where guerrilla fighters and drug cartels have fought to maintain their territory inside this unstable country. The people who have perhaps suffered the most are the Christians, as they try to speak love and peace to both sides of this armed conflict. Unfortunately, they are often caught in the middle, and sometimes directly targeted for their faith since they refuse to take up arms and fight. Despite severe persecution, the church has grown exponentially. Some evangelical churches have grown 1,000 fold over the last two decades! Prayer nights in the cities of Medellin and Cali have attracted more than 45,000 people each and show great unity among believers. Peace talks between the Colombian government and rebel groups have continued for 2 years with great promise. Rebel groups are disbanding and many civilians are calling for peace within their country. It is possible that an official cease fire will happen in the near future. This would open up vast territories for Christians to minister and plant churches. As we pray for Colombia this month, let us thank God for the faithful witness of the Christians there. Let us pray that Christians will lead the way in extending peace and showing forgiveness as the nation tries to heal and reunite after decades of conflict and death.
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Colombia
Basic Information: Colombia is slightly less than twice the size of Texas and is located on the northwestern tip of South America. The Colombian government has for nearly 5 decades been engaged in armed conflict with anti-government insurgent groups like The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and has struggled with the illegal drug trade. Violence has decreased in recent years due to the demobilization of FARC and a decline in drug production and trafficking. Colombia is rich in natural resources and is one of the most biodiverse countries on the planet. It has over 500 rivers, and some of the richest soil in the world, but has struggled with commercial exploitation of its forests. Despite decades of internal conflict and drug related security challenges, Colombia maintains relatively strong democratic institutions characterized by peaceful, transparent elections and the protection of civil liberties. President Juan Manuel Santos Calderon was elected in June 2010 after rising to prominence during the administration of his predecessor, Alvaro Uribe Velez, and was re-elected in 2014. Santos has made seeking an enduring cease-fire with FARC a cornerstone of his presidency.
War: The war that has been going on for 50 years began as an ideological difference. The leftist FARC wanted to overthrow the capitalist government and set up a Communist government. Then in response to that movement, right wing land owners hired their own paramilitary groups to protect their property from the guerrillas. In the 1990's, both the guerrillas and paramilitary groups became involved in drug trafficking and started targeting civilians. Now the conflict is no longer about ideology as much as it is about territory and power. Colombia is the world's largest supplier of cocaine, and it supplies 90% of the cocaine sold in the United States. FARC's main source of funding is the illegal drug trade. Statistics say that more than 220,000 people have been killed since the start of the conflict, and 80% have been civilians. This does not include the victims who have been injured or maimed. FARC has buried thousands of land mines in civilian areas. Since 1990, there have been over 10,000 land mine victims in Colombia, the second-most in the world behind Afghanistan. But not all of these deaths can be blamed on FARC. In the past 3 decades, half of the massacres that have occurred were perpetrated by paramilitary groups. However, more than 31,000 former paramilitaries demobilized by the end of 2006 and the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia as a formal organization had ceased to function. Though in the wake of the paramilitary demobilization, emerging criminal groups arose, whose members include some former paramilitaries. The capital city of Bogota has an alleged 1,300 gangs that are active in the city. The hope is that a permanent settlement with the FARC will allow the security forces to concentrate on combating the drug and gang threat and protecting the civilian population rather than fighting a protracted battle with FARC rebels. Colombia has one of the highest number of internally displaced people in the world, at 3.7 million. Also 380,000 refugees have fled the country entirely. The Colombian Government has stepped up efforts to reassert government control throughout the country, and now has a presence in every one of its administrative departments.
Peace Negotiations: Since November 2012, the Colombian government and FARC guerrilla leaders have been conducting peace talks in Havana, Cuba. A cease fire was not called during this time, but both groups agreed not to let the fighting in Colombia disrupt the peace talks in Cuba. In December 2014, FARC guerrillas declared an indefinite cessation of hostilities. In response, on January 15th, 2015, President Santos said his government was ready to start talks on a bilateral cease fire agreement. During that time, they have reached agreements on three key topics: land reform (economic and
Religion: In 1991, freedom of religion became law in Colombia and evangelical churches began to appear all over the country. They had been prohibited previously. However, according to Open Doors International, more pastors have been killed in Colombia than in any other democratic nation. This is due to the fighting and the violence between the guerrillas and paramilitary groups. Russell Stendal is the American missionary who was held captive by FARC guerrillas and has continued to minister in Colombia for decades. (He also wrote the book "Rescue the Captors".) In an interview, he said that the Paez tribe is one of the largest tribes in Colombia and that the Gospel is growing the most among this tribe despite harsh persecution. He has been able to help some of the Christian refugee camps to set up their own tribal radio station. Christian radio stations allow for Christians to receive comfort and teaching in areas where it is too dangerous to meet together. After saving the lives of some guerrillas, Russell was invited into a restricted area and allowed to set up a transmitter. Solar powered radios are distributed and most are parachuted into guerrilla controlled territory. Around 120,000 radios have been distributed. Russell believes that around 100,000 guerrillas have become Christians. VOM supports a prison ministry, provides a safe house for the families of slain pastors, provides tools to evangelists who serve in hostile areas, and distributes Bibles and Christian literature.
Information compiled from BBC News "Q & A Peace Talks", VOM US and Canada.
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Colombia: Gospel of Peace (2014)
Radio Broadcast Offer Salvation for Colombians (2011)
Parachutes Deliver Hope to the Colombian Jungle (2011)
Colombia: In Search of a New Home (December 2013)
Colombia's Hidden Killers Part I (July 2013)
Part II
Colombia's Resurgence (2014)
