To Accompany....

Last week, we accompanied some members of the Peace Community to agricultural work on some of their lands, a six-hour trek from San Josecito de la Dignidad, where I live.
During the five days we spent there together, we had the chance to share quiet moments at home, celebrate E.’s birthday with a lovely cake - and an egg on the head, as per the Colombian tradition - and join them in their field work.

But what does it actually mean to "accompany"?

"To accompany" means "to go with someone," and that is exactly the role of us international accompaniers: we are with the people to be with them and to go with them wherever there is a need.
In fact, being born in Europe with an Italian passport carries a privilege; therefore, we can make a difference if we move alongside the people of the Peace Community who, we must remember, are always under death threats from those who want them displaced from their lands to exploit them for enormous economic gain.
Continuing to farm and raise livestock in this part of Colombia is the true resistance of this Community, which, by doing so, reclaims the right to its own territory and acts in the furrow of its project for food independence.
Accompanying, therefore, means setting out on the path and traveling along uncomfortable trails - on muleback or on foot - to reach distant lands where the community cultivates fields or raises animals. It means living together in a house and sharing spaces, daily life, and meals.
It means, when requested, following them to work in the field or while milking, sitting on a stone or a log, and waiting for them to finish their work.
It means, therefore, mostly waiting and staying in time, which is dilated and flows in a different way.
When we wait, however, we do not do it passively; we try to stay attentive to the surrounding environment and to those who pass by, making ourselves visible.
This is why the international presence of Operazione Colomba is so important.
The people of the Peace Community feel significantly more at ease when accompanied by internationals, and even if it seems like nothing is happening, that (perhaps) is precisely thanks to our presence, which acts as a deterrent to violence.
Our presence here will no longer be necessary from the moment the conflict no longer exists and the Community is no longer under threat, but unfortunately, the circumstances do not yet allow for that freedom.

Benedetta

In the photo, the sign reads: "Mining kills the land. We have the right to protect nature."