Lena responded, "If you are farmers too, then you understand that you are
putting these farmers at risk. If you really want to help them, meet in
the woods away from their houses."

She continued, "While you're killing your brothers and sisters, the United
States and Canada are taking the oil and other natural resources from this
rich land. Colombia is so beautiful. If everyone would work together to
develop your resources, it would truly be a rich nation."

Lena asked about the commander's family. "Oh, yes, I have two beautiful
young girls," he said, and talked of his love for them.

Lena said, "Oh, it would be so wonderful if you could go back to your
little girls."

His eyes glistened with tears. "But I'm working to build peace, so that I
can go home again."

"I feel so sad," Lena told him as she put her hand on his
shoulder. "Someday, before you lay down your weapons, you will meet your
brother and have to kill him. He has a face too, he has a mother
too." She traced his face with her hand. "I know your face now." She
traced her own. "And you know mine."

CPT has maintained a violence-reduction presence in the Medio Magdalena regin of colombia since May 2002 at the invitation of the Colombian Mennonite Church. Current team members include Lisa Martens (Winnipeg MB), Lena Siegers (Blyth ON), Charles and Carol Spring (Palo Alto CA), and Keith Young (Comer GA).

Christian Peacemaker Teams is an initiative among Canadian and U.S. churches committed to active peacemaking, which prepares small teams to intervene in violent and militarized regions using active nonviolence. Contact CPT, PO Box 72063, 1562 Danforth Ave., Toronto ON M4J 5C1, ph 416-423-5525, fax 416-423-9213, email cptcan@web.ca; or CPT, POB 6508 Chicago, IL 60680, ph 312-455-1199, fax 312-432-1213, email cpt@igc.org. To join CPTNET, visit us on the WEB: www.cpt.org