Actions and Opportunities
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Christian Peacemaker Teams is a program of Brethren, Quaker and Mennonite Churches and other Christians that support nonviolence. CPT was formed in the U.S. in 1992 with the mission of "getting in the way" of violence in conflict areas. They currently have teams in Colombia, the West Bank, Iraq, Arizona (U.S.), and Ontario (Canada). CPT UK represents the efforts of CPT members and friends around the United Kingdom to support one another in peacemaking work and work towards an eventual CPT training in the UK.
Visit the Christian Peacemaker Teams UK site at
www.cptuk.org.uk
CPT-UK, the network of CPTers and CPT supporters here in Britain, has been busy lately, with both actions and dreams. We joined the ENOUGH! Coalition, which included taking part in a rally on the 9th of June to mark the 40th year of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank.
We are also continuing to plan for a CPT training here in the UK. If you are interested be sure to hurry and sign up for a delegation within the next year!
Delegations in the next year include:
MIDDLE EAST
(Israel/Palestine)
2007:
- July 30 - August 11
- October 16-28
- November 19 - December 1
As the 'Roadmap for Peace' seems further away from implementation, delegates will witness the reality of day-to-day life in the West Bank. They will tour the “security wall†separating Israel from the West Bank and visit Palestinian families whose homes and livelihoods are threatened by expanding Israeli settlements. They will experience firsthand CPT's work of violence deterrence and human rights documentation in the city of Hebron and surrounding areas, and challenge the violence of the Occupation through nonviolent public witness.
Cost is £400 plus airfare.
PHILIPPINES
- October 13-27, 2007
- February 15-29, 2008
Human rights agencies report hundreds of extra-judicial killings and disappearances in the Philippines since 2001. Victims include community activists, journalists and church leaders. In the southern island of Mindanao, a decadeslong armed conflict between indigenous Muslim groups and the Philippine government continues despite peace negotiations. Peace and justice advocates rejoiced in the closure of U.S. military bases in 1991, but a subsequent Visiting Forces Agreement now in effect re-opened the door for the on-going presence of U.S. soldiers in the Philippines. Hazardous wastes left behind by the U.S. military at Subic Bay Naval Station and Clark Air Force Base still seriously endanger the health of impoverished communities nearby.
CPT delegates will visit human rights organizations and church leaders in Manila, meet residents living near the former U.S. Bases, and travel to the southern island of Mindanao in order to hear the voices of ordinary Filipinos, support local groups involved in violence reduction and justice advocacy, and plan a nonviolent public witness in support of local efforts.
Cost is £600 plus airfare.
COLOMBIA
2007:
- July 18-31
- September 26 - October 9
Participants will meet with human rights workers and church leaders in Bogotá to gain perspective on the longest ongoing armed conflict in the Western hemisphere, then travel to the industrial city of Barrancabermeja where CPT's long-term team is based.
They will spend time in the countryside where armed paramilitary and guerrilla groups threaten the lives of community members. Villagers say that CPT's presence enables them to stay in their homes rather than flee to the city.
Cost is £450 plus airfare.
NORTHWEST ONTARIO
Aboriginal Justice Delegation
- August 16-26, 2007
Participants will travel to the First Nations community of Asubpeeschoseewagong (Grassy Narrows) and the nearby town of Kenora. Five years ago, community members set up a blockade to stop multinational Abitibi Consolodated from clear-cutting their traditional
territory. Despite a moratorium against logging declared by the community in February 2007, Abitibi continues to operate on Asubpeeschoseewagong land.
Kenora serves as a regional center for 13 Anishnaabe communities who often experience racist violence as they go about shopping, seeking medical attention, and other business in town. CPT teams have provided nonviolent accompaniment at the Asubpeeschoseewagong
blockade and joined local residents in antiracism work in Kenora.
Delegation members will document the effects of clear-cutting, meet with aboriginal and non-aboriginal community leaders working to improve relations, develop an analysis of colonialism, participate in undoing racism training, and plan a public witness/direct action focused on Aboriginal sovereignty issues. Participants should be prepared for stretches of time outdoors and rustic camping in variable weather.
Cost is £175 plus airfare to Winnipeg, MB.