Reimagining faith and action
Another great issue!! (TW 7-8/01) The 10 copies disappear quickly from my Peace and Justice table at All Saints, Pasadena. We have several groups studying David Korten’s "Post Corporate" world. Many thanks!!
Robert Miller
Duarte, CA

Colombia report
In the 1800s native people were being moved to what was later called Oklahoma. There were many who had lived on the same lands for many generations, actually thousands of years. They didn’t want to leave. The troops killed them. That was when the Platte River ran red with blood.

In March 2001, I joined 10 others from the Fellowship of Reconciliation/Global Exchange on a delegation to Colombia. I am a member of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship and of the Fellowship of Reconciliation. In Bogota and Medellin we met with human rights groups, families of the detained and the disappeared and then we went into the mountains of northern Colombia where the indigenous people live. They live very simply in peace and co-op communities. Their land is rich in mineral wealth and they are under continuous attacks by right-wing paramilitary forces who are private armies of the transnationals to drive the people out. Just a few days before we were at this one community, the paramilitary had come down the river with army helicopter support. The community ran into the jungle and many of their homes were burned.

There is a movement to legalize the paramilitary. I am reminded of the historical reports of when the Platte ran red. I am originally from Missouri near there.

We met with the army general in the district who supported the actions of the paramilitary. He told us that he had been trained at the School of the Americas and the Petroleum Institute.

We were told by labor unions that the FLAA would be devastating to labor in Colombia. It would further cheaper labor and devastate human rights.
Jim Pence
Vancouver, BC

Hugh White
I just recently learned of the death of Hugh White, an associate editor of The Witness in the 1970s and 1980s. The enclosed check is a donation to the magazine in his memory.

I knew and frequently worked with Hugh while he was in Detroit and I was with the church’s Joint Urban Program in the 1960s. The industrial-missions network was very much a part of that national effort and Hugh was of course a major influence and inspiration for me and many others. We became good personal friends until dropping out of touch a dozen years ago. I know how important The Witness was to him. This small gift is to help keep that voice strong

Thanks for your work, too.
Anthony Morley
Minneapolis, MN

Let’s push for change
We cannot simply read Mark Hertsgaard’s provocative, encouraging article, "Global Greening? The time for a ‘Global Green Deal’ has come," and shake our heads in wistful resignation to the status quo (TW 4/01). I’m sending copies of it to my two Senators and urge every subscriber to do the same.

It’s the first time I’ve read anything about our environment that speaks positively and specifically to BIG GOVERNMENT, BIG BUSINESS and other nations that "we have in hand most of the technologies needed to chart a new course." He cites companies that have cut their greenhouse gas emissions in half, while enjoying 50 percent and higher returns on investment through improved efficiency.

Let’s push for change. "We have no time to lose."
Mary K. Rouillard
Fort Edward, NY