Colombia Journey: Report from Scott Nicolson

July 9, 2006

Dear friends,

I arrived here in Bogotá on June 30 and I went to prison the following day (to visit a friend). [...]

I also want to express my appreciation to all the organizations that are supporting my accompaniment work in Colombia – Global Ministries of the United Church of Christ and the Disciples of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries of the United Church of Christ, University Congregational Church, Montana Human Rights Network, Progressive Labor Caucus, Community Action for Justice in the Americas, and the Missoula Central Labor Council. I also want to thank my one corporate sponsor – Banana Boat Sunscreen.

Raquel Castro is a teacher and a leader of the social movement in the state of Arauca (northeastern Colombia). Various social leaders from Arauca met in the community of Caño Seco on August 4, 2004. Alirio Martinez (president of the Departmental Peasant Association), Leonel Goyeneche (treasurer of the United Workers Federation in Arauca), and Raquel spent that night in the house of Jorge Prieto (president of the health care workers union in Arauca). The following morning, the military occupied Caño Seco.

An informant led three soldiers to Jorge’s house. The soldiers dragged Alirio, Leonel, and Jorge out of bed; took them outside; made them kneel down; and executed them. “I heard a long burst of gunfire,” said Raquel. “I tried to convince myself that the soldiers had just fired into the air, that they hadn’t really killed my compañeros. Then the soldiers came into my room and shined their flashlights on my face. They pointed their guns at me and ordered me to go outside. I was sure that my life had ended. I was walking, but my feet weren’t touching the ground – it was like I was floating. There were a lot of soldiers outside the house. One of them yelled, ‘Go back inside! Don’t come out!’ and that saved my life. Otherwise, I would have been killed alongside the bodies of my compañeros.”

Raquel’s life was miraculously spared that day but she was detained by the soldiers. She was flown to the Reveis Pizarro military base in the city of Saravena. “When I got off the helicopter, I saw a lot of U.S. soldiers. I remember the look on their faces. They were laughing and making fun of me.” She was then flown to Bogotá and sent to the “Good Shepherd” prison on charges of rebellion and terrorism. The public hearing for her case was held in Saravena last August (where I took the attached photo). The case was then transferred to a judge in Bogotá who has not yet reached a verdict. Raquel has now spent 23 months in prison.

I visited Raquel on July 1 and July 8. She’s being held in the maximum security wing of the prison. In order to enter the prison and pass through the various checkpoints, my arms were stamped six times and my fingerprint was taken. On July 1, I was stamped with number 123; and on July 8, I was stamped with number 237.

Raquel is an amazing and very inspiring person. “I was born to be with the people. I don’t regret what I’ve done although perhaps I could have done more. We denounced the abuses and human rights violations committed against the civilian population. That’s why they killed our compañeros and threw us in prison.”

“I believe that my time here (in prison) has been more positive than negative. I’ve become more tranquil and reflective in this confinement. I’ve dared to say things that I never said before. I’m living new experiences and I’m learning other ways of expressing and seeing life.”

Raquel’s vocation is teaching and she’s continuing her vocation in prison. She and some of the other women began teaching classes in April and they now have 450 students. Their goal is to create a government-recognized school within the prison that will go from first grade through high school. “They accuse me of a lot of things that I don’t even know about. What I do know how to do is teach classes.”

On July 10, I’ll be flying to Saravena to accompany the social organizations of Arauca.

In love and solidarity,
Scott