Monica Haas, a construction worker from Monroe, N.J. will be traveling to Colombia on Wednesday September 26th 2007 as part of a delegation sponsored by Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT). She will meet with human rights workers and church leaders in Bogota, then spend several days in the oil-refining port city of Barrancabermeja where CPT’S long-term team is based. Haas is a member of Alpha (NJ) Mennonite Church.
The delegation will then travel to the surrounding river region where the lives of displaced people are threatened by legal and illegal armed groups. She will document the effects of the civil war in Colombia and join long-term CPT workers in accompanying vulnerable individuals.
The delegation–consisting of eight people from across the U.S. and Canada–hopes to gain a better understanding of the situation in Colombia and the effects of US and Canadian policy.
Haas will return on Tuesday October 9th 2007 ready to share what she has learned about the challenges facing the people of Colombia.
Christian Peacemaker Teams is an initiative of the historic peace churches ( Mennonites, Church of the Brethren, and Quakers) with support and membership from a range of Catholic and Protestant denominations. CPT send teams of trained peacemakers to places of conflict around the world, with a presence in Colombia since February 2001 For more information about CPT contact the Chicago Office at 773-277-0253; email : peacemakers@cpt.org