Becky Felton, Perkasie Mennonite Church
Recently Peace Mennonite Church of East Greenville (Pa.) invited Freddy Caicedo, a Colombian human rights organizer and educator, to share on his country’s current struggles and how United States policies impact his people. Members of Peace and others from Franconia Conference joined Caicedo on a Wednesday evening in October to hear his story and learn what they could do to help Colombia.
Caicedo has worked alongside union members under death threat, organized with Christian based communities and has exposed human rights violations of indigenous and Afro-Colombians. He gave us an insider’s look at the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, which currently is on hold in the United States Congress. According to Caicedo, the trade agreement could more accurately be described as a corporate bail out and would primarily benefit factory owners, large land owners, bankers, narcotics traffickers, the military and the elite of Colombia, as well as multinational corporations. The agreement would also facilitate the exploitation of Colombia’s natural resources and lead to further displacement of whole communities to make way for corporations in areas such as oil, coal, palm oil and logging. Caicedo told listeners of the slave-like jobs that would be created under the agreement including sugar cane cutters who begin work at 3 am and often spend 14 to 16 hours a day in the fields, with no days off, no health care and no retirement benefits. Farmers would be prevented from reusing their own seeds because of a requirement to only use genetically modified seeds and healthcare cost would rise because generic drugs are banned under the agreement.
Free trade agreements with other countries have hurt workers and jobs in those countries as well as in the United States. For instance, the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Mexico in 1994 has resulted in 2 million Mexican farmers losing their jobs, with migration from Mexico to the US doubling since then. It’s not that trade between countries is wrong, Caicedo explained, it’s just that it needs to be “fair” trade, trade that will benefit the workers and protect the environment.
Caicedo called us, as followers of Christ who seek fairness and justice for all, to action. Caicedo encouraged all to visit Colombia, where firsthand experience often impacts our heart. Witness for Peace, who sponsored Caicedo’s speaking tour, hosts numerous delegations to Colombia and other countries who are struggling with injustice each year. He also encouraged us to contact our Representatives and Senators (202-224-3121), especially in the upcoming session of November and December, to vote “NO” on the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement. Or click here to send an email through Witness For Peace’s “Stop the Colombia Free Trade Agreement!” campaign.
The opinions expressed in articles posted on Mosaic’s website are those of the author and may not reflect the official policy of Mosaic Conference. Mosaic is a large conference, crossing ethnicities, geographies, generations, theologies, and politics. Each person can only speak for themselves; no one can represent “the conference.” May God give us the grace to hear what the Spirit is speaking to us through people with whom we disagree and the humility and courage to love one another even when those disagreements can’t be bridged.