Letter to the President of Colombia

december 16, 2010

"Dr. JUAN MANUEL SANTOS CALDERÓN
President of Colombia

I, [NAME], after having accompanied from far the pilgrimage of the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó and of the GRACE Foundation, in Bogotá, realized from November 1 st to 9th 2010, as one more version of the GRACE pilgrimages realized in conflict areas of the world, want to express you gratitude and make a petition.
I got to know the letter Sabine Lichtenfels, co-founder of the Peace Research Community Tamera (Portugal), of the Global Campus and director of the GRACE foundation, gave to you through the delegate of the vice-president, Dr. Tomás Concha, on November 3rd 2010, signed by the international pilgrims. I fully support the content of this letter."
Read the whole letter

Global Grace Day 2010 Bogota, Colombia

november 26, 2010

Video about the Global Grace Day in Bogota, the end of the Pilgrimage with impressions from the whole Pilgrimage.

Sabine Lichtenfels: Day 10 - November 9

november 15, 2010

"From our accommodation we walk 1 / 2 hour through the streets of the city, again without a police escort. After saying yesterday very strictly, how important it is to walk together in lines and in pairs side by side, the group is now extremely disciplined. We walk with music, and many passants are interested and take the leaflets.

At the Praca de Independencia we read the meditation in five different languages, accompanied by music. The police team leaves the site, as we explain to them that we want no weapons. There were some guests, I would like to emphasize Gloria Cuartas, the former mayor in Apartado, now very politically active in Bogota, at times acting as a senator." Read the whole Diary

Silvie Bossert: Day 10 - November 9

november 14, 2010

"We are back in Bogota, housed in a school. During the morning circle, we are informed about what we will do today: After breakfast we go as a last walk together through the town to the "Parque de Independencia "- the Independence Park where we will celebrate the Global Grace Day. Then Padre Javier will commit a Christian service. The completion of the pilgrimage will be made with the theater performance of our youth.

We gather in front of the school, again in pairs side by side. The sun shines on us. I walk with a young woman from San José. She lives there since the beginning of the peace community, her father was a founding member and was killed very soon after. We speak about how we live, about our children and their fathers and where they live. She is 16 years old. What stories these people carry with them!" Read the whole Diary

Silvie Bossert: Day 8 - Sumapaz

november 09, 2010

"It is early morning. We are all sitting in a big circle. In the middle there is a candle, and Sabine Lichtenfels reads the text "pain of the world." It is quiet and contemplative. We are getting ready for this day, we will receive people from the area for speeches, and in the evening, a concert is planned.
With some delay, the program on stage begins. The representatives of the community could not come - it would have been too dangerous for them to speak in public. But representatives of various organizations speak about their work:
A representative from "Bogotá Positiva" highlights the problems that have increased in recent years in the city more and more, and speaks about their work for the future.
Gloria Cuartas stressed again how important the Grace Pilgrimage is because it makes the people of Bogotá and the government aware of the existence and the resistance of the Peace Community of San José de Apartado.
Eduar Lanchero, a member of the Council of San José, talks about their deep decision for peace: "It is important that we transform pain into hope." He tells of their work to use every day for peace, and about their cooperation Tamera. In fact, they already changed something deep when they started to form a community.
"Hope is when we do not respond with hate.
Hope is when we build together something new.
Hope is when we approach the life the way we want."
Read the whole Diary

Sabine Lichtenfels: Day 7 - Sumapaz

november 09, 2010

"We are all more or less doing well. A few feel little altitude sickness, and we have a couple of cases of acute malaria among the people from the community of peace, but that's very common over here. I wish to highlight the growing trust between the people of Tamera and the people of San José.
After another restless night in the school of Cuidad de Bolivar it was quite an effort, to distribute all people coming with us on six buses, but we managed. We drove to the Paramo and had a beautiful ritual at a lagoon.
I enjoy the few moments of silence in the mountains, almost greedily, it even was possible to have a few minutes on my own.
Seeing again where and how the multinational corporations are involved, I would like to remove all Coca-Cola bottles from the shelves. Here are the beautiful mountains - now to be bought by Coca-Cola to privatize the holy water and then sell it for their profit."
Read the whole Diary

Day 7 and 8 - Sumapaz

november 08, 2010

We drive in a convoy of 5 Busses, accompanied by Gloria Cartas to the Sumapaz area.
On the way we pass several checkpoints and get stopped on the road by the military. We stop at a Campesino Festival where we are invited to have lunch. Sabine Lichtenfels, Gloria Cuartas and Members of the Peace Community speak on stage. The Sumapaz area is in affected by the conflict in a similar way like the Peace Community. We are also here to show our solidarity to the people of Sumapaz.
On the 8th Day of the Pilgrimage - November 7 we meet with activists of the Sumapaz region who resist against the pressure of Military and Paramilitary assaults as well as the planned privatization of this water-rich area by Coca Cola.

Diary by Sabine Lichtenfels Day 6

november 08, 2010

"A day of chaos. By yesterday evening, I felt that there will be major challenges. This feeling was right.
Our guide on this day should have come at eight clock in the morning. We had planned to speak again about the route. We started the day with a study hour about GRACE.
The guide finally came at 10 clock, in best mood and smelling strongly of alcohol. He immediately wanted to get started. We told him that we must first discuss the route again, because it seemed to us very far. 30 km he had said. His statements were so confusing that it became clear that we could not have the group follow his leading. After a dispute, he became angry and left. All gentle attempts had failed. Around us, people start to discuss and argue, it was now, where we needed GRACE."
Read the whole Diary

Diary from Day 3 and 4

november 06, 2010

"Today was an emotional day. A very different day. A Grace day, a compassion day and a Children's Day. In the morning, the young people of Tamera performed their theater play "The Black Shadow and the mystery of the Princess" for the first time here in Colombia, with an audience of 1000 children in the school Claretiana, with various representatives of peace organizations. The piece was created in 2007 when the then 11 year-old children were on a pilgrimage in Israel and Palestine and wanted to express their experiences in a play: that what happens there and everywhere in the world should be known. They wanted to write a play and perform it in America and start a big children´s movement for peace!
Now they are there. In South America. And played the piece for 1,000 children."
Read the whole Diary

More Images from Day 2

november 06, 2010

Diary from Day 2 by Sabine Lichtenfels

november 06, 2010

"At 4.30 the Father, my daughter Vera, Meike and I drive to the park of the “Piedras de Tunja" to prepare the ritual. We place water in the center of a large circle, a large candle and eight small candles around it.
It is a wonderful park, it breathes majestic eternity, and one gets the impression, as if the souls of all the indigenous people are living here, who once guarded their knowledge of community and were resisting in a non-violent way as long as possible. In 1537 their resistance was broken. But we can feel that an energy is living here, that can never be broken. It is a sacred place. The Sacred Matrix can be felt and you also feel that human powers lived here which were connected with it." Read the whole Diary of Sabine Lichtenfels

Images from Day 2 of the Pilgrimage

november 05, 2010

Diary from Day 1 by Sabine Lichtenfels

november 05, 2010

"The people of San Josecito arrived in Facatativá in the morning by bus, completely fatigued. Our first meeting was at a crossroads. It is a great challenge to lead ca. 140 people who are gathering just for the first time. That it succeeded, was an artwork of improvisation. Luckily I have such a smooth co-operation with Father Javier Giraldo.
Several armed policemen were standing on the other side of the street, including a man with a camera, that was unknown to us. Someone from the group from Facatativa, with which we cooperate, went towards the cameraman in a rather aggressive way in order to stop him; and so we had the first task to introduce ourselves as leadership team. They probably expected us to hold an aggressive demonstration that would bring uproar to the whole city. Because of this, the many policemen." Read the whole Diary of Sabine Lichtenfels

Images from Day 1 of the Pilgrimage

november 05, 2010

Introduction Video to the Pilgrimage

november 01, 2010

“Ending Violence, Creating Models for Peace” - GRACE Pilgrimage 2010
Acabar con la violencia creando modelos para la paz - Peregrinación "GRACE" 2010

English and Spanish