Colombia Day 3

Day 3 in Colombia.  Still in Bogota and still anxious to head out.  We had a meeting yesterday with a guy from an organization we greatly respect.  After being briefed on the dangers that we knew existed but needed to hear, we were able to talk logistics about what the next 3 weeks might look like for Justen and I.

Buried beneath bus rides, red tape, and treks through the jungle, is a story that must and shall be told.

I have to remind myself that sitting in this hostel and working logistics is as much a part of telling this story, as actually being face to face with the victims will be.

We are a in a beautiful story, and so are you.  Talk soon.

p.s.  Here are some shots from life in Bogotá so far.

p.s.s.  We have so far avoided bad water and toilet expeditions, but it’ll catch us before long, can’t stop what’s coming.

M. Christmas + Justen de Colombia

The Night Before

Well.  In a couple of hours Justen and I will be on a plane bound for Bogota.  Not finished packing and I need to sleep, but doubt I will.  I'm having a real hard time focusing on the people and places instead of the logistics and details.  I want to be there and settled enough to fix that.

Even so:

So excited to be a part of this story; so excited that it is not just our story; So excited that this is the beginning of the end.  Statistics are becoming faces, numbers are becoming names.

Talk soon.



-M.Christmas

there and back again

It's time.

On Thursday, Give Us Names will once again be reporting from Colombian soil.  The "Beginning of the End" campaign now kicks into full swing.  The board is set, the pieces are in motion.  Now we take the next step.

Our goal is to have a film finished by October.  For us to reach that goal, a couple of things need to happen.  First, there are a couple of fundraising milestones we have to reach.  We are launching a four-month long recurring donation program to coincide with the release of our film in October.  We're asking you to "Give Us Your Name" so that we can in turn bring back the names of displaced Colombians and introduce them to the world.  By signing up for the Give Us Your Name program, you commit to invest $15 a month for the next four months in the creation of this film.  To meet our fundraising goals, we need 100 people to make that commitment.  We'll send you a "Beginning of the End" American Apparel T-shirt and a DVD of our film when it is finished.  Sign Up Now!

We also will be launching an online store in the coming days.  Now is the time to wear your support.  Our goal for this summer is to sell 500 shirts, so get ready to buy one, tell your friends, and your friends' friends.  We make that happen, and our film has funding.  It's that easy.



So, if you want first dibs on a "Beginning of the End" shirt, sign up for the Give Us Your Name program.  The online store will be launching soon, so shirts will be available to everyone.  And in just a few short days, be ready for photos and stories from Colombia.  Thanks to everyone who has helped us get the word out so far.  We still need your help.  This is only the beginning.

let the games begin

When dealing with issues of human rights violations, things tend to get pretty heavy.  Everyday we read through articles that chronicle massacres, assassinations, land grabs, and political corruption.  In order to keep some sanity, it's important to also talk about good, light-hearted, fun stuff.  So, for today's blog, let's talk a little bit about the World Cup.

Things get started today with two games:  South Africa v. Mexico and France v. Uruguay.  With two Latin American countries involved in the opening day festivities, I woke up this morning imagining what it would be like to be in Colombia right now.  I like to think that right now people are huddled in coffee shops, gathering in the streets, singing, chanting, celebrating.  Don't underestimate the therapeutic power of football to bring a semblance of unity to a country that in the past has been quite divided.

I happened to be teaching English in Egypt during the 2006 World Cup.  Every evening, I would sit in a packed cafe, sipping coffee, smoking hookah, watching the USA get whipped, and experiencing a unique sense of bond with my fellow man.  What better way to bring around the same table Arabs and Americans, Christians and Muslims, people from the East and people from the West.

That's what's on my mind right now.  Even though Colombia's national team didn't qualify to participate in the World Cup, I'm sure there is a certain electricity in the air right now that is only felt every four years.  I wish I was there to experience it.  And I hope, that at least for the next few weeks, the articles I read coming out of Colombia speak of unity and national pride instead of conflict and suffering.

And it's always have nice to have Shakira and Juanes representing you at the World Cup.

seeds of a movement

Last week, our friends at Witness for Peace organized a rally in front of the White House.  The purpose of the event was to raise awareness about the ever-increasing problem of displacement in Colombia.  Specifically, event organizers wanted the rally to draw Congressional support for House Resolution 1224, which calls on Congress to hold the government of Colombia accountable to rulings from the Colombian Constitutional Court that recognize and protect the rights of displaced indigenous Colombians.  The resolution asks that Colombia's human rights record be at the forefront of  Congressional discussion concerning money allocated to the South American country.  You can watch video coverage of the rally here.



Other people care deeply about displacement in Colombia.  We're heading in the right direction.  The movement is growing.