"The message we are taking with us is very clear", said the Rev Christopher Ferguson at the end of the visit.
"The peasants, the internally displaced and the indigenous peoples are clamouring for the return of their lands, for justice, for the government to keep its promises and for an end to violence. In short: enough is enough! The Colombian people want and deserve peace."
Living Letters are small international, ecumenical teams. Within the framework of the WCC Decade to Overcome Violence, they travel to different parts of the world where Christians are striving to promote peace. Their goal is to express the solidarity of the ecumenical family and learn how people are dealing with the challenges that face them.
Ferguson, who is the New York-based WCC representative to the United Nations, stressed that, although only Colombians themselves can build peace in their own country, the international community should support them to do so. Instead, it is helping to perpetuate the situation by "ignoring massive forced displacement and disappearances", he added.
The visit to Colombian churches, ecumenical organisations and civil society movements took place from 6 to 12 December. The programme included the capital Bogota, the city of Barranquilla in the north of the country and locations in the western and north-western regions of the country that have suffered badly from armed violence and the forced displacement of people.
"The work done by the churches in the Ecumenical Network of Colombia is extremely valuable", said Bishop Aldo Etchegoyen, of the Evangelical Methodist Church of Argentina. "The churches are the first to express solidarity with the victims and they are very committed to protecting human rights. In some regions, their ministers perform a difficult and dangerous task."
Resisting violence on several fronts
One of the most violent countries in the world, Colombia has been ravaged by an armed conflict involving the army, two groups of left-wing rebels and right-wing paramilitaries since the 1960s. Tens of thousands of Colombians have been killed while some three million have been forced from their homes. Drug-related crime aggravates the situation.
On 7 December, at the offices of the Colombian Episcopal Conference in Bogota, the Living Letters team participated in the fourth Day of Prayer for the release of kidnap victims and for the truth about the disappeared.
An estimated 3,000 people have been kidnapped and are held hostage by rebel groups, including the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
