We offer a warm welcome to our three new field brigadistas who will accompany human rights defenders and organizations from the Apartado and Barrancabermeja Teams
The people saying hi in this photo are: Yoxmara (Mexico) who accompanies from the field team in Apartadó, whereas Angie (El Salvador) and Cristina (Spain) will accompany from Barrancabermeja.
“Recognizing our histories and the histories from our territories, we wish to walk together with the processes that try to elaborate new narratives in which the pain and the violence seek to become a route for justice and dignity of peoples.
As PBI’s field brigades, we want to learn and accompany people and organizations that seek to cultivate a collective and common peace to re-exist from the diversity”.
We offer a warm welcome to our seven new field brigadistas who will accompany human rights defenders and organizations from the Apartado, Barrancabermeja and Bogota Teams
The people saying hi in this photo are: Nátaly (Mexico) who accompanies from the field team in Apartadó, whereas Vieni (Mexico), Emily (Ireland) and Jorge (Mexico) will accompany from Barrancabermeja, and Mara (Spain), Marlinde (The Netherlands) y Arnaud (France) from Bogota
“Two weeks ago we arrived in Bogotá. Seven people of different nationalities, with different backgrounds and perspectives, but all with the same desire to continue strengthening PBI’s Colombia project. It’s interesting to learn from PBI’s 30 years in Colombia and how it’s international character plays a role in defence of human rights, acting as a bridge between the civil society organizations, human rights defenders, and the international community. Behind two intense weeks of training, it is hard to be separated, but we are full of enthusiasm to arrive in the field and get to work.”
My First Ten Days as an Accompanier with the Urabá Team (PBI Colombia)
I am Itsaso and part of the PBI field team in Urabá. I am 31 years old. Yep… I am one of the oldest team members and am feeling nostalgic, happy and proud of myself for everything I have done over the last almost seven months as a part of the Urabá field team. I felt so many emotions, uncertainty, doubts, fears, and eagerness when I got here that I want to look back, remember those first days, and try to feel them again. So, I will light a bit of incense, make a cup of tea, and give myself a little massage before I start remembering and initiate this trip through time. I think about why I began this new project… to learn up close about the resistance and struggles of human rights defenders and, from my position and work with PBI, to accompany these initiatives to build a more peaceful world.
We offer a warm welcome to our five new field brigadistas who will accompany human rights defenders and organizations from the Apartado, Barrancabermeja and Bogota Teams
The people saying hi in this photo are: Sunniva (Norway) who accompanies from the field team in Apartadó, whereas Inge (Austria), Mathilde (France) and Alexandra (Portugal) will accompany from Bogotá, and Inés (Spain) from Barrancabermeja.
«We are looking forward to beginning this new experience and accompanying human rights defenders. We consider it an exceptional opportunity to accompany different farmer, indigenous and Afro-descendant organizations in their struggles with land rights issues, their pursuits of justice for victims of the conflict, and their work with families of forcibly disappeared persons. Parting from our own experiences, we connect with each other through our motivation to contribute to the construction of a fairer world and our desire to learn about the organizations that have been working towards the consolidation of a more just society for so many decades».
We offer a warm welcome to our four new field brigadistas who will accompany human rights defenders and organizations from the Apartado, Barrancabermeja and Bogota Teams
The people saying hi in this photo are: Julian (Switzerland) who accompanies from the field team in Bogotá, whereas Itsaso (Spain) and Shireen (Germany) will accompany from Apartadó, and Juliane (Germany) from Barrancabermeja.
«For us, Peace Brigades International is a space for individual and collective learning, where we will have the chance to make a commitment of solidarity to accompany different human rights defenders. They are the people who know what is most needed by the groups and communities they accompany, the ones who are suffering on the front line of socio-political violence. As brigadistas, we will strive to create spaces for the defence of human rights in the face of socio-political violence, accompanying from our own learning, experiences and skills, from the principles of non-violence, horizontality, non-partisanship and international character. During the training process we have been very well looked after and welcomed by the team in Bogota, and each one of us is moving on to our field teams full of strength and energy».
