Open letter to the Parliament of Canada

Ottawa, 14 June 2019

Honorable Parliamentarians, we address you as Colombian defenders of human rights, with the help and collaboration of sympathetic Canadians, to shout loudly that in Colombia THEY ARE KILLING US! They are killing our leaders, our human rights defenders, and our defenders of life, of our communities, our waters, and our territories.

6th may. Colombia reports – various indigenous communities in the Bajo Atrato gathered at Riosucio Chocó for the “ encuentro de los pueblos indigenas frinterizos del bajo Atrato y despesida Aquileíto mecheche vive” ( meeting of border indigenous communities from Bajo Atrato and farewell for Aquileíto Mecheche Vive) , in order to protest about the sistematic murder of indigenous leaders and highlight the serious human rights situation emerging in the territory.

Since April 22nd, mobilizations continue in Colombia; this time it is the peasant, black and indigenous communities that will take the roads to oppose the government's National Development Plan (NDP).

The Minga, a social camp of the indigenous and peasant communities of Cauca, ended recently after 27 days of blockades reacting on the decision of President Ivan Duque to sit at the table. However, on April 9th, the president, who was only a few hundred meters from the meeting, decided to turn back leaving his "chair empty".

Dana Farraj is Palestinian. She studied law in her country and did a four-month internship in Colombia with Equipo Jurídico Pueblos. Dana is part of the Palestinian movement known as PULSE (Palestinian people united for freedom, solidarity, and emancipation), which in turn is a component of a youth forum called Nabd. In the formal presentation of PULSE, “the need arises for convergent initiatives and movements that fight for freedom and justice against oppression, exploitation, and discrimination around the world.