Latin America and the Caribbean
Together for Injustice
Throughout 1997 CAFOD partners in Latin America and the Caribbean continued their work of building hope and a brighter future for and with the poor. Once again, they came across many obstacles in their path: the hostile economic environment has caused poverty to increase and in several countries war and violence have not only blighted the lives of countless thousands of poor families but have posed a serious challenge to the Church in its efforts to promote peace, dialogue and development.
Globalisation has been an important factor in the changing trade and aid relationships at the world-wide level. For many poor communities in Latin America, however, globalisation has meant the loss of jobs, the disappearance of health and welfare services, and a fall in living standards as local markets have been swamped by cheap imports. In countries where globalisation has created new jobs these have often been sweatshops and free trade zones where working conditions and wages are unregulated and often unjust.
In El Salvador CAFOD partners are monitoring labour conditions in the garment industry in an effort to ensure safe and fair employment. On the threshold of the new millennium, CAFOD partners throughout the region are planning and designing alternative economic strategies based on the needs of the poor.
Latin America & The Caribbean
(Development and Emergency Grants 1996/97)In July 1997 CAFOD partners in Peru organised an international conference entitled "Globalisation of Solidarity", bringing together Church and social development agencies from across the region. CAFOD has supported these groups in developing income-generating projects which build on the strengths of the poor; strengths such as solidarity, community values, self-help and sharing.
1997 saw the first full year of peace in Guatemala after prolonged negotiations put an end to thirty years of civil war. CAFOD partners contributed to building social and economic structures to underpin the complex process of democratic change.
Other countries of the region, however, were plunged even deeper into conflict. In Columbia and Mexico, the Church's witness to peace-building has been a beacon of hope in situations which are dangerous and often desperate. CAFOD partners in both countries have been targeted for harassment and persecution by forces which seek to impose their will by force of arms.
In spite of daily setbacks and constant pressure the efforts of the Church have brokered local cease-fire agreements and forged broad alliances of civilian communities working for peace as well as providing direct humanitarian and legal assistance to countless thousands of families displaced by violence and war.
Development Emergency Country (�000's) (�000's) Argentina 45.0 - Bolivia 204.0 13.0 Brazil 564.0 15.0 Central America 29.0 - Colombia 187.0 12.0 Chile 186.0 - Cuba 10.0 13.0 Dominican Republic 2.0 - Ecuador 43.0 - El Salvador 165.0 - Guatemala 113.0 - Haiti 89.0 - Honduras 15.0 - Mexico 92.0 - Nicaragua 177.0 - Paraguay 37.0 - Peru 231.0 3.0 Panama 6.0 - Uruguay 13.0 - Venezuela 3.0 - West Indies 2.0 15.0 Grants for more than one country 98.0 - Total Latin America 2,311.0 71.0
Please click on one of the following or scroll
down the page
Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, West
Indies
Mexico: Violence Versus Development
Mexico Map and Statistics (CIA World Factbook 1997)
The major focus of CAFOD's work in Mexico over the last year was on the poorest indigenous communities in the country.
The Mayan Indian communities of the southern state of Chiapas continued to live under the shadow of war as Bishop Samuel Ruiz persisted in his efforts to broker a peace agreement between government troops and Zapatista rebels.
Throughout the year CAFOD provided support to displaced indigenous communities in Chiapas in the form of health-care and educational work.
A renewed commitment was made to the Jesuit's human rights office which has been a pioneer in setting up legal aid programmes for victims of such violations.
Church leaders and pastoral workers acting tirelessly on behalf of the poor have no immunity from harassment and persecution by both the authorities and para-military groups opposed to their efforts. In March two Jesuit priests were kidnapped, held incommunicado and tortured by the police. The directors of both CONPAZ, Committee for Peace in Chiapas, and the Jesuit Human Rights Centre received death threats.
In November, Bishop Samuel Ruiz and his Auxiliary Bishop Raul Vera narrowly escaped being killed in an ambush and Bishop Ruiz's elderly sister suffered a vicious hammer-attack. The most distressing news reached CAFOD just days before Christmas when forty-five indigenous refugees, mostly women and children, were massacred in the village of Chenalho.
Bishop Ruiz's Diocese of San Cristobal de las Casas immediately took all possible action to provide direct support to the survivors of the massacres and demanded a full investigation. CAFOD gave emergency assistance to provide food, medicines and shelter to the communities through the local Caritas office as well as further assistance to the diocese in its efforts to make concrete progress in the peace negotiations.
Brazil: Protecting Indian Rights
Brazil Map and Statistics (CIA World Factbook 1997)
All over Brazil the efforts of Indian communities to preserve their lands, culture and heritage faced a serious setback in the shape of legal challenges to their tenure of their traditional lands.
Until 1996 Indian land rights were recognised as inviolable under the Brazilian constitution, but throughout 1997 CAFOD partners in CIMI, the Brazilian Bishops' Indigenous Missionary Council, were overwhelmed by emergency pleas for help as dozens of Indian communities were threatened with expulsion from their lands. In January, CAFOD expressed its concern to the President of Brazil at the threat of extinction facing Indian tribes in the Diocese of Boa Vista.
In March the Guarani-Kaiowa Indians in the southern Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul were forcibly removed from their tribal lands of Sucuriy to make way for a cattle ranch. CAFOD helped CIMI to provide legal assistance as well as emergency food relief to the effected families. After many months of anxiety 65 hectares of their original 500 hectare land-holdings were returned to them.
In spite of these problems CIMI was able to expand its work in health training, literacy and agricultural production with indigenous communities throughout the country. The Terena, the Deni, the Madija are just some of the indigenous peoples who took steps towards securing their future; good news demonstrated by the growth of the population of the communities which previously had been facing extinction.
The Pope's visit to Brazil in October gave a great boost to CAFOD partners working with landless rural families when he chided the government authorities for their tardiness and lack of political will in implementing the much-needed and long-promised agrarian reform. Five million families still await lands which can provide a secure further for their children.
The papal focus on the theme of the family drew attention to the plight of children who continue to be murdered on Brazil's streets on a daily basis. The achievements of CAFOD partners working in educational programmes with street-children in the north east of the country were a sign of hope within the grim scenario: they were able to report reduced levels of violence affecting the children in their care.
The Brazilian Bishops launched their programme of preparation for the new millennium with CAFOD's support of the "Social Week" of events which focused on the cancellation of debt, elimination of slavery and promotion of basic human dignity. This programme seeks to highlight the major problems facing the poor of Brazil and, in conjunction with the Brazilian Justice and Peace Commission, has fed into the efforts of the Church in England and Wales as part of the world-wide Church concern for the new jubilee celebrations.
Colombia: Partners Endangered
Colombia Map and Statistics (CIA World Factbook 1997)
CAFOD's support of the work of church partners in Colombia in 1997 was set against a backdrop of spiralling war and violence. The Jesuit Fathers' social action and education centre - CINEP - fell victim to direct attack in May when Mario and Elsa Calderon, who worked in environmental protection programmes and in human rights defence, were assassinated by a para-military death squad.
CAFOD helped CINEP and the Jesuit Programme for Peace to provide protection and assistance to members of their staff who were the targets of death threats. In the middle of the year more CAFOD partners, Consolata Father Ezio Roattino and British-born Fr John Mahoney, were forced to abandon their parish communities after receiving warnings that their lives were in danger.
In spite of these threats CAFOD partners continued to offer a lifeline of hope to countless thousands of families throughout the country who have been displaced by violence and are living as refugees. The Social Pastoral Office of the Bishops' Conference has expanded its work with displaced communities and CAFOD provided funding to cover its activities throughout the Atlantic coastal region of the country. At the end of the year CAFOD learned that the Pope had accepted this project for additional support under a special scheme of assistance.
The many indigenous communities in Colombia have always been among the poorest people in Colombia but have a rich cultural heritage. CAFOD supported a range of educational and legal assistance programmes with Indian communities so as to help them preserve and maintain their traditional livelihoods on the land.
In November more than one hundred communities from around Colombia marked the tenth anniversary of the work of the Jesuit Programme for Peace in celebration of the achievements which have been made in health, education, peace-building and development against all odds. Since 1987 more than a thousand community-based projects have been set up through the Peace Programme.
In the diocese of San Vincente de Caguan in the depths of the Amazon rainforest, the alternative crop production and development supported by CAFOD over a number of years consolidated its work and despite the dual scourges of war and drugs the local people continued to work together to create a substantial livelihood and hope for the future.
Cuba: Papal Visit Opens Dialogue
Cuba Map and Statistics (CIA World Factbook 1997)
At the close of 1997 CAFOD partners in CUBA were preparing for the long-heralded visit of Pope John Paul II. Over many years, CAFOD has supported the efforts of Cuba to improve dialogue and overcome the tensions between Church and State and amongst the Cuban people. Preparations for the papal visit signalled a new phase in this process.
Throughout 1997 the relations between the Church and State were better than at any time since the 1959 Cuban revolution as both parties invested much hope into the visit. During a CAFOD visit to Cuba in March the Nuncio described the Pope's visit as "a working instrument within the ecclesial and political project".
CAFOD support to Cuba during the year included the provision of study materials on the new millennium for youth groups and provision of pumps and irrigation equipment to smaller farm groups in the dioceses of Matanzas and Cienfuegos who had lost their crops as a result of hurricane damage. Contacts were also maintained with the national HIV/AIDS programme and CAFOD support was committed to a future programme of pastoral accompaniment to people living with AIDS.
El Salvador: Healing Wounds of War
El Salvador Map and Statistics (CIA World Factbook 1997)
March 1997 marked the twentieth anniversary of the death of the first Jesuit martyr of El Salvador, Rutilio Grande. The celebrations organised to commemorate his death marked one more step along the difficult road of peace-building and reconciliation in El Salvador, where the people still bear the physical and emotional scars of a decade of civil war.
CAFOD provided help for the Jesuit Province to produce an educational video, publications and study materials as well as organise a range of cultural events around the theme of martyrdom and justice.
Out of the ashes of war many thousands of families are still striving to rebuild their lives and communities, particularly in the rural areas where the war raged most violently. Government medical services in he villages of northern Chalatenango province have never been restored since the war ended yet through CAFOD's support eight thousand people in the area have access to health services.
In 1997 the mother and child health programme run by the Ana Manganaro Health Centre in Guarjila village has developed its training programme for community health aides in many surrounding villages. At the end of the year CAFOD support to the Archdiocese of San Salvador means that preventive health programmes, particularly HIV/AIDS awareness training, and pastoral care of people living with AIDS, can be extended in four provinces of the country.
The work of tracing children who had been kidnapped or had disappeared during the war went from strength to strength in 1997. Fr John Cortina, who started to investigate some isolated cases of missing children four years ago, has now managed to trace 55 children and put them in contact with their families. A total of 448 cases have now been investigated with new requests coming forward each week. The programme has been recognised throughout El Salvador as a concrete way of building local and national reconciliation after years of war.
West Indies: After the Volcano
Antigua Map and Statistics
Monserrat Map and Statistics (CIA World Factbook 1997)The plight of the islanders of Montserrat, traumatised through years of living under the threat of the volcano which dominates their island home, hit the headlines dramatically over the summer of 1997.
Whilst controversy flared between the islanders and the UK Department for International Development, the local Church was active in providing practical help and support for the affected population. CAFOD was able to respond to an emergency request for funds from the Bishop of Basseterre, Donald Reece.
The Bishop's diocese covers the island of Montserrat as well as the neighbouring islands, particularly Antigua, where many of the islanders had relocated. CAFOD's grant was directed towards covering basic needs, resettlement costs, education and counselling services for victims of trauma.
Two years previously CAFOD had provided support to the diocese in setting up the trauma counselling service as part of the overall pastoral response of the local Church in the face of crisis.
CAFOD Review of the Year 1997
