John Pegg's Witness for Peace Journey

John Pegg, a member of Peace Church in Duluth, MN, journeyed to Colombia with Witness for Peace. John has family living in Colombia, and feels a very personal connection to the events transpiring there. This web site is intended as a source for information about John's trip, a place where his experiences in Colombia can be recorded, and as a source for links to other web sites describing the situation in Colombia in more detail.

The Witness for Peace delegation that John went with consisted of about 100 people, with diverse backgrounds in regards to sex, race, religion, age, class, and sexual orientation. Their purpose was to understand more fully the plight of the people of Colombia, and to challenge the US policy of massive military aid and crop eradications through spraying of pesticides. During their journey, the delegates:

• Met with experts and activists to hear first-hand their take on the US policy in Colombia
• Learned about the economic roots of Colombia's conflict
• Heard directly from displaced people and those affected about what has happened to them
• Travelled into war-zone areas to see the effects of US military assistance
• Learned skills necessary to work on changing US policy when they return to the US
  (Taken from a Witness for Peace brochure)

The trip was from March 11 through March 23. John is back, and has a very powerful story to tell.

NEW!Find a press release issued by John when he returned HERE.
NEW!The WFP Colombia delegation issued a Delegation report , also.

Other events which are complete:

• March 26 (Monday): Media conference welcoming John back at Peace UCC: Time 12:00 noon at Peace UCC (Corner of 11th Ave E and 11th St, Duluth, MN)
• April 7th (Saturday): A Community forum on Colombia, including the backgrounds of the Civil War, US Foreign Policy, Human Rights, and options for folks who want to make a difference! 8:30 AM-12:30 PM, Peace UCC
• April 11th: J. Ramirez, an important leader in USO, the Oil Workers Union in Colombia will be in Duluth to speak on Plan Colombia, The Trade Union Movement, Human Rights and Neo Liberalism. Like many Colombians he opposes Plan Colombia and the intervention of the United States in Colombia, and hopes through his perspective on the situation there to increase awareness and activism to stop US intervention. 7:00 pm in the Fireside Room at Peace Church. This event is being co-sponsored by the Duluth Central Labor Body of the AFL-CIO.

See the links below for more information on the history and current situation in Colombia.
Some Links of interest:

• UCC Global Ministries Daily Journal from another participant heading to Colombia with John
  
• Colombia Action Network
  
• Colombia Report
  
• Witness for Peace web site See the Colombia section for information about John's trip, and other trips to Colombia
  
• The Nation magazine with a March 19, 2001 issue feature article on "Plan Colombia."
  
• News Report on the Drug war's toll on the Colombian environment