Las Pavas

Upon our return to Barrancabermeja we visited to with two representatives from a recently displaced community, Las Pavas.  This was one of the more emotional experiences because armed police had just forced these people off their land within the last week.  The struggle had begun in 2006 when the first displacement took place.  Over the past three years the community attempted to go through the legal means to show evidence of their right to the land.  Only July 14, 2009 four civil authorities came with the police to force the people off the land.  The community felt betrayed because they had been working with officials to show proof of rights to their land and now it was these very officials who were forcing them off the land.   We listened to their story and then four CPT members held a television interview with the community leaders expressing their concerns.  CPT is currently conducting an urgent action regarding the situation in Las Pavas.  As part of this action anyone can send a letter to Colombian officials about the situation.  At the top of the blog page under "Informative Links" there is a link to Las Pavas Urgent Action.  This link will take you to the CPT page which further explains the current situation and provides instructions as well as a sample letter that can be used when writing Colombian officials.