Hey everyone!

I haven't posted a good update about how life has been recently...and I'm afraid this update won't explain much of that either...but I did want to share with all of you a radio story that was put together by a Virginia reporter who came to Quito.  She contacted me about doing an interview about our work with refugees and the link below is part of what she put together.  There will be another story coming out soon that will talk more about the work of the Mennonite church.  The story that I am posting now is about a family that I have been working with for a number of months.  They participate in our monthly workshops, come to church occasionally and I have visited their house 3 or 4 times as part of my accompany work with them.  I hope you enjoy listening to their story.  I'll try to write a more in-depth update soon!

Click on the link below and scroll down on the page to where it says "Captured by the FARC".  Below their picture, there is a link with smaller letters that also says "Captured by the FARC".  Click on that link to listen to the radio story.

http://www.dw.de/dw/episode/0,,15835560,00.html

Some thoughts...

I think the biggest challenge to having a blog is staying creative.  Here's a brief update of what life's been like recently in a bit of a different format...

What I just ate for dinner:
I just made a killer lasagna, which was a nice taste of home and which is why this is the first question on my update.

One word that describes the last month:
Superbusy

Best thing that's happened to me recently:
On the 6th of February, I was able to accompany, serving as the translator, a very international group of 7 people representing 5 continents to a rural indigenous village about 3 hours from Quito outside of Latacunga.  The group represented "La Red Ecumenica del Agua" (The Ecumenical Water Network).  We visited a site where the indigenous community has been building a water canal to supply their villages with clean water.  We learned about the dynamics of the water canal and how the presence of large companies that export various crops has affected the well-being of the communities and their access to clean water.  It was fascinating and being the translator for the group was great.

I also bought a 2012 agenda which I'm surprisingly excited about.

Biggest challenge thus far in 2012:
Transition with the refugee project.  The current coordinator of the refugee project is transitioning out of her position as she plans to return to the US.  I'm in the process of taking over more responsibility and becoming the main coordinator of the project which is very exciting but is definitely a transition that includes an increase in workload.

What I'm most looking forward to in the near future:
Spending a week in the jungle.  Another volunteer group is coming down from the states in about a week.  I'll be their guide/translator again and we'll be spending another week in the jungle working on the same construction site where we were last year.  It was a highlight for me last year and I'm looking forward to another great trip.

I also bought a plane ticket to visit the states in July.  I'll be back from the 4th-16th to celebrate my Mom's ???th birthday (I'll let you ask her) and to be at Derek Swartz' and Chelsea Reiff's wedding.  Definitely looking forward to it.


Biggest accomplishment thus far in 2012:
Learning more or less how to get our churches website running (granted I'm using "weebly" which basically creates the page for you...but still...).  I had been trying to figure out the best way to get our website functioning and got some help from Roger Farmer (a member of a recent group from Central Plains Conference that visited Ecuador).  I'm pumped to keep updating the website.  For now, you can check it out here:
http://www.anabautistasenecuador.org/

There isnt much on the website right now...but I did just write an article for those that are interested:
http://anabautistasenecuador.weebly.com/iglesia-menonita-de-quito.html

Most fun I've had recently:
Playing indoor soccer on Wednesday evenings and riding my bike around instead of taking the bus.

Toughest decision I'm facing right now:
Whether or not to stay in Quito past my 2 year commitment.  I'm on the fence...any advice?


Best thing about the neighborhood that I live in:
Stores are close by and the sense of community with my neighbors.  Within a two block radius of my apartment I have the following options of different stores:  3 fruit/vegetable stores, bike shop, internet cafe, 5 small convenience stores, meat store, clothing store, 2 bread stores, 2 laundry mats, 3 car mechanics (I dont have a car, but they're there if i ever need them), CD/DVD shop, copy shop, shoe/clothing repair shop, lunch restaurant and to top it all off, a big community park.

My neighbors/local store owners are also a highlight.  It's nice to know people and it's nice when people know you.  


Hardest thing about living in Quito:
Bus pollution.  Especially as an avid biker, the bus pollution is terrible.  Big clouds of black smoke.

Music I've listened to most recently:
Beirut, I've been enjoying listening to the album "Riptide" on my youtube playlist.


Best new habit:
Drinking a glass of water with lemon after getting up in the morning.  In our most recent refugee workshop, I invited an Ecuadorian friend of mine who owns a natural foods store to talk to us about nutrition.  He recommended a glass of water with a fresh squeezed lemon in the morning to start the day, and since lemons cost practically nothing here, I'm giving it a try.

Also watching "Democracy Now" in the morning while I eat breakfast.

Best way to relax despite a busy schedule and hectic city life:
Lie in my hammock for at least 10 minutes and look at the mountains.

Best advice that I've read recently:

The important thing is not to think much, but to love much; and so, do that which best stirs you to love.
Saint Teresa of Avila


People say, "What is the sense of our small effort?" They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time.
Dorothy Day

A Slice of Life in Pictures and Captions

Life has been busy recently.  I've been working lots but also have had great visits from various friends from college (Brian Wyse, Mauricio Chavez, CJ Hague, Juan Camilo Moya, and Jeff Stoez) over the past few months.  I've gotten to travel some and took some time off for Christmas and New Year's vacation.  Life keeps trucking along here and my days continue to be filled with work with refugees, youth, music, and farming.  There continue to be many challenges and unexpected situations in my daily work, but also much joy and learning.  Anyhow, I dont want to be too vague and general...but I figured some pictures and captions might be nice for a change.  Hope everyone had a great Christmas and a good start to 2012!

Some delicious lettuce grown in our greenhouse.  We had a great harvest with carrots, onions, lettuce, beets, cabbage, and radishes.  I sold some vegetables at our church and we included fresh vegetables in our food assistance program for the refugees.  We are now selling lots of eggs from the farm which has proven to be a good source of income.

My new apartment where I've been living since October 12th.  It's a comfortable place with a great view and is just 5 blocks from the church.

Having fun with college friend Brian Wyse and his friend Steve

The Christmas spirit

The first refugee family who benefited from a new program that I came up with.  Instead of receiving food assistance, families can choose to receive a $75 dollar investment in a small business project, which allows them to start up a small, no-loan project that has no affect on our annual budget.  This family decided to sell "candy bags" for Christmas, a popular tradition in Ecuador.  Since this photo in early December, two other families have also participated in this project.

Christmas Eve with the Moyas

A few fireworks at midnight on Xmas eve

Post Christmas hike up Pichincha--the volcan situated behind the mountain overlooking Quito--with college friends CJ Hague, Jeff Stoez and 2 friends from Quito.  We reached the summit that afternoon at an altitude of 15,406 ft.

The best new addition to my apartment

A great nap

"Año viejos" The tradition in Ecuador for New Years is to make "Old Year" dolls in the form of famous people/characters from TV, fill them with fireworks and burn them at midnight.

With Jeff Stoez and Juan Camilo Moya on the 31st

Welcome 2012!

2 thumbs up for 2012

Displacement is More Than a Word

As you may have noticed, it's difficult for me to blog about many of my experiences here.  The thing that has come most naturally for me is to write articles about isolated experiences which give you guys a bit of idea of the situations that I am dealing with.  Even still it's most definitely inadequate.

The following "poem" is something I wrote a while back after helping a refugee family move their belongings out of their apartment and into our project's "refugee safe house" after they had several frightening experiences which caused lots of anxiety and fear.  Here in Quito as he was waiting in line to receive humanitarian aid, the husband of the family spotted the same person from the Aguilas Negras (paramilitary group) who had threatened to kill him in Colombia.  Additionally, the mother of the husband, who is still currently living in Colombia, called the family in Ecuador saying that 2 anonymous men had knocked on her door and had asked, using the husbands full name, when he would be coming back from Quito (when the family left Colombia suddenly a few months ago, they only told 2 trustworthy family members that they were going to Quito).  Apart from this, they found out that in the neighborhood where they were living among other Colombians, there were several former members of paramilitary groups (this is one of the reasons that many Colombians are afraid to interact with each other here...you never quite know who you are dealing with).  It is also a difficulty for the government and for us as a aid project.

Anyhow, I dont know how much this piece will mean to you guys, but as I wrote this, each phrase came with a face, a name and a story.  Everything I have written is based on my observations, experiences and accompaniment to the displaced/refugee population here in Ecuador, but this poem is certainly not nor intends to be an exhaustive list of what is means to be a Colombian refugee in Ecuador.  As I wrote and reflected on people's experiences, I realized how the act of being displaced affects absolutely every aspect of one's life...I think that is what this poem reflects.

Displacement is More Than a Word


Displacement is more than a word.
it's a pickup truck full of belongings,
it's sleepless nights,
it's not leaving your house because of fear,
it's separation from family members,
it's tears shed and having no one to dry them,
it's being along,
it's a loss of one's identity,
it's not having food on your table,
it's desperation,
it's living in hiding,
it's dehumanizing,
it's begging for help,
it's uprooting roots,
it's instability,
it's changing jobs every month,
it's not trusting anyone, yet relying on strangers,
it's depression,
it's starting over and starting over again....and again,
it's searching for community,
it's hell,
it's always looking over your back,
it's the opposite of peace,
it's being afraid of even those you most love,
it's pain,
it's overwhelming,
it's feeling guilty about a situation you couldn't control,
it's the end to one life and the beginning of another,
it's feeling death on your doorstep,
it's lonely bus rides,
it's crossing foreign borders,
it's counting pennies,
it's long lines in immigration offices,
it's being "denied",
it's wondering what the meaning of "future" is,
it's doing anything to survive,
it's visits to the psychologist,
it's permanent,
it's a bad dream that you never wake up from,
it's learning to be uncomfortable,
it's sleeping on cold, hard floors,
it's working and not getting paid,
it's sharing space with others,
it's an invasion of your privacy,
it's losing loved ones,
it's haunting memories,
it's injustice,
it's being humiliated,
it's perseverance,
it's a complete lack of hope,
it's getting kicked out by your landlord,
it's losing everything,
it's saying good-bye,
it's changing your appearance,
it's paranoia,
it's feeling helpless,
Displacement is more than a word, it's a way of life for 5 million people in Colombia, hundreds of thousands seeking refuge in Ecuador and millions more around the world...


To contrast that poem a bit, here are a few beautiful photos that I took today from my window.

"If I Die Before You Do"

Click on the link to read an article that I wrote for the Episcopal News Service about my experience with Witness For Peace in Colombia:

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80050_130040_ENG_HTM.htm

"Shoveling Water"

Interested in learning more about how policies in the US and Colombia affect farmers who grow coca?  Check out this video made by Witness For Peace by clicking on the link below.  It's well worth watching.

http://www.witnessforpeace.org/article.php?id=705

"Refugees Excluded in the Workforce"

This article was published in "El Comercio" newspaper on Sept. 11, 2011.  The subtitle highlighted that among the 53,678 Colombians who have been given official refugee status or the refugee visa in Ecuador, 99% of them are not working as hired permanent employees despite the fact that the refugee visa grants them equal labor rights in Ecuadorian society.  In other words, 99% of them either work in the informal sector of the economy or are working in temporary conditions.  

It's worth noting that this statistic and the article in general does not include the thousands more who are awaiting an answer regarding their application for the refugee visa, some of whom have waited more than 2 years yet continue in limbo with regards to their status in Ecuador (according to the Ecuadorian constitution, these cases must be resolved within 3 months, yet due to the volume of applicants, the government is falling terribly behind in this process).  This population in limbo is even more vulnerable to lack of work in the formal sector.

To read the original article in Spanish on the "El Comercio" website, click the link below:

http://www.elcomercio.com/reportajes/refugiado-excluido-campo-laboral_0_551944890.html

(I used google translator to put this article in English and briefly skimmed it checking for errors, but sorry for any grammatical errors and/or things that dont make sense :)

Refugees Excluded in the Workforce

Clara P. (Name withheld) did not wait to flee. In March 2008, a paramilitary group in Colombia killed her husband and took possession of his house in Villavicencio (eastern region of the country). Nor did she wait to bury his body, give a statement to the police or have someone to investigate his murder. She just fled ... the trip was 36 hours of anxiety. 
Her journey included three trips in interprovincial buses to get to the border with Ecuador (Ipiales). From there she moved to Quito, where she applied for refugee status with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador. 
"It's hard to start again," she says with a trembling voice. She is distraught. Despite the difficulties, Clara calms down, convinced that since she is willing to work, she will be able to once again have her own home and rebuild her life. 
But that task has not been easy. She has met many setbacks. One of the most complex, said Clara is the lack of knowledge that Ecuadorians have regarding the hiring of refugees. "They tell me they can only give me work with the Ecuadorian ID, but I explain that my refugee visa is valid for me to be hired (...)". 
Jose Sandoval, director of Refugee Ministry of Foreign Trade and Integration, clarifies that there is no problem in hiring a refugee as they "have the same rights and obligations of a citizen of Ecuador." In fact, the document and a permit from the Ministry of Labour Relations can work, joining the Social Security Institute (IESS, etc.). 
This information is also confirmed by a spokesman for the Ministry of Labour Relations, which called for the reserve, which indicates that the process of obtaining the work permit is simple and only requires the card. 
In 2011, 363 refugees of various nationalities requested. In Ecuador, 53 678 Colombians have this status, so the number of permits reflects a high informal employment, says Sandoval. 
Support programs 
This lack of opportunity is one of the ways in which works Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Over 13 Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs), national level, offer credit, support to agricultural production, training and promotion of entrepreneurship, and so on. "The goal is the local integration of refugees," said Luis Varese, deputy representative of that organization. 
One of the NGOs working in that program is the Fundación Ambiente y Sociedad (FAS), which in 2011 received by the UNHCR, which borders a budget of USD 400 000 to implement projects for inclusion. Maria Rosa Banks, National Coordinator of the Protection Program and Community Support and Integration of the foundation, acknowledges that serve thousands of people with this status is difficult and must prioritize resources to those most vulnerable individuals and families, including women heads of household, with young children. 
One of the mothers benefit from this program is Claudia R., who fled Cali (Colombia) in 2000, by threats of illegal groups that arrived in your community. She arrived in Quito and served as assistant cook, maid, saleswoman at stores ... But the maximum contract for three months, they said that the document of refugee was an impediment. 
Looking for job security in 2009 set up a stall selling empanadas on the street, which remains. This year she enrolled in FAS for courses of entrepreneurship. 
She was trained for 15 days, learned to develop a business plan, management costs, etc..  She also received cooking utensils and a blender, pots, jars, among other things. With this help, Claudia rented a small store of 25 m², which now sells arepas con chorizo, chili sauce and stew. She is happy with the help and hopes to move forward and provide a better future for their children, she says, stroking her belly eight months pregnant. 
For her condition, she has repeatedly gone to public health services, where she says, is attended with no discrimination. There "I feel like an Ecuadorian more," she says, because they do not ask for your card and give medicines, in case of need. 
Carlos C. shares his view. He fled the coffee region of Colombia and arrived in Quito in 2001. Since then, and seeing the lack of opportunities, is devoted to the sale of accessories for mobile electronic devices on buses and streets. His work includes passing days 12 hours a day, selling under the sun. This is reflected in the brown spots you have in your hands white. 
This involves eating too hectic at any time, which has generated gastritis and other ailments that have been addressed promptly and free of charge at health centers. At that point, Carlos had no inconvenience and appreciates that there is no discrimination in that sector. 
The Journal requested an interview with officials from the Ministry of Health to address the issue. However, there was not a favorable response.