We´re back in Panama so of course this has nothing to do with football, although it does feel like we’re close to scoring a touchdown of sorts. The red zone in Panamá consists of a large, undefined area stretching from the Colombian border into the mountain ranges of the Darién province. It is red because of the intermittent presence of the FARC (The Armed Revolutionary Forces of Colombia) leftist guerilla soldiers, known for funding their mission with kidnappings and drug smuggling. They have been active for over 50 years with an estimated armed force of 10,000 soldiers, however, reports indicate that the U.S.-backed Colombian military is thinning the ranks, and in fact, the recognized leader of the group, Alfonso Cano, was killed in a bombing raid this past week. The “red zone” where we work is relatively safe, but it stills requires a pile of paperwork for us to make it through the police checkpoints and into the remote communities. We just finished our first trip to the communities of Sinaí and Canaan (names sound familiar, right?), we being Mennonite
Einer declares that malnutrition is obviously not an issue in this particular community.
the group
Brethren missionaries Einer and Girlesa Zuluaga, the national Wounaan chief Gardenio Mémbora, lawyer for the Wounaan Development Foundation Leonides Kiroz, IEU church leader Ricardo Membache, visitor Allen Bunch from Indiana, and myself. The chief and lawyer had a bit of a political agenda, and our job was to evaluate the communities´ water systems so we can start working on a solution. It was altogether a pleasant and eye-opening trip, except for the blood-sucking daytime flies, and we are very hopeful to have a solution promptly for Sinaí.
Monica the spider monkey (on the right)
Canaan, on the other hand, will take a while longer because they are being forced by presidential mandate to relocate the entire town out of the river´s flood plain. The community´s majority agrees that it is in their best interest, although a few of the elders claim they´ll never leave. They have a long history of dealing with the river, with their houses all elevated 8 ft. on stilts and their dogs deftly climbing up and down the ladders. Here´s a few youtube videos (video quality is high, so you might need to set it lower on your computer) of Sinaí from atop their dry water tank, the river in Sinaí where everyone washes, baths, and… poops, and here is a clip going down the river in a dugout. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA-AtUoXLJg&rel=0] [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rdjoXX_L3U&rel=0] [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewphhumOeas&rel=0]Sorry it´s been so long since we wrote. We´ll try to do better. Hope everyone is well.
alan
