Solidaridad Colombia

June
· 6/5-6 Organizational leadership in People's Global Action (PGA) Conference, UMass Amherst (focus on Plan Colombia), workshop given by Michael Aleo and Kate Harris on Colombia
· Completion of Information Packets, Distribution to neighboring states' Colombia action groups
· 6/26 Boston DAY OF ACTION, in collaboration with New England partners and special performance by Bajucol Colombian Youth Folkloric Dance Troupe

August
· Organized informational video session about the Kogi tribe of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia
· Hosted and translated community discussion with tribal spokesperson Moises Villafañe
· 8/14 Springfield March in Solidarity with the Popular Feminist Front (Organización Feminina Popular) of Barrancabermeja, Colombia
· Letter-writing campaign to Senators and Representatives

September
· House Foreign Appropriations Bill passed
· Formation of "Keepers of the Heart", support group working to facilitate ongoing events with indigenous representatives from Colombian tribes of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta

October
· Mount Holyoke College speaking event with Kate Harris and Michael Aleo
· 10/16 Kate Harris gave slide presentation at Common Ground Restaurant in Brattleboro, VT

November
· Springfield protest outside Senator Kerry's office at the Federal Building "Why do you support terrorism in Colombia?"
· 11/18 What are we doing in Colombia? A local delegate reports back - Kate Harris gave slide presentation at CPPAX event in Amherst

December
· 12/2 Radio interview on WFCR (local NPR station), Luis Melendez' Sunday night bilingual show ¡Tertulia!
· 12/8 Northampton Center for the Arts Fundraiser for the Popular Feminist Front (Organización Feminina Popular) of Barrancabermeja, Colombia and CREDHOS (Colombian Human Rights Organization), Bajucol, Colombian Youth Folklore Ballet, dance performance
· Fumigation article, Jim Oldham, published in the Institute for Interdisciplinary Studies (ISIS) newsletter

Year of 2002

January
· 1/15-27 3-Person representation in Witness for Peace/Global Exchange Environmental and Labor Delegation to Colombia: Kate Harris, Michael Aleo and Laura Porter
· Anonymous donor's $2000 matching grant fulfilled!
· Keepers of the Heart fundraiser video showings of BBC Film Director Alan Ereira's Kogi film documentary "From the Heart of the World: The Elder Brothers' Warning"
· Hampshire Gazette article on WfP delegates Kate Harris and Michael Aleo's trip to Colombia

February
· 2/3 Solidaridad Colombia Annual Retreat, Hampshire College Red Barn in Amherst
· Keepers of the Heart fundraiser video showings
· Relocation of biweekly Solidaridad Colombia meetings to Amherst site

March
· 3/2 Keepers of the Heart fundraiser dance event at the Northampton Center for the Arts
· 3/10 House party/video showing fundraiser, Keepers of the Heart
· 3/12 Back from Colombia: A View from the Inside speaking event at UMass with delegates Kate Harris, Laura Porter and Michael Aleo
· 3/15 Bob Paquette of WFCR (local NPR radio station) interview with delegates Kate Harris and Laura Porter
· 3/24 First Churches Nonviolence Roundtable, follow-up presentation and discussion on Colombia with Kate Harris and Laura Porter
· 3/24 Radio Interview with Father Roy Bougeouis, founder of the School of the Americas Watch (SOAW), WFCR
· Organization of UMass campus branch of Solidaridad Colombia (pending)

April
· 4/2 Hosted Father Roy Bougeouis, founder of the School of the Americas Watch (SOAW) who spoke at Springfield College, Arise for Social Justice in Springfield, Amherst College, and held a community dinner at First Churches and evening event at Edwards Church in Northampton.
· 4/12-26 Two-week Western MA and Boston speaking event, spokesperson from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta tribes of Colombia, hosted by Keepers of the Heart
· Coordination of coalition transportation and housing to DC Colombia Mobilization with local partners
· Beginning organization of January 2003 Witness for Peace delegation to Colombia
· 4/19-22 Large representation in DC Colombia Mobilization (coordinated transportation and housing)

July
· 7/22 Coca-Cola tribunal in Atlanta - local solidarity action took place in front of the Northampton Coca-Cola bottling plant.

September
· 9/25-29 National Days of Action (Witness for Peace coordinated).
· 9/26 Our local event - we hosted recently returned WfP/SOAW delegate Sean Donahue. His presentation, Repression and Resistance in Colombia, was held at the Hitchcock Center for the Environment in Amherst.
· 9/29-10/1 Fall Witness for Peace New England speaker's tour (Western MA portion) -- Solidaridad Colombia & Witness for Peace New England hosted Marylen Serna Salinas of Colombia in Western MA.

October
· 10/16 COLOMBIA: MINING-ENERGY DEVELOPMENT & GENOCIDE A Talk by Francisco Ramirez, President, SINTRAMINERCOL took place at First Churches of Northampton (flyer).
· 10/25-27 Fall Witness for Peace New England annual weekend retreat at the Walker Center in Newton, MA. Saturday, the 26th, focused on Colombia.

November
· 11/1-12/3 Faces of Colombia photo exhibit by Jim Harney, Witness for Peace delegate, who spent the first week in the area giving presentations, coordinated by Solidaridad Colombia. The exhibit hung at First Churches of Northampton.
· 11/6 & 11/20 Solidaridad Colombia hosted video showings at First Churches in Northampton.
· 11/15-17 Annual November gathering at Fort Benning in Georgia to close the School of the Americas, which is based there. Visit: http://soaw.org
· 11/22 Luis Alfredo Acosta, a Paez indigenous leader from the Cauca region of Colombia, presented at Edwards Church in Northampton. AFSC national tour.

December
· 12/3 Jim Harney presented his final slide lecture in this area, “Globalization and the War in Colombia; Resistance from the Bottom Up" at First Churches of Northampton.
· 12/30 First Night Northampton; A First Night for Peace - Kate Harris gave slide presentation

Year of 2003

January
· 1/15-27 Kate Harris co-leads Witness for Peace/Global Exchange Environmental and Labor Delegation to Colombia
· 1/15 co-hosted School of the Americas (SOA) Teach-In at Northampton Unitarian Society. Panel discussion & video showing on the movement to close the SOA. Presenters included Jason Lydon - a second year student at UMass Amherst, who was arrested this past November at the Close the SOA events at Ft Benning and went to trial January 27th.

February
· 2/16-20th co-sponsored Colombian unionist Hector Giraldo's visit to Western MA. Schedule of events.

March
· 3/20 Kate Harris, recently returned from her third delegation to Colombia, presented her slideshow titled "Billions for Bullets: has U.S. aid helped Colombia?" at Food for Thought Books in Amherst. Her presentation depicts the social and environmental results of U.S. policy in Colombia, the third-largest recipient of U.S. aid. Afterward, she facilitated a discussion of U.S. media propaganda and proposed that democracy and sustainable economic alternatives in both countries are the only paths to peace.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SOLIDARIDAD COLOMBIA PRIORITIZATION OF ACTIVITIES
(results of 3 vote/person survey of interests at the 2/3/02 Annual Retreat)

Partnerships/Networking
US Policy Change 5
(Coca-Cola, Drummond, Military, Oil, Fumigation, Drug Policy)
International Organizations 4
Keepers of the Heart 4
National Organizations 3
Sister City Work 3
Colombia Refugee Outreach 3

Action Plan Steps
Lecture Series 6
DC Mobilization 5
Lobbying 3
Information/Documentation 2
Tabling 1
SOA Watch Speaking Tour (added after poll was taken, no numbers)

In addition, the group committed to an ongoing analysis of Solidaridad Colombia's structure and working procedures, intending to reach greater clarity about these issues for increased group effectiveness.