Returning Home
Returning Home Photo of Samuel flying home to Saravena from BogotaScott Nicholson – Colombia Samuel Morales returned home to Saravena on June 15 after spending nearly three years in prison for “rebellion.” He committed the crime of being a teacher and the president of the Unified Workers Federation in the state of Arauca. I accompanied him on the flight from Bogota to Saravena and it was a joy to witness his homecoming. More than 30 people came out to the heavily-militarized Saravena airport to greet Samuel, and there was a larger reception for him here in the Arauca Social Organizations building. “I was kidnapped by the governmental regime for 33 months,” he said. “If opposing a militaristic government and offering alternative ideas is to be a ‘rebel,’ then I don’t mind being called a rebel.” Samuel was an eyewitness to the massacre of three social leaders by the Colombian army in Caño Seco on August 5, 2004 – Alirio Martinez, president of the Departmental Peasant Association; Leonel Goyeneche, teacher and treasurer of the Unified Workers Federation; and Jorge Prieto, president of the health care workers union. Samuel was detained by the army and flown to the Saravena military base. Jose Murillo also returned home to Saravena on June 18 after spending more than three years in prison for “rebellion.” His crime was being the president of the Joel Sierra Human Rights Foundation. More than 40 people and the Savanna folk music group greeted Jose in the airport, with another reception in the social organizations building. “You find out in prison just how committed you are to the struggle for social justice,” Jose told me. “It’s one thing to support people that are suffering repression, and another to directly experience that repression yourself. I was held in a maximum-security prison that was modeled after U.S. prisons. The prison system is designed to isolate you from your social environment, your family, and your own self.” I visited Samuel and Jose in the maximum-security wing of the La Modelo prison in Bogota in June 2005. My arm was stamped with a visitor number, my fingerprints were taken twice, and my arms were stamped six more times at various checkpoints. Jose told me the history of the Arauca social movement and Samuel described each moment of the August 5 massacre. During the reception for Jose, I expressed my appreciation to him and Samuel for that visit. My voice suddenly choked-up as I recalled seeing them confined in prison while viewing them free and at home again here in Saravena – a moment of profound joy and sorrow. I was gone from Saravena for just two-and-a-half months, but it’s also been a very emotional return for me to my Colombian home. It’s wonderful to experience again the love and warmth of our sisters and brothers, and the beauty of this region. The first evening that I was here, I went up to the terrace roof to watch the sunset over the Andes and a flock of herons flew past. A few days later, Samuel referred to me as the “adopted son” of the Arauca social movement. In love and solidarity, Scott Scott Nicholson serves as a Short-term Volunteer with the Social Organizations of Arauca, Colombia. As a part of the process of accompaniment, Scott works as an advisor/consultant in the administration of productive projects in the rural communities
Photo of Samuel flying home to Saravena from Bogota
Scott Nicholson – Colombia Samuel Morales returned home to Saravena on June 15 after spending nearly three years in prison for “rebellion.” He committed the crime of being a teacher and the president of the Unified Workers Federation in the state of Arauca. I accompanied him on the flight from Bogota to Saravena and it was a joy to witness his homecoming. More than 30 people came out to the heavily-militarized Saravena airport to greet Samuel, and there was a larger reception for him here in the Arauca Social Organizations building. “I was kidnapped by the governmental regime for 33 months,” he said. “If opposing a militaristic government and offering alternative ideas is to be a ‘rebel,’ then I don’t mind being called a rebel.” Samuel was an eyewitness to the massacre of three social leaders by the Colombian army in Caño Seco on August 5, 2004 – Alirio Martinez, president of the Departmental Peasant Association; Leonel Goyeneche, teacher and treasurer of the Unified Workers Federation; and Jorge Prieto, president of the health care workers union. Samuel was detained by the army and flown to the Saravena military base. Jose Murillo also returned home to Saravena on June 18 after spending more than three years in prison for “rebellion.” His crime was being the president of the Joel Sierra Human Rights Foundation. More than 40 people and the Savanna folk music group greeted Jose in the airport, with another reception in the social organizations building. “You find out in prison just how committed you are to the struggle for social justice,” Jose told me. “It’s one thing to support people that are suffering repression, and another to directly experience that repression yourself. I was held in a maximum-security prison that was modeled after U.S. prisons. The prison system is designed to isolate you from your social environment, your family, and your own self.” I visited Samuel and Jose in the maximum-security wing of the La Modelo prison in Bogota in June 2005. My arm was stamped with a visitor number, my fingerprints were taken twice, and my arms were stamped six more times at various checkpoints. Jose told me the history of the Arauca social movement and Samuel described each moment of the August 5 massacre. During the reception for Jose, I expressed my appreciation to him and Samuel for that visit. My voice suddenly choked-up as I recalled seeing them confined in prison while viewing them free and at home again here in Saravena – a moment of profound joy and sorrow. I was gone from Saravena for just two-and-a-half months, but it’s also been a very emotional return for me to my Colombian home. It’s wonderful to experience again the love and warmth of our sisters and brothers, and the beauty of this region. The first evening that I was here, I went up to the terrace roof to watch the sunset over the Andes and a flock of herons flew past. A few days later, Samuel referred to me as the “adopted son” of the Arauca social movement. In love and solidarity, Scott Nicholson serves as a Short-term Volunteer with the Social Organizations of Arauca, Colombia. As a part of the process of accompaniment, Scott works as an advisor/consultant in the administration of productive projects in the rural communities |