A Commemoration

“In every community, there is work to be done. In every nation, there are wounds to heal. In every heart, there is power to do it.” –Marianne Williamson

This past weekend we held a commemoration in the community of Libertad. I talked a little bit about the history of violence in Libertad in my entry A Little Bit about Libertad and I mentioned that the people of the community itself were the ones that rid themselves of the paramilitaries. Unfortunately, they were pushed to the point of fighting violence with violence and killed one of the paramilitary members. June 14th marks the day of this event and this year marks the 10th anniversary of this day, so the community wanted to do something to recognize this day. However, nobody wanted to celebrate the death of a person, even a paramilitary member, so it was decided that instead the event would focus on the ten years of freedom and resistance to violence and armed groups that the community has since lived. 

The day before the event we invited the community to clean the public spaces such as the cemetery.

The day started off with a blessing at the bridge where the paramilitary member was killed. 

A plaque was presented in honor of the community and the victims that lost their lives during the violence.

Then we all marched together to the main plaza with candles and pictures of the people who were killed.

Soup for everyone!

Peeling yucca for the community soup.  So much yucca!

A drama presented by victims of sexual violence.

One of several dances that were presented.

Here is a picture of the men playing Truco (see More Classes for Lani), a traditional game that I am still trying to understand.

Being a part of the planning of this event was entertaining (one has to have that attitude here or it would just be incredibly stressful). There was lots of drama, complications, and frustrations, but it was really neat to see all of the organizations of Libertad working together to plan something for the community. In the end it turned out to be a fantastic event filled with beautiful moments honoring victims, wonderful speeches of hope, fantastic time playing traditional games, delicious food, and excellent dancing!