Introduction to the Blog

Planting an Olive Tree in Palestine

These blog entries are a compilation and cataloguing of emails I sent to family, friends, and colleagues from 2004 to the present. They are my stories and reflections from the “field,” meaning stories from my work around the world, in regions wracked with violent conflict, or poverty, or both.

They are catalogued by subject, and then later by date. If you use the subject index, the blogger program I am using automatically posts them in order of most recent first. This can be confusing, because at times the reader seems to be getting the end of the story first. If you are reading these stories for the first time, I suggest starting at the beginning, meaning with the earlier dates, instead of the end.

The stories from Palestine, Colombia, and the U.S.-Mexico border come from my work with Christian Peacemaker Teams. CPT sends teams of trained volunteers to zones of violent conflict to accompany unarmed communities who are at risk of violence. The idea is that those of us who believe that solutions to conflict are both more just and more effective if nonviolent, are willing to take the same risks as soldiers. The hope is that with the presence of outsiders, who document abuses, unarmed civilians face less risk of violence. As you read my reflections, you can judge for yourself what we accomplish.

The stories from Bolivia are reflections I wrote during time spent in Cochabamba, Bolivia. I was studying Spanish, but I was also observing a considerable amount of social change. The story from Kosovo I wrote while observing a CPT-type accompaniment project developed by an Italian group, Operation Dove.

The stories from Guatemala come from time spent accompanying a small, indigenous community at risk of losing their lands and traditions as a result of the arrival of a large, multinational mining company. I did that work independently of CPT. I had hoped to be able to develop an ongoing accompaniment presence there, but so far have not found sufficient people to organize a project.

The stories from Haiti are about developing a fair trade coffee project in one community, Baraderes, that I have been working in for a long time. I originally became involved when I took the job of social justice minister in a large Catholic parish in Silver Spring, Maryland, that had recently agreed to a sister parish relationship with Baraderes. Together with the Haitian pastor, over the course of nearly 8 years, we developed education, nutrition, and public health programs that we are still very proud of. Along with some others, we founded the “Just Haiti” project as a deepening and expanding of that anti-poverty work, in a way that empowers the community to work for its own survival, rather than remaining dependent on the good will of outsiders forever. As we all know, that good will can be withdrawn at any time. A link to the Just Haiti website can be found on the left side of the blog.

I also worked in the former Soviet Union in the 1980s, right up until it fell apart and became Russia and a slew of smaller states, including the stans. Among other things, during that time I compiled stories of Soviet Jews and former political prisoners who had suffered human rights abuses under communism, and advocated that the United States accept them as refugees. No written stories survive from that time, but I occasionally make reference to the Soviet Union, or the fact that I speak Russian, in my current reflections. I now regret that I was not writing more then.

The work continues, and the stories continue. I have put them on a blog because I feel they need to be told, because they challenge the dominant worldview in the global North. They are not my stories, but the stories of communities struggling for life. I am the vehicle, because I have allowed my own story to become tied to theirs. I welcome your comments.
Kim Lamberty