 With over 4.9 million Colombians forcibly displaced from their homes by a debilitating war, Colombia is now the second worst internal displacement crisis in the world. Between now and April 30, tens of thousands across the U.S. and Colombia will participate in this year’s National Days of Action for Colombia to call for a much-needed shift in U.S. policies toward the war-torn country. Please join us! Click here for photos, stories, instructions, factsheets, and more! This year, the National Days of Action will focus on the displacement crisis, but in a different way than last year when we made thousands of paper dolls to symbolize the number of IDPs in Colombia. This year we’re asking you to go a step further than just understanding what is happening, and start talking about why in a campaign we’re calling “Face the Displaced – Colombia: Our Hemisphere’s Hidden Humanitarian Crisis.” The art project: Our partners in Colombia have helped us gather over 40 faces of forcibly displaced people in Colombia and their stories. As a way to make our legislators and communities face up to the human reality of this crisis, we’re going to make large posters displaying these people and their words, and will frame them with a message to President Obama asking for U.S. policies towards Colombia that will support internally displaced people and help alleviate the crisis.
 Take a look at the example we made on the right. Now, imagine how powerful thousands of posters like these would be! But we can only do it if you help us by hosting a “Face the Displaced” Poster Making Party. We’ll give you a packet with clear instructions on how to make them. By gathering a couple of friends and following a few simple steps, you’ll have a powerful educational tool at your disposal—and it’s fun! Click here to download the poster-making packet and then click here to register your event on our central website. Or find a poster making party to attend in your city by clicking here. Community action: Once we’ve made these posters, we’re going to need your help organizing public events and church services all over the country where we can display these faces and teach about the displacement crisis in Colombia. Even if you can’t do a poster making party, if you can join the hundreds of grassroots groups and churches both in the United States and in Colombia that will be educating their communities throughout April and praying for peace in Colombia on the weekend of April 16-19th, it will make a huge difference. Click here for more information on organizing a demonstration. This year we created a central site where everyone will be registering their events across the country so we can really see how much is going on. Please click here to sign up! Or if you're interested in organizing through your church, click here for a faith-based organizing resources.  Legislative change: We’ll work with you during April and beyond to ensure that Washington feels the force of the movement calling for change in U.S. policies towards Colombia. First, they’ll hear from you on the National Call-In Day on April 19th. Then, once you’ve displayed these faces in your cities, send the materials to Washington in May where we’ll be doing some last big displays before taking the faces with to Congress and the Administration to deliver your message. We’ll post more info on these actions soon! And if you have any questions or need any help organizing, email Vanessa at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . |
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Action Center LAWG Blog
