Pubdate: Thu, 31 Oct 2002
Source: Huntsville Times (AL)
Copyright: 2002 The Huntsville Times
Contact:  http://www.htimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/730
Author: Ben Johnson

DRUG WAR REFUGEE SEEKS HELP TO END VIOLENCE

Local Activist Advocates Postcard Campaign For Peaceful Policy Change

It's postcard-writing time, Marjorie Masterson insists. The retired teacher 
already has sent several cards of protest to President Bush over the 
prospect of war with Iraq.

But Tuesday night, Masterson and about 40 like-minded anti-war souls 
gathered at Holy Spirit Catholic Church to hear about the drug war.

Marino Cordoba, president of the Association of Displaced Afro-Colombians, 
said the drug war is killing his country. He's spent the past weeks 
crisscrossing the South to tell horror stories about the drug war. His 
stops here, which included Alabama A&M University, were sponsored by the 
Witness for Peace organization.

In the last five years, more than 2 million people have been displaced by 
violent clashes between anti-drug soldiers, drug traffickers and guerrilla 
soldiers, Cordoba said. Colombians of African descent have been 
particularly devastated by the violence, he said. Although they make up 
just a quarter of the country's population, they are 70 percent of the 
displaced.

Those who speak against the drug war endanger their lives and their 
families' lives, he said. He's survived five attempts on his life, he told 
the group, pointing to two scars in his lower left leg.

He now lives in exile in the United States. "I had to leave," he said in an 
interview. Cordoba said too much of the money targeted for the drug war has 
instead fomented violence.

Witness for Peace is sponsoring a national protest Nov. 15-17 against U.S. 
support for the Colombian drug war. It will be held at Fort Benning, Ga.

Masterson wants Tennessee Valley supporters to join the effort, especially 
the postcard campaign.

For more information, check the organization's Web site: www.soaw.org.
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