Photo by PBI-Colombia
Field brigadistas play an essential role in fulfilling the mission of Peace Brigades International: to physically accompany threatened human rights defenders. The presence of international accompaniment is a strong tool in deterring violence against human rights defenders and social leaders. PBI seeks to encourage, by means of an international, nonviolent, non-partisan presence, a peaceful resolution of conflicts in the local area.
These volunteers come from many different countries and backgrounds. But one thing that all of these volunteers have in common is a strong commitment to nonviolence and a belief in the contribution that ordinary people can make to creating a more peaceful and just world.
"It is a sad fact of life here that the willingness to attack a Colombian human rights defender or the civilian population only diminishes when there is international support for their work." - Kelli Corrigan, Former Volunteer for Colombia
PBI field volunteers experience a profound experience of working with an international peace and human rights organization committed to transforming ideals into practical action. The brigadistas gain a life changing experience that allows them to learn and pursue their commitments to human rights.
“I learned about the spaces that PBI has, their advocacy work towards the state to create standards that protect human rights. We now have a protocol that protects human rights defenders in Peru, and this protocol was achieved thanks to the advocacy work made by the Human Rights Commission." - Ana Maria Vidal, Former Volunteer for Colombia
If you are interested, please read our interview with Ana Maria Vidal, a human rights specialist and former PBI volunteer, to learn how her volunteer experience influenced and prepared her for her career working to defend human rights in Peru.
Last week, PBI-Colombia posted about the new field brigadistas that have just arrived in Colombia to do this work over the next 18 months. We welcome and extend our best wishes to Gemma (Spain), Alexa (Germany), Lena (France), Giulia (Italy) and Elise (Norway) as they embark on this work. You can learn more about the volunteers here.
PBI project groups post for new volunteers on a regular basis. Zia Kadler from Pennsylvania was a field volunteer with PBI-Honduras in 2017-2018. As we enter 2021, we want to increase our outreach efforts so that we can continue to directly contribute to the frontline physical accompaniment of defenders. This will include hosting an informative Zoom webinar so that people that are interested in the experience can learn more. If you would like to learn more about these opportunities and apply to become a field brigadista please click here.
To help equip us with the resources needed to reach these communities in innovative ways, please consider making a donation to PBI-USA here.
