Latin America
Acción Ecológica releases a statement on the government of Ecuador’s recent repression
October 8, 2019
“With the rise in fuel prices – and travel fares – the government forgives the environmental crimes of the true pollutants and puts the responsibility of climate change on the people.” Acción Ecológica, KAIROS partner organization in Ecuador, has released…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Latin America
On the 5th Anniversary of the enforced disappearance of the 43 Ayotzinapa students
September 26, 2019
Today marks the fifth anniversary of the 2014 enforced disappearance of the 43 Ayotzinapa students and the killing of 6 people, students and bystanders, on the night of September 26th and early morning of the 27th in Iguala, Guerrero, in…
Post filed in: Latin America
On the eve of International Day of Peace, a strong statement for peace in Colombia
September 20, 2019
Over forty non-governmental, labour and faith-based groups from across Canada, including KAIROS and a number of our members, have signed a joint statement denouncing the escalating human rights crisis and urging the Canadian Government to take strong action to support…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America
OFP inaugurates a House Museum for Collective Memory and Human Rights in Barrancabermeja
August 8, 2019
On Thursday, July 25th in Barrancabermeja, Colombia, the Organización Femenina Popular (OFP) inaugurated the Casa Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos de las Mujeres de la región del Magdalena Medio, or the House Museum of Memory and Human…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America
KAIROS partners in Colombia
July 10, 2019
This is the second of two blogposts on KAIROS’ recent visit to Colombia. Read the first blog post There is nothing post-conflict about Colombia KAIROS partners on the ground, the Mesa Ecuménica por La Paz (Ecumenical Forum for Peace, MEP) and…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America
There is nothing post-conflict about Colombia
July 10, 2019
This is the first of two blogposts on KAIROS’ recent visit to Colombia. Read the second blogpost KAIROS Partners in Colombia First there are the facts and figures: Since the Colombian government and the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) signed…
Post filed in: Latin America
Exchanges and collaboration: KAIROS in Ecuador
July 3, 2019
“Un pueblo no existe sin territorio.” Indigenous people cannot exist without their territory. Fany, a Shuar woman from Ecuador, made this declaration during the talking circle of the pilot of the first version of the Ecuadorian blanket exercise held this…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America
KAIROS’ partners celebrate International Women’s Day in Colombia
March 20, 2019
In Colombia Women Continue Braiding for Life, Territory, and Peace “Our political commitment as a women’s social movement…has as purpose our liberation as oppressed subjects as well as the continued demand for the protection of nature as a historical legacy…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America
NEW VIDEO: The OFP releases video on the alarming situation of Human Rights Defenders in Colombia (2:30 min)
January 24, 2019
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America, Video Playlists & Photo Albums
NEW VIDEO: Women of Courage in Colombia talk about peace
September 5, 2018
In conflict and post-conflict zones, such as Colombia, there is often a tendency to treat victims only as victims—instead of hearing what they have to say about what they expect. Here are voices of women from Colombia and elsewhere, including…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America
KAIROS Signs-on to letter in response to killing of Guatemalan land and life defender Ángel Estuardo Quevedo
August 8, 2018
In response to the killing of human rights defender Ángel Estuardo Quevedo on July 12, 2018 in the municipality of Santa Rosa de Lima, Guatemala, KAIROS has joined over 60 civil society organizations from across Canada and the United States…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, Latin America
Grassroots feminist initiatives for peace in post-agreement Colombia
July 30, 2018
In the Magdalena Medio region of Colombia, where the Organización Femenina Popular (Popular Feminist Organization or OFP) operates, a climate of political uncertainty, social insecurity, and economic precarity prevails. While the signing of the Final Peace Agreement—unprecedented in its inclusion…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America
Colombian women speak peace, May 4 in Toronto
May 2, 2018
KAIROS Canada hosts Colombian partner, Organización Femenina Popular for panel on Women, Peace and Security (Toronto, ON) – Two Colombian women peace builders will visit Toronto on May 4 to share their work in empowering women victims of Colombia’s 50-year…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America, Media Releases
KAIROS is gravely concerned about the political and human rights crisis currently unfolding in Honduras
December 20, 2017
KAIROS is gravely concerned about the political and human rights crisis currently unfolding in Honduras following the presidential elections on November 26. Hondurans who went to the polls peacefully and in good faith were met with illegal interference from President…
Post filed in: Latin America
Letter to the editor: Locals, women most affected by corporate harm, least heard
October 25, 2017
Re: “House subcommittee hearings on mining in Latin America a public disservice,” (The Hill Times, Oct. 18, p. 15). KAIROS too is alarmed that the voices of people affected by Canadian mining operations have not been heard during the current…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Latin America
KAIROS sponsors Guatemalan Hip Hop Artist Rebeca Lane
September 21, 2017
KAIROS is thrilled to sponsor the Mestizo Soul – Identity and Rights Tour with Guatemalan Hip Hop artist Rebeca Lane, organized by Breaking the Silence (BTS) and local committees. Rebeca Eunice Vargas (Rebeca Lane) is an acclaimed Feminist, Sociologist, Activist…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America
Seeds of Truth: Revolutions, Not Just Reconciliation! #IndigenaSolutions
September 5, 2017
Searching for Indigenous, or Indigena (the Spanish word for Indigenous that is used in Guatemala) solutions for change is a task many revolutionaries have taken on across the world, and it can be complex. If you’re from Canada you will…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, Latin America
Seeds of Truth: A Tale of Two Mountains (Part 1)
August 31, 2017
We arrived in Guatemala City late Saturday night. Inside the hostel there was a bare wall where a lonely 14 inch TV aired the McGregor / Mayweather fight. What a spectacle. I knew before attending this exchange that there are…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, Latin America
Seeds of Truth: On our way to Guatemala
August 30, 2017
It was so exciting – and such a relief – to meet up with members of the KAIROS Blanket Exercise Youth Exchange at the airport this afternoon before boarding our flight to Guatemala. Although we’ve had several orientation conference calls…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, Latin America
Seeds of Truth: Indigenous women, food security and the genocide of the Americas
August 24, 2017
My name is Tyra Cox and I am of Sahtu Dene and Anishinaabe lineage within Canada (North America). As an Indigenous women, there were very specific areas of Indigenous rights that I wanted to explore on the journey with Central…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, Latin America
Seeds of Truth: Healing Together
August 16, 2017
I’m fortunate to be a part of the first KAIROS Blanket Exercise youth exchange to Guatemala being organized in partnership with Breaking the Silence and New Hope Foundation, Guatemala At the end of May, we had the opportunity to meet…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, Latin America
Seeds of Truth: The Value of Traditional Crafts
July 20, 2017
I have the privilege of being one of the participants of the KAIROS Guatemala Youth Exchange, and it has been an amazing experience so far. I am a settler living in unceded Mi’kmaq territory under the Peace and Friendship treaties…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, Latin America
The history of Indigenous Peoples as told through blankets
July 17, 2017
The history of Indigenous peoples on the northern part of Turtle Island, what is now known as Canada, was told through a Kairo Blanket Exercise at St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Southampton on June 21. Reverend Graham Bland of St….
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, Latin America
Seeds of Truth: The KAIROS Blanket Exercise through Guatemalan eyes
July 10, 2017
Excerpts from an Interview with Lilian Bolvito Gonzalez on Radio Canada International, June 24, 2017 Radio Canada: We will now chat with a Guatemalan youth who participated in the Blanket Exercise on June 2 on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Her name…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, Latin America
Seeds of Truth: Reflection on the KAIROS Blanket Exercise Youth Exchange with Guatemala orientation
June 6, 2017
“These bean seeds in my pocket keep me mindful of Mother Earth; they keep me grounded.” ~ Hannah “These Amaranth seeds are to share. Go ahead, eat them. Amaranth was once nearly wiped out in my area of Guatemala, but now…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, Latin America
TAKE ACTION to demand justice for Topacio Reynoso and her father
May 11, 2017
On April 13, 2014, unknown gunmen attacked 16-year-old Topacio Reynoso Pacheco and her father, Alex Reynoso, killing Topacio and leaving Alex seriously injured. Both were active in their municipality of Mataquescuintla, standing up for land and the health of the…
Post filed in: Indigenous Rights, Latin America
GREAT NEWS! Ecuadorian Ministry of the Environment does not close Acción Ecológica
January 13, 2017
GREAT NEWS! Yesterday the Ecuadorian Ministry of the Environment decided not to grant the request to close Acción Ecológica. National and international pressure was key. Dearest friends, We want to publicly acknowledge the thousands of letters, embraces and messages that we…
Post filed in: Ecological Justice, Latin America
Celebrating women defenders of nature in Ecuador
November 16, 2016
From October 14 to 23, Rachel Warden, Latin America Partnerships and Gender Justice coordinator, traveled to Ecuador to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Accion Ecologica, KAIROS’ long time partner, and to participate in the Latin America Network of Women Defenders’ fourth…
Post filed in: Gender Justice/Women of Courage, Latin America
