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Sycamore Tree Project® in Colombia
Last modified 2007-12-05 08:47
PF Colombia has recently completed its first two Sycamore Tree Projects®. One took place in Bellavista prison, involving prisoners convicted of murder and victims who had lost loved ones to murder. The second was in a Medellín neighbourhood that has been racked by violence. Following is one of several stories related by Lácides Hernandez, Board Chairperson of PF Colombia:
One of the victim survivors in the Bellavista project, a former member of the military, spoke from the first meeting of his hatred and resentment towards the men who had killed his son six years earlier. He shared about his love for his “favorite son”, and of the contributions that he made to the community as a doctor. The father’s rage and hatred made him unable to sleep at night. But during the STP meetings he came to know and care for the offenders in the group -- young men who had been paid assassins in Medellín.
On the final day of the project, the celebration, he said that STP had been the most beautiful experience and the best thing that had happened to him. Now, he felt capable of forgiving those who killed his son. He had begun to sleep peacefully. He congratulated PF Colombia for the project and encouraged them to replicate it.
In March 2005, PF Colombia began a second series of STP meetings.