A letter from John and Paula Ewers in Colombia
November 2, 2007
Dear Friends,
Sunday, October 28, was Reformation Sunday, election day in Colombia, and Paula’s birthday. We celebrated each in a different way. We were international observers for the election. Gloria Ulloa came up with the idea, and German Zarate followed through. We went to a training seminar on Thursday sponsored by the Misión de Observación Electoral (MOE), a non-profit nationwide organization that works to assure a proper and fair election. The training group included about 35 people, none of whom were foreigners, except us. They passed out books about the election laws and procedures. As we listened in small groups, we realized how important that position was and talked to the leaders at the completion of the training. We told them that we didn’t understand all of the training and couldn’t do the job correctly, so we would have to ask to have our names removed from the roster. They said they wanted us, as international observers, to accompany the leaders as they traveled to different polling places during the day. That we could do! So we prepared to meet them at the presbytery office at 7:30 Sunday morning.
Of course, we knew that we didn’t have to be on time, but being “gringos,” we arrived at 7:35. The guard at the gate handed us our name tags and said to wait there. An hour later, we were met by a young man from Fundacion Foro. We had met him before, so we felt comfortable going with him. We went to his office and shortly after were driven to a large gymnasium, with many people and much traffic surrounding it. We entered and saw many tables with people (judges) waiting to help the voters. There must have been 40 tables set up on the basketball court and bleacher areas. The media were present as well as many soldiers at the entrances. Actually, it looked like there was only one entrance for voters. They were separated by sex, checked for IDs, and the men were patted down. We were told that there was a list outside that voters checked, using their cedula numbers (like social security numbers). Those lists told them the number of the table they were to go to.
Since we had on our new tee shirts with the “MOE” logo, we looked very official. Even the soldiers didn’t prevent us from being there. We watched as people looked for their table, showed their cedula with photo, which was checked with the list of cedula numbers, signed the list, and were handed paper ballots, one for each position—governor, mayor, council, and assembly. The voter took the ballots to a cardboard booth, where was divided for privacy, and marked the ballots. Then they folded them, placed them in a large cardboard box, had their index finger dipped in red ink so they couldn’t vote again, and received a card to verify that they voted.
We didn’t see any irregularities, such as people sharing ballots, being coerced, being under the influence of drugs (alcohol is not sold on election day), using false cedulas, fighting, etc. We did see many buses and taxis with candidates’ names on them, transporting people to and from the polls. We reported it to the people from MOE. They had been taking videos of the movements outside the polls, including voters entering buses and politicking outside the polling places. There have been many charges of “buying” votes. One man we spoke to said that that is still going on. He said that people are offered goods, supplies, and money for votes. He also said that things are getting better. A large number of judges are teachers and students, as was he, from private schools. There aren’t as many from the public schools, because of the political connection that is prevalent. He was not paid for the day, but receives a vacation day from his job instead. The polls open at 8:00 a.m. and close at 4:00 p.m., but his day is from 7:00 a.m. to about 5:00 p.m.
When the polls closed, our next order of business was to visit some polling places and watch them count the ballots and close the polls. We visited areas that had a reputation for not going by the rules. This year they were doing better, in spite of the cramped spaces, fans blowing the ballots, sorting ballots with 20 or more choices of candidates etc. Because we traveled to areas on the outskirts of Barranquilla, we didn’t get home until almost 8:00 p.m. It was a long day, but it was very informative, exciting, and educational—another wonderful experience for us as we fulfill our role as mission co-workers in Colombia.
This will probably be our last newsletter for 2007, so we wish you a blessed Christmas. 2008 brings us to the end of our time here in Colombia. We will be back in the states by July 2008 and look forward to visiting and telling the story of our experiences here.
Our position is fully funded by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), which we appreciate. But we also look for support from you so that this position will continue to help the people of Colombia. If your church or organization is able to support us, you can send a check to Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and put E200337 (our designation) on the memo line and mail to:
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Church Remittance Processing
PO Box 643678
Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3678
If you are an individual and would like to give, please click on the "give" button on our home page. Thanks to those of you who have already supported us. We do appreciate your donations and prayers.
Peace,
Paula & John Ewers
The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 46
