Help PBI-Canada find field brigadistas for PBI’s frontline projects physically accompanying human rights defenders

Field brigadistas play a crucial role in fulfilling the mission of Peace Brigades International to physically accompany threatened human rights defenders.

This 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.

PBI project groups post for new volunteers on a regular basis.

This past year, PBI-Canada helped to amplify the calls by PBI-Colombia in October, PBI-Guatemala in May, PBI-Honduras in April, and PBI-Mexico in January.

We do so through articles on our website, and with our weekly e-newsletter, social media posts on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and by word of mouth.

Most recently, Javier Ignacio Hoyos from Montreal was a field brigadista with PBI-Colombia in 2019-2020.

There have also been many volunteers from Canada over the years including Marianna Tzabiras, Heather Neun, Brad Hornick, Heidi Mitton, Sophie Mailly, Mélisande Séguin, Brandon McNally, Justin Mohammed, Scott Pearce, Mitchell Goldberg, Steve Law, Evelyn Jones, Rusa Jeremic, Barb MacQuarrie, and Karen Ridd to name just a few.

We see it as a crucial task in 2021 to increase our outreach efforts so that we can continue to directly contribute to the frontline physical accompaniment of defenders.

This will include focused outreach to university and community college students across this country, faith communities and activist movements, along with other strategies.

To help equip us with the resources needed to reach these communities in innovative ways, please consider making an online donation to PBI-Canada here.

In February 2019, Javier Ignacio Hoyos from Montreal (on the right in the photo) joined the PBI-Colombia team along with volunteers from Italy, Spain and France.