Marion Hiptmair accompanied the Peace Community in 2009 and 2010, during which she and her team frequently traveled to Mulatos, a remote settlement deep in the jungle. After a brutal massacre in February 2005 that led to widespread displacement, residents were only beginning to return to their homes and the FORPP accompaniment team was often called upon to provide security during this vulnerable time. To further enhance safety, the Peace Community declared Mulatos an “Aldea de Paz” or “Peace Village.” As a result, visits to Mulatos increased to support the project and ensure safe conditions. Reflecting on her first visit, Marion said:
In 2009 and 2010 and now, in 2024, I have been able to witness big changes up here in the Aldea de Paz in Mulatos. When I was here first in 2009/2010 they were getting it all started by building the central kiosk and a community kitchen for meetings, dances and events. On various occasions, several hundred people would come to Mulatos to visit.
In March of this year, following the tragic murders of Peace Community members Nalleli and Edinson, fear gripped the region. Many residents felt too unsafe or frightened to venture out alone, work their lands, or live in remote areas. As a result, requests for accompaniment surged. To support FOR accompanier Michaela, Marion returned to the Peace Community, 15 years after her first visit. Upon arriving, she remarked:
Many people are afraid and do not want to live “alone”. They prefer to be in bigger groups or in the presence of international accompaniment. The Aldea de Paz is currently being reconstructed so that several families can live here and it can serve as a center or “hub” for the Peace Community in the more remote mountainous area. In this particular region, the Peace Community does not have collective farmland, but several members do have their own farms. This adaptation will hopefully allow for members and friends to have a home and a meeting point to come to, where they can rest, chat and organize when working on agricultural projects, which are key for the Peace Community’ s food production for their own consumption.
Reflecting on her return to the Peace Community, Marion shared, “Somehow it feels like coming home, meeting dear people you have known for a long time … somehow all the same, and somehow all different.” Her words capture the bittersweet nature of her return—a mix of familiarity and change, as the Peace Community remains steadfast in its mission while facing new and ongoing challenges.
You can read about one of the initial visits to Mulatos here, in the year 2007.