================================
All three helped out at Suma-Paz
to preserve the rain forest, on
water conservation projects, and
on efforts to organize local
residents to adopt a lifestyle
in harmony with their natural
surroundings.
================================
________________________	
TORONTO STAR (Canada)

Wednesday, 22 April 1998


Rain Forest Refugees Get A New Home
-----------------------------------

By Brian McAndrew


Sebastian Davila was disappointed by the call from fellow environmentalist 
Mario Calderon last May cancelling a trip to a rain forest reserve not far 
from their homes in Bogota, Colombia. Calderon explained that his wife's 
parents had come for a visit. Otherwise, Davila would have stayed at 
Calderon's apartment so the pair could get an early start in the morning. 
That night, five men burst into Calderon's apartment about 2 a.m. They 
killed the former Jesuit priest; his wife, Elsa Alvarado; and her father, 
Carlos Alvarado. And now the 19-year-old Davila, brother Juan, 21, and 
Juana Awad, 20, are living in Toronto as environmental "refugees" and 
celebrating Earth Day today after fleeing the violence in their native 
Colombia.

Calderon was a co-founder with the parents of both Awad and the Davila 
brothers of the 1,000-hectare Suma-Paz Cloud Forest Reserve on the 
outskirts of Bogota.

He and Alvarado worked on conservation projects at Suma-Paz and peace 
efforts with the Centre for Research and Popular Education. "We were very 
frightened," recalls Awad of the May 19 murders. "We did not know why this 
was happening. There had been no threats." 

Fighting in Colombia between the military and rebel groups has been 
intensified by right-wing paramilitary death squads that have been allowed 
to roam the country since 1994. Amnesty International reports that state 
security and paramilitary forces were responsible for the deaths of 1,000 
civilians last year.

"It is a disaster in Colombia," declares John Tackaberry, spokesperson for 
Amnesty International Canada. Eight human rights activists, including 
Calderon and Alvarado, were among those killed in the South American 
country last year, according to U.S.-based Human Rights Watch. 

At the time of the killings, Awad and Sebastian Davila were in university 
and Juan Davila had completed a mandatory year-long stint in the Colombian 
military but had not been involved in any fighting. 

They were caught between the military and rebel groups. All three helped 
out at Suma-Paz to preserve the rain forest, on water conservation 
projects, and on efforts to organize local residents to adopt a lifestyle in 
harmony with their natural surroundings. 

"But they were caught between the military and rebel groups. Anyone who is 
connected with a reserve is in danger," Awad says. 

Their parents decided to send them out of the country for their own safety. 
The three made their way to Toronto through Costa Rica with the assistance 
of World Wildlife Fund Canada, the environmental group. 

They were granted permission to come here as landed immigrants under a 
program for people whose lives are threatened by persecution. Although 
they fall into a category for political refugees, they consider themselves 
environmental refugees because they believe the threat to their lives comes 
from their work at Suma-Paz.

They intended to move to Montreal, but somehow were given airline tickets 
for Quebec city. Awad and Juan Davila arrived in January. "It was horrible. I 
couldn't believe it. It was -25C and it was all white, while everything in 
Colombia was all green," Juan Davila says. 

They were on a bus to Toronto the next day. Sebastian Davila was to arrive 
in Quebec city in February. He stepped off the plane in Toronto and never 
boarded the connecting flight. They spend five hours daily in English classes 
and volunteer with the wildlife fund. 

On Saturday, the Davila brothers will participate in an Earth Week tradition, 
the wildlife fund's annual climb up the CN Tower's 1,769 steps. The goal is 
to raise $250,000 for Canadian wilderness protection. All three would like 
to attend university. Awad auditioned yesterday at York, where she has 
applied to study drama and anthropology. 

Juan Davila intends to seek an environmental studies degree. Sebastian 
Davila is looking at either political science or international relations. They 
all hope to return home eventually and continue their environmental work.

Meanwhile, they will continue living together in a basement apartment near 
High Park and carefully dole out the last of a large supply of coffee they 
brought from Costa Rica. "Coffee here is incredibly expensive, but that is 
good, I suppose, for the people of Colombia," Juan Davila says.

Copyright 1998 Toronto Star Newspapers, Ltd