News
May 3, 2019
Shelter City guest Pedro joins Ride for Rights
Pedro is a human rights defender from Colombia who has relocated to Shelter City Harleem. On 18th May 2019 he will join our annual Ride for Rights event.
Introducing Pedro
Pedro works in Colombia on issues of drug crop production, poverty and development. He is currently the director of a nongovernmental organization that researches and leads proposals on sustainable rural development. He has supported peasants, indigenous people and populations of African descent who live in regions where prohibited plants are illegally cultivated.
Moreover, Pedro has denounced human rights violations perpetrated by the state, paramilitary groups and other illegal armed organizations.
Due to his work, Pedro has received many threats. His name was placed on the blacklist by paramilitary groups in the Guaviare region, he was attacked by guerrilla groups and had to abandon his home twice.
Pedro’s stay in Shelter City
During his stay in Shelter City Harleem, Pedro aims at influencing relevant organisations and policymakers and informing them on crops substitution and the drugs policy in Colombia. He also wants to learn about trade cooperation and the agricultural system in the Netherlands.
Moreover, Pedro aims at improving his English, resting and re-energizing, for instance by cycling.
Pedro’s participation in Ride for Rights
At Shelter City, we organize Ride for Rights with the aim of bringing people together to raise awareness on human rights and on human rights defenders. People in the Netherlands can cycle or sponsor a cyclist. In this way, they directly contribute to supporting both our work at Shelter City and human rights defenders in their action for change.
This year over 10 teams and 30 people will cycle for a maximum of 400 kilometers across the country.
As a cyclist, Pedro will be one of them. He will cycle for 105 kilometres from Utrecht, to Haarlem and finishing in The Hague.
“I used to cycle a lot when I was younger. The longest ride I did was 300 kilometers in one day.” – Pedro