(This is a reflection I gave at ICUJP on 9/5/25)
As a Quaker, I’ve always wanted to go to Costa Rica because it’s the only nation on the planet to have abolished its military and has become a leader in peace studies and environmentalism. During our two-week trip, Jill and I had a chance to visit two important peace centers in Costa Rica, the Quakers in Monteverde and the University for Peace just outside of San Jose, the nation’s capital. We also had a wonderful visit with Grace Dyrness, one of the founders of ICUJP, and a giant of justice and peace. An activist as well as an academic, Grace takes after her remarkable grandmother, Susan Strachan, a missionary/nurse/educator who went to Costa Rica in the 1920s with her husband Henry. In 1929 this dynamic couple founded the Clinica Biblica, which became the major private hospital in Costa Rica. Grace lives in the suburbs of San Jose with her husband Bill, a retired Fuller Seminary professor. She took us on a tour of the University for Peace that I will never forget. I could easily take an hour to describe these amazing experiences, but I will limit myself to seven minutes.
As I mentioned, Costa Rica abolished its military in 1948 following a brief civil war. This was a smart move since the military in Latin America is usually used to defend dictators rather than the people. As a result of not having a military, Costa Rica has had a stable democracy and a “peace dividend” it has invested in education, health care and the welfare of the people. It has one of the highest living standards in Latin America and scores high on the happiness index.
I don’t want to suggest that Costa Rica doesn’t have problems. There is a lot of corruption, and an influx of drugs and crime and immigrants struggling with poverty, but the overall situation in Costa Rica seems far better than in most of Latin America, or the United States.
We loved getting to know the people of Costa Rica, whose favorite expression is “la pura vida,” meaning literally the “pure life.” They use this phrase to greet you and to express gratitude.
We visited the Quakers in Monteverde who are few in number but are widely known and respected. This small Quaker community was founded in 1951 by a group of eleven Quaker families from Alabama. Four young Friends had been jailed for refusing to serve in the Korean War and the families were seeking somewhere they could live in peace. They went to Monteverde and established a dairy farm, a cheese factory, and a thriving school.
In 1983, at a time when many Central American countries were torn apart by war, Costa Rica declared its permanent neutrality. At this time, the Quakers established the Centro de Amigos para la Paz (CAP), a peace center in San Jose, to protest the human rights violations in neighboring countries.
In the 1990s, with the support of Quaker Earthcare Witness, a network of American Friends, Monteverde Quakers worked with the local community to establish Finca la Bella community farming project in the San Luis Valley, an area where the land had traditionally been held by a few wealthy landowners. Monteverde Friends have also been deeply committed to the preservation of nature.
We attended a meeting for worship in a meetinghouse which members built themselves. It has huge windows that provide lovely views of the surrounding rain forest. After worship, we met with Friends and talked about affordable housing. The lack of affordable housing is an urgent problem in Costa Rica in part because foreigners buying up homes and properties have caused property values to skyrocket. We brainstormed about possible solutions and shared about our work.
Most of our trip involved enjoying the natural beauty of Costa Rica---visiting a chocolate and coffee farm, zip lining over the rainforest, snorkeling amid the tropical fish, kayaking through the jungle, nature hikes through the rain forest and up the slopes of volcanoes, watching giant green sea turtles lay their eggs under a cloudy night sky. We saw monkeys, frogs, Jesus Christ lizards (a kind that run on water), iguanas, caimans (a kind of alligator) and of course, the national mascot of Costa Rica, the sloth.
We also had an interesting experience at a restaurant called Avion in the Manuel Antonio National Park on the Pacific coast. This restaurant is built around an airplane with a fascinating history. This C-123 cargo plane was stuck in San Jose in the 1980s after the US government purchased it to be used by the Contras. When its purpose became known, the Costa Rican government confiscated it. A restaurant owner purchased it for $3,000, shipped it to Manuel San Antonio, and built a restaurant around it. There is a bar in the cargo hold and you can climb into the cock pit. Instead of turning swords into ploughshares, this clever Costa Rican entrepreneur turned a war plane into a bar. La pura vida!
During the final Friday of our trip,
Grace arranged for us to go to the University for Peace with her step brother, Fernando Zumbado, former Costa Rica Housing Minister.
Under Fernando’s watch, the government
built 400,000 units of affordable housing. He also helped to start the
University for Peace. It was established as a treaty organization by
the United
Nations General Assembly in 1980. The university offers postgraduate, doctoral,
and executive
programs related to the study of peace
and conflict, environment
and development, and international law.
It also encourages research and has produced an impressive array of
publications.
We were taken on a tour of the University
by its current director, Dr. Francisco Rojas Aravena. He was first elected
in 2013 and secured a second term in 2018. He took us around the campus and
explained the history and activities of the University. Its headquarters are
located in a natural area near Ciudad Colón,
Costa Rica. However, the university also has a presence in other countries,
notably Somalia and the Netherlands. UN General Secretary Kofi Annan, who
received the Nobel Peace Prize. Annan, encouraged the University for Peace to go
global and reach out to Africa and other parts of the world.
The University for Peace has a total of over 7,000 alumni from more than 120
countries, with 65% being women. It also has an interfaith component. The
Jewish World Congress, the Vatican, and the World Muslim League all provide scholarships.
It was encouraging to see so many bright,
enthusiastic young people from around the world attending classes on this idyllic
campus. And many more attend online classes.
I think it would be worthwhile having a whole Friday Forum devoted to the work
of the University for Peace. Maybe invite one of the professors to speak to us. With
so much going so wrong in our country, and in the world, it is important to
know more about what people are doing to pursue peace and “la pura vida.”
