A Little Bit About Colombia's Conflicts

"De donde vengo yo                    "Where I come from
La cosa no es fácil pero                Nothing is easy but
siempre igual sobrevivimos           Still we survive
Vengo yo                                       I come
De tanto luchar siempre                From the fighting we always
con la nuestra nos salimos            Come out with what's ours
Vengo yo                                       I come
Y aquí se habla mal                      And here everyone speaks bad
pero todo está mucho mejor         But everything is so much better
Vengo yo                                       I come
Tenemos la lluvia el frio el calor"   We have rain, cold, heat"

            -"De Donde Vengo Yo" by ChocQuib Town

Whenever someone asks me about Colombia, I always begin with how much I love it for its diversity.  Colombia is incredibly diverse in geography, ethnicity, language, and culture.  It is the second most biodiverse country in South America (after Brazil).  The country has mountains, ocean, desert, and jungle.  The population (around 46 million) includes over 100 different indigenous groups representing about 2% of Colombians.  There is also a large AfroColombian population, mostly living on the two coasts (Pacific and Caribbean).

Unfortunately, Colombia is also one of the most unequal countries in the world, with the gap between the wealthy and the poor increasing.  Currently, roughly 60% of the population on the coast is in poverty.  Those numbers increase when looking at the AfroColombian population (roughly 80%) and the indigenous population (roughly 75%).  While Colombia is rich in natural gas, petroleum, and many other resources, much of these materials are extracted and exploited by foreign companies.

When many people outside of Colombia think of the country, I would guess that they think of conflict.  Following the diversity trend, Colombia also has a diversity of conflicts within its borders.  The history of conflict in Colombia is long and complex, but it mostly revolves around land, power, and resources.  While there are many negative stories of conflict, there are also many stories of resistance, revolutions, and resilience- stories involving people such as Benkos Bioho and Maria Cano.

In the 1950s and 1960s, illegal armed groups began to form in Colombia.  Some had political goals, some were promoting land reform, others were for self defense.  Some of the groups also became involved in the narco economy.  Guerrilla groups included the FARC, ELN, M-19, and EPL, among others.  Many of these have since been disbanded, but two main groups remain:

1. FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia) is the largest group.  At its creation, the FARC had ties with the Communist Party and was developed as self defense of the farmers in the country side against the military.  While the group is no longer tied to the Communist Party, it continues to have political goals.  The FARC and the Colombian government have been in peace talks since November 18, 2012 in Havana, Cuba. (Happy Anniversary!)
2. ELN (Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional) began with connections to Cuba, but is not dependent on them and is very nationalistic.  While the ELN is still present in Colombia today, the peace talks in Havana are only between the FARC and the Colombian government currently.

Paramilitary groups also formed in Colombia.  This is a complicated concept: as far as I understand, these are unofficial groups that began aiding the military in under the table business.  When first formed, they were focused on harassing and eradicating leftist political and social advocacy groups, but have currently shifted their focus to economic control in Colombia, such as casinos, prostitution, and land for large companies.

No one knows the actual number of people involved in guerrilla groups and paramilitary groups, not even the groups themselves.

"Social cleansing" is another aspect of conflict and violence that has been a part of Colombia's history in which "disposable" or "undesirable" populations have been and continue to be persecuted by guerrilla groups, paramilitary groups, and public forces alike.

Because of these conflicts, a large number of people have been forced to leave their homes and their lands.  The estimates of the number of displaced people in Colombia range from 2,650,000 to 4,360,000 (as of 2009).  That calculates to about 8.6% of the Colombian population are people who have been forced to leave their homes due to violence and conflict.  With these numbers, Colombia ranks second in the world for number of internally displaced people, after Sudan.

This mass exodus from the rural to the urban centers creates many difficulties for the country.  The people suffer both economic and emotional hardships, and while there are services available to assist them, they are neither sufficient nor well known.  

Recently, two major laws have been passed to initiate reparations and reconciliation as a transition into a state of peace in Colombia.  One called the Justice and Peace Law which aimed at demobilizing paramilitary groups and another called the Victims and Land Restitution Law which is for speeding up the process of reparations to victims affected by the violence and displacement.  While these appear like pleasant steps to peace, the more I learn about them the more I feel like I’m eating mud… Not only are they complicated and convoluted, but many parts of the laws don’t make sense to me and there seems to be little follow through so far.  

Despite this complicated history and complex present day situation, there is plenty of HOPE.

I have met amazing people working for CEPALC, MENCOLDES, JustaPaz, SembrandoPaz, Minga, and MCC Colombia who continue to have faith and confidence in a future of peace in Colombia.  It has been an honor to spend these weeks in Bogota listening and learning from them.  I am excited to learn more and be a part of changes in this beautiful country over the next two years.

And in case this entry was too heavy for you, I'll post the awesome song I quoted at the beginning again here.  If you skipped over it at the beginning, listen now!  And dance!

And pictures just for kicks and giggles.  I am surrounded by wonderful people here!