In Colombia, Open Scars and Ways to Help

La Paloma de San Antonio, Medellin, Colombia. The Dove of San Antonio, Colombia

Bogotá, Colombia—

It was an exciting day in Medellin, Colombia. There was a concert in a park in central downtown area, drawing residents of all ages through the famous La Playa street toward the park. Theresa Martinez Cordoba walked hand-in-hand with her mother through the crowd, in search of a good place to listen to the music.

Once situated, Theresa struck out on her own to take a look at the nearby art installation by Medellin’s own Fernando Botero. At age 9, the black metal dove towered over her. She had just begun studying Portuguese, and as she looked up at the bulbous black bird, she remembered the word for dove was pomba. She chuckled, because the word was close to the Spanish word for ‘bomb’, or bomba—because it indeed looked like that bird was blowing up, comically filling with air until it was ready to pop. She turned around to search for her mother; she would think this coincidence was so funny! She scanned the crowd for a moment, and then a piece of jagged steel ripped through her cerebral cortex and everything went dark. A terrible blast tore through the crowd, scattering people and body parts like chaff.

The exact details of June 11, 1995 are not completely clear. A bomb that was placed beneath the feet of Botero’s dove exploded during a musical concert, killing between 23-29 people, and injuring just over 200 others. The guerilla/political group FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarios de Colombia/ Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) eventually claimed credit for the bombing, which took place in an historically cartel/paramilitary stronghold of Medellin. Botero later donated another dove statue, provided that it would be placed next to the remains of his original bomb-blasted piece.

Two Doves. San Antonio Park, after the bombing. Medellin, Colombia

Today, the statues sit in San Antonio park in Medellin. The remnants of the destroyed dove sit atop a pedestal stamped with a plaque listing the name and age of those killed. Ages range as low as four years old.  The juxtaposition is eerie, and one cannot help but think how Theresa, who would be 23 now, would view the art installations. Would a college graduate in comparative language studies still find art interesting? Or maybe a waitress and single mother? Supposition, in any case, is no substitute for reality.

Theresa is a ghost face of the conflict. She is the past. To discuss statistics about the conflicts are important, but in many ways they are less meaningful than to appreciate that real individuals have been and are being affected by conflicts.

In Medellin, I stayed at a house for boys affected by the armed conflict. These are some of today’s faces of the conflict. The majority of them were younger than 15 years old, and most of them had either moved to the house or been placed there, due to displacement by the paramilitary forces in Colombia. One boy, Lucho, had come to the shelter basically starved, to the point that he is developmentally retarded and resembles more closely a five year old instead of a nine year old.

In Colombia, there are primarily three major players in the wargames: FARC and other guerilla groups; paramilitary groups; and the Colombian military services. Drug cartels and leaders (like Pablo Escobar, who was killed jumping from rooftop to rooftop in Medellin in 1993) are major players, but they generally play for all sides. One would be hard pressed to find a drug that was produced in Colombia that has not in some way been involved with any of these three groups. Drugs are money, and everyone wants a cut.

Here is just one possible permutation of the players’ interchange: The paramilitaries make deal with drug cartels to protect them in exchange for money to buy bigger guns; FARC steals drugs from the cartels and sells them to buy bigger guns; the military intercepts drug boats in between Colombia and Panamá, accepts a hefty bribe from the drug runners, who then buy bigger guns, so they won’t have to stop for the military next time.  This is just one of the combinations as described to me by an officer of the Colombian Coast Guard. He said any of these connections could go the other way, or both ways, or all three ways. He explained that the point is that drugs have a heavy influence on conflict.

The FARC is the largest, most significant guerilla group. Claiming to be freedom fighters by defending public interests from corporations, imperialist influence, neoliberalist policies, many Colombians stand in support of the FARC and guerilla ideologies, though not the methodology of violence. They are the oldest, most substantial guerilla group in the Americas, dating back to the early 1960’s.

The paramilitaries are private, illegal armies that are unregulated and found throughout the country. They exist in opposition to the guerillas (such as FARC), and commonly protect western corporate interests.

One should note that if drugs are one of the primary sources of funding for the conflict in Colombia, agriculture and oil are probably the main external reason for the enduring conflict. Western presence in Central and South America is probably the single biggest contributor to the conflict. Probably the biggest internal contributor is the lack of strong education in the country.

The FARC and other guerilla groups exist in opposition of neoliberal, imperial and western corporate policies. The paramilitaries were formed in opposition to the guerilla movement, and are supported or directly funded in a large part by western corporations (in the past Swiss NGOs have publically funded paramilitary operations).

The history of guerilla warfare extends slightly beyond the USA’s first major incursion into Central and South American political instabilization (Guatemala in the 1950s), but in the last 3 decades, the United Fruit Company (now Chiquita), Nestlé, and Exxon (among others) have exerted heavy influence on Latin America. Frequently accused of human rights violations, including direct support of the paramilitaries to protect their interests. United Fruit/Chiquita has settled out of court on numerous occasions, acknowledging direct involvement and funding in paramilitary activity. The Paramilitaries use the funding and threaten, displace, and often murder Colombians so that their foreign and domestic funders can encroach, and grow more hectares of palms for palm oil, coffee beans, bananas, and other fruits, or have better access to oil.

Tourist material and travel magazines give the a perception of things improving, relative to exceptionally violent 70’s and 80’s, but to the people of Colombia, the conflict is still simmering. There might be less violence in the city centers, but the displacement and violence in the countryside is still a constant part of life.

As an outsider, it is often very difficult to look for ways to help without making things worse. For Colombia (and Latin America in general) both internal and external change needs to take place.

For Colombians, the internal change lies in the pages of books. Education reform will need to take place. The infrastructure for social development in the country has been available for decades, but the priorities of the government in terms of distributing services is lacking. The post-high school education system emphasizes vocational degrees: one-year programs to become a computer technician, plumber, roofer, etc. The problem is that the education is extremely limited and focuses only on the skills needed for a particular job. It produces a mass of low-skilled labor for an already oversaturated market. Furthermore, the graduates have no interdisciplinary study of history, politics, or social studies. They tend to be less concerned with the state of the country, and more concerned with making money—which is difficult in an oversaturated market. It thus becomes very attractive for them to enlist themselves in the drug trade or the paramilitary along with unemployed and displaced people.

As the people become more socially aware, politically conscious, they will become better reasoned, more rational, and open to reconciliation. After decades of violence and unrest, reconciliation for emotional and physical injustice cannot be understated.

Externally, those not in Colombia can help by voting and eating and drinking right—and avoiding any cocaine or heroine drug use.

According to the CIA Factbook, The USA consumes the greatest amount of cocaine and Colombian heroin worldwide, most of which comes from Colombia, via Central America and Mexico. Purchasing and using these drugs provides money to fuel and further the conflict.

If you believe that the drug policies are inappropriate, that leads to the second way to help externally: voting. Use your voice to change the politics of the situation to make the drugs fair trade, or regulated, or in some way less sanguinary. But until the situation is changed, cocaine and heroin use are recreational drugs that negatively impact Colombia.

As far as diet is concerned, take the time to investigate food purchases. Know where your bananas, coffee, fruits, chocolates and yogurts come from. Chiquita and Dole and Nestlé are notorious human rights offenders, and if possible, steering clear of them or raising a voice against them could benefit the social situation in Latin America.

It is also a great use of time read up on Central and South American politics, particularly in the ways that you are involved (USA and Western companies you purchase from or support; the oil you use in your car). A great place to start for this is Bitter Fruit: The Story of the American Coup in Guatemala (Amazon)

For Theresa and thousands others in Colombia and Latin America, there is not much that can be done. But we can do our best to prevent future violence and ameliorate social problems by making conscious decisions about everyday life items.

If you are interested in ways to support specific agencies or portfolios in Latin America (Women’s Empowerment; Displaced people; Labor Rights; Education; etc.), please contact me using the “Contact” tab above.