CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE IN COLOMBIA
“Do not think of knocking out another person's brains because he differs in opinion from you. It would be as rational to knock yourself on the head because you differ from yourself ten years ago.”
― Horace Mann
Let’s define what conflict and violence are shall we?
Conflict: a fight, battle, or struggle, especially a prolonged struggle; strife.
Violence: an unjust or unwarranted exertion of force or power, as against rights or laws.
I would make a really short summary of what our country has been fighting all of these years.
Since 1964 Colombia has suffered the longest running active civil war in the whole world. It officially began with the creation of two guerrilla movements: FARC (fuerzas armadas revolucionarias de Colombia) and ELN ( ejército de liberación nacional). But violence started way before all this; in the 19th century the murder of the anti-establishment Liberal Party presidential candidate, Jorge Gaitan in 1948 started a decade of violence known as LA VIOLENCIA. During this period 200,000 people were murdered but most of them were peasant farmers; since then violence and conflict has always been present in our history.
Other “actors” in this conflict are Paramilitaries and the Colombian State.
The Colombian Conflict is a shocking and really sad result of a direct rooted social and political conflict. We have to take into account that lots of Colombians live in extreme or just poverty, particularly in rural areas; 65% of the population lives in this rural regions being the most vulnerable and affected by this conflict either children being recruited by the guerrilla movements or ended up being victims of the atrocious violence between this movements.
Throughout Colombia’s history the opportunities for this social inequality to be addressed through the political system has been obstructed by systematic political violence. Opposition parties, progressive political movements, and community activists have been targeted in order to protect the political and economic status.
Fortunately, after numerous failed attempts, in 2012 a successful peace process was initiated between the Colombian government and the FARC with a final agreement signed in November 2016. Talks between the Colombian government and a second guerrilla organisation, the ELN, are ongoing in 2018.
This is a very hard situation that affects all Colombians, mostly vulnerable people such as women and children. Although the government is talking with ELN and also has a peace agreement with the FARC there are still members from these movements creating fear and chaos all over the country. Hopefully one day all of this will stop.
“ Social justice cannot be attained by violence. Violence kills what it intends to create.”
Pope John Paul II
By Nashla Puerta, Step 9
