An emancipated society, on the other hand, would not be a unitary state, but the realization of universality in the reconciliation of differences. -Theodor Adorno
There are between
2.6 and 4.3 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Colombia, rendering the country’s record the second worst in the world behind Sudan. Trends of displacement suggest that individuals who flee from areas of combat gravitate towards major urban centers and, true to these patterns, there are neighborhoods in Bogota that predominantly house ex-combatants or victims of the war. It is entirely possible to live in Bogota and never have seen this face of the city; these are the very neighborhoods the travel books instruct tourists to avoid and these are the very streets that remind one that even in a capital of ostensible peace and stability, war can permeate all aspects of life.
Ciudad Bolivar is in the south part of Bogota and is home to 10% of the city’s population, organized in over 1,400 unofficial settlements. Living conditions in some barrios are abysmal, with one police station per 100,000 inhabitants and assaults being the leading cause of death for individuals between the ages of 15 and 44 (compare that for a second to heart disease). While the appearance of the parts that receive government and NGO assistance does not differ markedly from similarly poor neighborhoods worldwide, there are days when a walk through other areas is nothing short of shocking. Women cook over burning trash, a dead body lies in the street, drug exchanges take place in broad daylight. High crime rates and a lack of basic goods may constitute part of the reality of Ciudad Bolivar, but community leaders have taken it upon themselves to patrol the streets, organize activity programs for youth, and care for the ill and elderly, thus setting an example of community-based development.
It is in this environment that Centers for Reconciliation have cropped up to serve former combatants and victims of conflict. One of the challenges for anyone who has been involved in this conflict is that there is not a clear sense that war existed and ended, followed by a justice process.
Many would argue Colombia is a country in conflict, rather than a collection of post-conflict communities and there is validity to this argument, especially given the
difficulty of defining the thresholds of what constitutes a ‘society in conflict’ with limited credible data on the severity and extent of the crimes. However, there are large numbers of individuals who either took part in or suffered as a result of the conflict who have consciously chosen peace and are living in harsh conditions among other displaced persons who have fled to Bogota in search of a better future.
It is those people, and specifically the female victims and former combatants, who form the beneficiaries of my project. Over the course of one year, 250 ex-combatants, 150 displaced victims of violence, 200 offspring of these groups and 150 community leaders will participate in the activities of the Centre for Reconciliation. My specific task is to design the activities, train staff and volunteers in carrying them out and oversee their rolling out in the three months I am here – a tall order that challenges me, overwhelms me, scares me and thrills me all at once. Before I leave, I also hope to set up a monitoring and evaluation system according to which we can gather data and truly assess the efficacy of different methods of outreach. At the halfway point of this fellowship placement, I have met representatives of all these groups and sought the advice and guidance of individuals in Colombian politics, media, development work and transitional justice in putting together activities that meet the following aims:
• Facilitate the reconciliation of memories of the conflict in order to ensure the participants’ lasting commitment to peace;
• Empower participants with the skills necessary to reintegrate peacefully into new communities;
• Create a support network for ex-combatants and victims of the conflict.
A list of proposed activities can be found below. Every unit involves multiple aspects of dispute resolution theory, mediation, post-conflict psychology, and transitional justice. Suggestions of strategies to employ or other materials to integrate are most welcome.
Communication, Difficult Conversations and Principles of Conflict Resolution
Women Imagine Themselves in the Future: Life Wish Lists
Women in the Media, Politics and Public Sphere
Mentorship and Role Models
Human Rights, Women's Rights: Laws and Conventions
Women Narrate their Own Histories: Female Heroines in Literature and Art
Countering Violence against Women/Domestic Violence
Women Narrate their Own Histories: Representations of Women in Photos and Film
Women in the Workplace: Challenges and Opportunities
Friendships, peer pressure, understanding and practicing empathy
Listening group: Telling stories of the war
Gender challenges worldwide: Parallels and differences
[Continuing Community Project: Memory Reconciliation through Art]
One of the most exciting milestones so far has been the visit of a panel of international experts, U.N. affiliates and local government officials, all of whom were inquisitive about the ways in which ex-combatants have transitioned to peace and the strategies we employ to foster reintegration.
El Tiempo, one of the biggest Colombian publications, covered the visit and some of the participants' stories in an article that can be found here:
http://www.eltiempo.com/colombia/bogota/ex-integrante-de-las-auc-habla-de-paz-y-reconciliacion_7151508-1 (bad but perhaps adequate Google Translation in English is
here).
In closing, an excerpt from an email to a dear, dear friend that sought to encapsulate how I feel surrounded by dire need alongside abundant inspiration every day:
Among these ex-combatants and victims of conflict, I feel humbled and dwarfed. I do not know what it is like to fire a gun... and to decide to lay this gun down consciously in favor of peace. Even though I do know what it is like to painfully lose someone you love, I have never had my life ripped apart by war. This is an exercise in empathy in its purest form and I learn more from these ex-combatants and victims of conflict than I ever learned in a classroom.
May the lessons continue for all of us.
