Situated on a hill at the foot of the Perija mountains, about thirty minutes from Valledupar, the capital of Cesar’s department, is the village of Tierra Grata, one of 24 FARC training and reunification spaces in Colombia.
Lampas Valleduparwe can see the snow -capped peaks of Sierra de Santa Marta. In these two mountains the FARC Front 19 has fought for decades against the Colombian army and the paramilitaries that still dominate, he said, on the plains.
In September 2017, 162 FARC Front 19 guerrillas laid down their weapons on Tierra Grata. For all belongings, a uniform, a rifle and a backpack. It is now a village of 350 people in 120 households.
Their homes are still temporary after five years: a room six to four meters per household. We are just starting to build permanent houses. The first is the Ecotour project headquarters: an exact replica of the FARC camp where tourists can spend 24 hours of a guerrilla’s life (without fighting), walk hiking trails and observe the rare bird. the sights.
Someday, every household will have its own home thanks to the international help that has helped Tierra Grata to produce its own building materials. The government did not build a residence.
The peace agreement states that these spaces will be selfish, even profitable, but we are far from the mark, as the Duque government has tried to disregard the promises.
Due to disrespect for the peace agreement, this community did not achieve autonomy in terms of social, economic and even less political reincorporation.regrets Freddy Escobar, head of the Cooperative Paz del Cesar. Our projects are too small and barely enough to develop a safety strategy. Our community is brought together only through the courage and discipline of its members.
The Casa Alternativa of Bogotáa fragile victory
While most reintegration spaces are struggling, struggling with a lack of financial assistance from the government and internal conflict, there have been small successes.
After 15 years in the guerrilla (specialty: communication), Manuel Bolivarhis partner Yoana and two other ex-combatants started microbrewing (Alternative Beermade by the brewery La Rojaalso founded by former guerrillas).
The-deserved-success of beer led them to open a restaurant, the Alternative Housein the trendy district of Teusaquillo.
Too much victory, it seems, for those with resentment against the FARC, even if it has been demobilized: in January, Manuel Bolívar found a cellphone-powered pipe bomb that, if exploded, would ruin the scene and claim dozens of lives. However, the bomb was defused and friends of the house came in as many on the same night (they were 400) as a means of support and to taste a new cocktail from House : The bomb.
We have overcame the fear of living under the threat of terrorist attacks. In Colombia, talking about peace is a cliché, seen only from the angle of security and balance of power, and not from the possibilities of living peacefully, happily, having a job, health, education, recreation and social justice.regrets Manuel Bolivar, co-owner of Alternative House. But without that, peace is not possible. I promise to affirm: no more war.
When hatred destroys peace
The COMUNES party (the Commons, formerly FARC Revolutionary Alternative Force of the Community) is the political branch of the demobilized guerrillas. Under the peace agreement, he automatically has five senators and unelected representatives.
The deputy Luis Alberto Alban Urbano is called Marcos Calarca to the guerrillas where he became ambassador and negotiator in Havana. He is starting his second term.
We currently count 332 comrades killed in the reunification processhe told us at the end of May. They are men and women who are victims of paramilitary groups or drug traffickers, Colombians, Mexicans, without any state protection.
Instead of reconciling, we hate morethe deputy regrets. This government did everything to obstruct the agreement or avoid respecting it. We lost four years.
Will the next few years make up for lost time? This will be an indicator of the result of the second round of the presidential election on June 19. The senator Gustavo Petrowho won more than 40% of the votes in the first round against 28% for Rodolfo Hernandez Suarez who he will face on Sunday, is the ex-FARC presidential candidate and the regions most affected by the armed conflict.
A former guerrilla himself with the M-19 in the 1980s, he has always supported the peace agreement.
Source: Radio-Canada
