Displaced but Surviving in Colombia
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Additional details from Sean on the Colombian communities he discussed in yesterday's post:
We had a long 3 hour drive from Sincelejo to the tiny community of Tierra Alta, a place that has been ravaged by war. We visited three communities of displaced people, and it was striking to see just how much luck plays into people's survival.
The first community we visited had received no government support – they were squatting on land and had to construct their homes themselves. Most were made of scavenged wood, plastic tarp, and any other materials that could be used to provide shelter. They had a little land to grow food, but they were right next to a river that floods three or four times a year and destroys all their crops. They had no sanitation, and pretty much no anything – they had been living like this for four years. Despite their very hard circumstances, they were joking with us and we had a good conversation...
The next two communities were just as interesting. One had received international support, and were able to build a school and a church, and had gotten some government support in housing. Despite this, they were mainly farmers who had no access to land to farm, and almost no one had received any job training to allow them to do anything but farm. But they were well organized and were trying to push hard for change.
The third community was similarly organized, although they had received some support for a model housing project, so they also had some tolerable living conditions. The problem here was that the government promised them water and it hadn't come for three years. Despite this, the government claims they have photos and video of the water project being completed in the community – we didn't see a drop of piping or water anywhere.
...Yesterday, we had meetings with a series of government officials – interesting to hear them say they were taking care of things that we had seen with our own eyes as being non-existent.
Next we're hopping onto a plane and heading to Quibdo for a week. The province gets more rain than almost anywhere else in the world – about 35 feet per year – and it's supposed to be hot as hell. But this is where I might get to take a canoe up to the indigenous village, so I'm excited for what the next few days hold!
We had a long 3 hour drive from Sincelejo to the tiny community of Tierra Alta, a place that has been ravaged by war. We visited three communities of displaced people, and it was striking to see just how much luck plays into people's survival.
The first community we visited had received no government support – they were squatting on land and had to construct their homes themselves. Most were made of scavenged wood, plastic tarp, and any other materials that could be used to provide shelter. They had a little land to grow food, but they were right next to a river that floods three or four times a year and destroys all their crops. They had no sanitation, and pretty much no anything – they had been living like this for four years. Despite their very hard circumstances, they were joking with us and we had a good conversation...
The next two communities were just as interesting. One had received international support, and were able to build a school and a church, and had gotten some government support in housing. Despite this, they were mainly farmers who had no access to land to farm, and almost no one had received any job training to allow them to do anything but farm. But they were well organized and were trying to push hard for change.
The third community was similarly organized, although they had received some support for a model housing project, so they also had some tolerable living conditions. The problem here was that the government promised them water and it hadn't come for three years. Despite this, the government claims they have photos and video of the water project being completed in the community – we didn't see a drop of piping or water anywhere.
...Yesterday, we had meetings with a series of government officials – interesting to hear them say they were taking care of things that we had seen with our own eyes as being non-existent.
Next we're hopping onto a plane and heading to Quibdo for a week. The province gets more rain than almost anywhere else in the world – about 35 feet per year – and it's supposed to be hot as hell. But this is where I might get to take a canoe up to the indigenous village, so I'm excited for what the next few days hold!
Labels: Colombia
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