03/09/2005

Displacement caused by acts of violence and intimidation against rural groups in Colombia, in particular Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities, has forced thousands of people to move to urban areas in search of safe sanctuary. According to a recent survey in 2004, the capital city of Bogotá and two important urban centers of the country, Medellín and Florencia, received more then 60,000 newly displaced people in one year.

While annually hundreds of thousands of Colombians are displaced, a new pattern has emerged in the past two years. Armed actors, seeking to hide the impact of the violence, are no longer causing massive group displacements in one violent incident as in the past, when entire communities fled massacres at the hands of the right-wing paramilitaries, the AUC, or the leftist guerrilla groups of FARC and ELN. Instead there is a persistent and steady influx of individuals, who have been selectively targeted through intimidation, death threats and killings by the same groups and creating what the Colombians call deplazamiento gota a gota [drop by drop displacement].

The displaced who arrive now in small units of several families, often go unrecognized and do not receive the attention that was provided in the past to those fleeing mass displacement. They are frequently unable to mobilize both national and international authorities and organizations to support them.

Soacha neighborhood, located in the southern outskirts of Bogotá, has mushroomed in the last decade, reaching a population of 350,000, and houses have filled any possible surface of the hilly space. In this crowded and anonymous setting, some individuals whose lives have been threatened in their villages found safety and a social network of people which can help them upon arrival.

“I arrived in Soacha in October of last year from the Chocó department. I was accused to be a deserter from the FARC by the paramilitaries. I had a good business there, I had my own boat and through selling wood in the city I could buy merchandise to supply villages living up the river,â€￾ said Julio, a young man interviewed by Refugees International. “I had been harassed also by the FARC in the past because they suspected I was collaborating with the paramilitaries.â€￾

He continued, “This time, I believe that one of my workers, who recently joined the paramilitaries, denounced me. I was forced into a boat at gun point and they took me away. They forced me in a house. I was handcuffed and a plastic bag was placed over on my head. They wanted to know names of FARC supporters of my village, they beat me several times and then I was left all night on the floor. In the morning they came and released me saying that they had made a mistake. I then went to denounce the kidnapping and torture to the authorities, but immediately afterwards the paramilitary came to look for me and I was told that I was a dead man because I had denounced them. I hid myself in a friend’s house and the following morning I fled first to the closest city and then I arrived here.â€￾

One of the leaders of the Afro-Colombian community living in Soacha told RI that he has been helping several people who fled harassment and abuses. He said, “The displaced are generally hosted by residing families and enjoy some kind of protection. In general during last year the security situation in Soacha has improved, but there are still incursions by police who are trying to capture suspected guerrilla supporters. There is a network of informants in the neighborhood and new arrivals need to keep a low profile.â€￾

In addition to the precarious security, those arriving find it difficult to survive in this new urban context. “Their skills are not useful here, there is no land to cultivate or wood to be cut. There is only short term piecework but only few can be hired. What we really need here are courses in vocational and professional training. People who live here are not likely to go back soon, if they will ever decide to return. We do not foresee our areas of origin becoming safe soon. So these people need to learn new jobs and earn money in order to survive.â€￾

Andrea Lari and Mamie Mutchler assessed the internal displacement situation in Colombia in January and February.