Colombia 2007: Abandoned Church

Photo Credit: Refugees International
11/23/2007


The area around the city of Tumaco, on Colombia’s Pacific Coast, has been battered by years of intense fighting between illegal armed groups and the national army over control of the region’s coca fields and transport routes to the ocean. People displaced from the fighting in villages throughout the region move to Tumaco, seeking safety and a new life. However, the municipal government refuses to acknowledge the existence of the displaced, calling them lazy people looking for handouts. As a result, the government provides little to no assistance to internally displaced people arriving in Tumaco. Above, the IDP community of Bajito Tumac uses an abandoned church to house new arrivals. In the summer of 2007, it housed 80 people for over a month.

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