TravelStream™ news feed for member sheenasumaria on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/sheenasumaria en-us Copyright ©2010 TravelPod.com Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:47:07 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sheenasumaria/latinam07-08/1215030060/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sheenasumaria/latinam07-08/1215030060/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sheenasumaria/latinam07-08/1215030060/tpod.html Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:47:07 -0400 Into the depths of Central and Southern America -my travels and work in the region currently experiencing a wave of popular movements

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Medellin, Colombia

It's been a while since I last wrote...I am now back in Medellin after two weeks of travelling, and have been busy working on the documentary I am making on life in the barrios of city. My first two months living in Medellin raced by far too quickly - having met so many interesting people and groups, I got my hands into several projects involving youth and students. Most weekends I would help out Tatiana with her indigenous kids' cultural centre...A group of 12 children from displaced indigenous families located around the edges of Medellin would be picked up and brought together to do art, learn about their culture and get to know each other. From being strangers initially, the children now have new friends and contacts around the city's fringes. They are also finding out about their indigenous culture, which they are currently very far removed from. I was surprised that at their first encounter, many didn't even know the names of their indigenous tribes or villages....which may have been from general timidness too. One of the boys "forgets" his name each time and hardly talks.

As for the cultural house, Tatiana and Miguel (her artist colleague and friend) have been decorating. They got well known urban graffiti artists to paint a mural on their front wall - it really looks incredible - a huge pheonix which morphs into a saxophone...a black woman with a pot of beans....random texts. The house's interior also looks great - red walls, wooden furnishings and a lot of indigenous art work. When ever I go over to Tatiana's, we end up having some kind of a dance lesson - she can salsa and tango really well, and the house is perfect for blasting out music.

I also got to know a few activist student groups such as Kavilando and la Red Juvenil (which is also a type of alternative university).,,and joined a group of around 20 societies who had come together to organise an alternative event to the OAS (Organisation of American States) meeting. These students wanted to link together various youths from around Colombia and Latin America to provide their perspectives on youth and democracy in the region, and to provide an alternative inclusive declaration from the civil society on subjects to be discussed at the OAS. During the time of the official OAS meeting the Colombian policemen and army were actually prohibiting street workers from working at their stalls so as to "clean" up the city for the international delegates. Even those workers with official licenses to work were banned from working for 3 days - that is 3 days of essential income to feed themselves! During the alternative event, some of the students were livid that policemen had been entering universities to keep an eye on student activities. In fact, right now in Colombia, the state are increasing military presence in universities because of academic and student criticism of the government.
I also became friendly with student group Kavilando, who are really keen to partner with the U8 - their activities and objectives are really similar. They invited me to an interview with Caraballo, a leader of a former maoist guerrilla group, EPL. We went to the Casa de Paz, an initiative started up by guerilla group ELN to provide a non violent forum for them to talk to the government and civil society...and briefly met Fransisco Galan, the head of the ELN. Both men seemed far from what I had expected guerillas to be - although they had given up arms now. Caraballo was really polite and quite timid. He definitely had a strong ideological stance on Colombian issues, but couldn't talk much about the situation of the guerilla or the EPL for his own personal safety reasons. He echoed most of the criticisms I had heard from students and academics on the government links with paramilitaries and the oppression faced by any kind of dissident in the country. Here is the link to the interview http://kavilando.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=158&Itemid=1


Aside from that, I have been giving private English classes to 2 students 8 hrs weekly, which is surprisingly tiring....and enjoying the varied Medellin nightlife with local and foreign friends- have a few favorite salsa spots now as well as some cool bars around el Parque de los Periodistas.

The last couple of weeks in Medellín have been busy but great - making me even more reluctant to leave. I pushed back my flight to Costa Rica by 2 wks so now I have until 30 July in Colombia. The documentary I am making with Sean (my flatmate) is about two characters living in the barrio (slum like area) of Andalucia, a short metrocable ride from the centre. One is a displaced woman, Lidia, who has 3 children and has fled violence twice - once alter her brother was killed by the paramilitaries, and more recently her husband was murdered by the FARC. The other, Jonathan used to be in a gang and paramilitary, until 2 years ago he started a new, cleaner life after he became religious. They are both impressive people, with stories that give an insight into some of the problems the poor and the powerless suffer in Colombia. So far, it has been a good learning experience - and I got some good tips of a professional photographer and documentary maker with whom I have become friends with here. I have also become really fond of the barrio, where we always visit the same family - Javier, his nephews and his parents - actually we stayed over at their house a couple of nights ago when we had to film the sunrise at 5am.

As for my plans before I get back to England (which currently is on 4th August 2008) - I will probably spend the next few wks in Medellin, finishing off filming the documentary and spending time with my friends. A friend from London, Bhairav, is also getting here next week and will be working with Tatiana for a while! I am also thinking of visiting the Pacific coast as a short side trip or doing some accompaniement in Choco with a human rights organisation....On the 30th July I fly to Costa Rica...so I have a couple of days to chill on the beach there perhaps...although I am considering extending my flight for another week or two so that I can visit Nicaragua briefly.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sheenasumaria/latinam07-08/1215029820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sheenasumaria/latinam07-08/1215029820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sheenasumaria/latinam07-08/1215029820/tpod.html Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:21:36 -0400 Into the depths of Central and Southern America -my travels and work in the region currently experiencing a wave of popular movements

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Bucaramanga, Colombia

I found the heat pretty intense on the coast, so after another night back in Taganga, I headed south to Bucarramanga and then on to San Gill in Santander. The road from Bucarramanga was spectacular - especially over the canyon. I ended up staying 4 days in San Gill, partly because I was waiting for the river conditions to settle down so that I could white-water raft. My first afternoon, I met another Canadian traveller, who I ended up going hydro-surfing with down the nearby river. We basically had to go down the river rapids on body boards, head first. The rapids were only class 2 or 3, but you can really feel them on the boards! The next morning I was really keen to raft down the Suarez (notorius for class 5 plus rapids - the max you can raft down without killing yourself), but the water level was too high. Instead we ended up getting a bus out to a small farm (near Chaleras) with a trail leading to some spectacular waterfalls. This was such a hidden gem - after climbing over a few rocks we got to the first fall and a wooden ladder so that we could climb up to the next level. The whole thing was a series of about 6 or 7 cascades or more - you could walk through the pools and stand so close to each edge that you could see the water falling down.
Rafting the next day was incredible! I was a bit nervous as I had never done it before...and especially because of all the hype I had surrounding the size of the rapids. I managed to stay on the raft...although one guy from our one fell in and the other raft capsized, trapping everyone under. They all managed to get out and 3 ended up being pulledd on to our raft - 2 of the really heavy guys ended up closest to my spot, so I had to do some rescuing...actually quite fun. The river run took about 1 and a half hours with a break in between...and there were about 15 rapids in total. A couple of them were 5 or 5 plus, and even the guides were shitting themselves (in spanish) - saying that the water level has risen since the morning...and that the rapids will be too big for us. Rowing was actually really fun - everyone on our raft was quite into it...Sometimes I would be rowing and my ore would just hit thin air because we were flying! At the end I was actually wishing I had fallen into the water - just to see what it would be like under the rapids. Next time, maybe...

Aside from the rafting my highlight of San Gill was the visit to Baricharra - a traditional and sleepy village about 40 mins way. I went with a group of travellers from a nearby hostel. The town survives off tourism and tobacco....and has a very lost-in-time kind of feel to it. Some streets were completely deserted, and others just dropped off the edge of the mountains so all you could see was the blue sky ahead. We visited a small cigar factory - and the woman showed us how to roll one up...She had just started up this small scale business 4 years ago, and already her brand (Gordelia) is one of Colombia's best. The other travellers weren't so keen to make an afternoon walk to Guane, an even smaller village nearby, so they headed back. I decided to walk an old stone trail (El Camino Real) to Guane alone...The walk was long, but mostly down hill...and at several points I just hoped I was on the right path. The views were spectacular - you just had mountains and valleys ahead - and the only noises were that of birds and the wind. The worst point was when I came into a small herd of cows and what I thought could have been a bull - they were right in the middle of my path, and I was too scared to walk past in case I got charged at by the bull. There was nobody else around to ask for help, so I seriously considered all my options, including climbing up the small stone wall and walking along the top of it to get past..or whether I would quickly be able to jump across if something happened. As it turns out, the "bull" ended up being just a large cow with big horns - so I picked up the courage to continue forwards. Towards the end of trail there were a few sparsely dotted farmhouses...and I met a really friendly old woman on the street. She was small and frail but carrying a large sack of fruit attached to her head with a rope. It was as if she was really relieved to see me (or any living being) at that moment for the company - she was really chatty and overly familiar - as if she hadn't seen a young person for a long time. I got the impression that Guane was pretty deserted and stuck in time as she said she was visiting her cousins who lived in these farmhouses all alone as their children had moved away. 2 and a half hrs after I set out, I finally got to Guane - and the first thing that struck me was the lack of people. The roads were old, narrow and hidden...but completely empty. The only people I could see hanging about were old people. Especially old men with their traditional hats. I wandered over to the main plaza - which was quite big - but again, bare. The huge church and park benches looked unvisited...and there was just an old guy sweeping the dusty ground in the square.

Before heading back to Medellin, I spent a night in Bogota, where I met up with Catalina. I joined her at her friend's birthday party in La Zona Rosa...but was refused entrance because of my flip flops!! Apparently that is a sign of poverty in Colombia. I had to go to Cata's house to change into her shoes, and when I came back the bouncer said the manager still wouldn't let me in. I was so annoyed that I went up to him directly and asked him what the problem was here...and he couldn't say anything so he just allowed me in. That is really the kind of attitude I hate in cities.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sheenasumaria/latinam07-08/1212524040/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sheenasumaria/latinam07-08/1212524040/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sheenasumaria/latinam07-08/1212524040/tpod.html Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:17:20 -0400 Into the depths of Central and Southern America -my travels and work in the region currently experiencing a wave of popular movements

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Cartagena, Colombia

A month ago, I got a really strong urge to head to the coast, partly because it had been raining non-stop for over a week in Medellin. My first stop was Cartagena, where I met up with some local students (who are friends of a friend in Medellin). I had only heard great things about Cartagena from other tourists, but I wasn't really that impressed by the place. The old city has stunning architecture, all really renovated, but I didn't feel much atmosphere. Walking through the streets there felt like being in a large museum - a little like Havana but with out the Cubans. The contrast with the rest of Cartagena is huge - compared to Medellin, some of the barrios I saw were really really poor - especially going towards the bus station, where displaced people from around Choco and Bolivar are constantly arriving. They are far more dangerous too - even the locals don't step inside unless they know people there - a lot of common deliquancy and local gangs. Apparently there are more than 70 gangs around Cartagena. One of the friends I was with took me and a Canadian traveller friend to La Popa, a barrio set on a hill overlooking the old city. From up there you can get a pretty good idea as to how poor Cartagena is. A lot of the houses on the hill were nothing more than a few flimsy wooden shacks.

The hot and humid weather in Cartagena is certainly not meant for walking around a city, so eager to hit the beaches, we took a bus to Santa Marta, where we stayed in the small fishing village of Taganga. This village is understandably full of backpackers - the arid landscape, mountains and sea give it a really chilled out feel. We ended up getting a great deal at the hostel as they decided to convert one of the executive suites into a dorm for the night - we had our own balcony, hammock and kitchen. The beach wasn't actually at all attractive in Taganga, but after a quick swim I made friends with Alex, a Colombian artesan/traveller, with whom I ended up traveling to Tayrona with. He had been travelling for the last 15 years around Colombia after his mother died, literally working his way up from street selling...and even got to visit Europe for several months. The next day we got a boat into El Parque Tayrona - which almost overturned many times. The sea was crazily violent and the speed boat was so small that full waves kept on drenching us all...and the boat would ocassionally fly and tilt almost vertically. The Israeli travellers on our boat were pretty petrified.

The journey in was good though, as we were able to see the park from the outside. Within about 20 minutes the arid landscape had transformed itself into lush green mountains with golden beaches dotted around in the bays. We also passed a couple of remote indigenous coastal villages.

Arriving in Cabo San Juan was impressive. Perfect blue sky, sparking water, forest-covered mountains and artificial looking round rocks dividing the beaches. We walked towards the main site, but were greeted by really unfriendly security guards asking for money. They didn't have any ID on them to show us that they were park officials, so I refused to pay them the entry fee, saying that I wanted to make sure it was official. They got pretty aggressive and persistent....saying that this bit of land was private property so they charge their own fee. Tayrona is partly owned by the state and partly by private individuals. The "security" and staff at Cabo were really rude and authoritarian, that I immediately thought that they must be paramilitaries. In fact, later on as I hiked to the park entrance, a lady selling arepas on the beach who had been living in the park for several years said that there are some paramilitary groups controlling different parts of the park and charging them taxes too.

Tayrona was really beautiful, but there were more travellers than I expected - especially in Cabo. At night, Alex wanted to catch a football game on TV, which was being shown on another beach about an hr's walk away. We walked through the forest paths with our flash lights...and after about 10 mins, my battery went. I couldn't have been happier that I wasn't alone, and that Alex's torch was dynamo operated - especially because some of the paths had steep falls to their sides. After an hour, we were a bit lost so we decided to head back instead. One good thing about the journey was that Alex had managed to tell me his entire life story...which is fascinating.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sheenasumaria/latinam07-08/1208395080/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sheenasumaria/latinam07-08/1208395080/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sheenasumaria/latinam07-08/1208395080/tpod.html Wed, 16 Apr 2008 22:01:12 -0400 Into the depths of Central and Southern America -my travels and work in the region currently experiencing a wave of popular movements

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Medellin, Colombia

I have decided to push back my flight for a few months and stay in Medellin after being really impressed by some of the social projects going on here. I will be helping out Tatiana with her initiative to empower indigenous children in Medellin who live in displaced communities...Additionally, I met up with a video production/documentary making cooperative (Platohedro) who run a media/audovisual house, also involved in socially progressive activities. They partner with a range of organisations and offer free training and courses to youths from all sides of society..offer art classes for the poorer kids from near by barrios...help out socially and politically active students with media related matters etc. As I am interested in learning how to make documentaries, they said I can collaborate with them in making a one (and train as I go along) and in the spirit of "trueque" (barter or exchage) offer ideas/links or skills that may be useful for them. The cooperative is an incredible place - a large-ish house with a painted mural outside and covered with creative art and images inside. They have a non-hierarchical culture and their philosophy is that everyone learns together and from each other in an environment where relationships between themselves and other partner organisations are lateral.

Aside from that, I have been reading a lot, mainly to get up to speed on Colombia. Have been sampling the local nightlife in Envigado (the suburb I am living in) and in Poblado (Medellin`s zona rosa)....practising my salsa.......and meeting up with newly made friends. Over the weekend, Tatiana invited me to visit her mother´s house in Santa Elena (a small village up in the mountains of Medellin). We had lunch with her mother and her mum`s boyfriend, German, both of whom are completely crazy...(in a good way). German is an artist, so the house is stunning. Huge windows letting in the great views.....Paintings and flowers everywhere.....After lunch we had a "jamming" and dancing session....playing the various precussion instruments German owned (including paint brushes to play the drums).

It feels good to settle down again.....aside from actually having a kitchen after so long, the apartment is nice (although quite bare). Sean (my flatmate) is also teaching me guitar, which is pretty cool!

There is a lot of activity going in Medellin. I am lucky to have met a really interesting and creative bunch of people (all connected through their interests and alternative political views), who are involved in some innovative and good quality work.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sheenasumaria/latinam07-08/1207959360/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sheenasumaria/latinam07-08/1207959360/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sheenasumaria/latinam07-08/1207959360/tpod.html Wed, 16 Apr 2008 21:18:06 -0400 Into the depths of Central and Southern America -my travels and work in the region currently experiencing a wave of popular movements

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Medellin, Colombia

I have been held back in Medellin out of curiosity. This is my 8th day in the capital of Antioquia, and the city itself if not much of an architectural gem, not does it have many spectacular sights. What I have managed to see is the hidden side of the city...in fact a side that exists in most Colombian cities, that no one apart from the millions of displaced peoples and the warring armed groups step inside. Medellin is hailed as a success story of the Uribe government. A"clean and safe city", formerly the city of Pablo Escobar. What nobody hears about is that in some communes, many only a 20 minute bus ride away from the city centre, swarms of families, single mothers and orphans who have escaped violence in their towns and villages are still living in fear and violence in areas ruled by the paramilitaries who are propped up by the government. Hearing the victims' version of Colombia's truths, current state policies and about their many injustices couldn't be more opposed to the rhetoric that the majority of Colombians and foreigners spill out about Colombia's recent history.

Shortly after I arrived to the city, where I am staying with Sean, an English traveller I met in Cali who is currently living in Medellin, I got in touch with Tatiana. She is a friend and former work colleague of the Colombian traveller/musician I met in San Augustin almost 2 months ago. They both had prestigious jobs working for the local government in their "Victims' Programme" as psychologists. They visited a few victims of the war, living in communes around Medellin, to listen to their stories and give them some counselling. They both ended up leaving their well paid jobs, after becoming very disillusioned by the incentives of the state, and discovering deeper truths about what was going on in their country...each one now pursuing their own independent line of work outside the sphere of politics and the state to help and empower these victims. Both very impressive and intelligent people, who had clearly devoted the best part of the last few years absorbing themselves in Colombia's problems.

Sean and I met up with Tatiana for the first time on Sunday. We went to her house, were we ended up staying over 6 hours chatting. She was clearly disturbed by what she new, so much so that she had been spending the last few months very alone, spending time reading, working part time in the university and working on the cultural house she wants to set up for displaced indigenous groups. She didn't speak so much with emotion, but with some kind of reasoned clarity. As if she had already moved beyond the stage of passionate outrage. She didn't talk in a reactionary way, but simply explained facts as she had seen them. Nor was she supportive of the guerillas in the country like the FARC or ELN, who she thought had lost their ideology. "It's all a business", she said - the paramilitaries and guerillas are just fighting over territory.

Talking about the general view of Colombians apparently happier with their new found security over the last few years, she kept on repeating the words "un buen trabajo....un muy buen trabajo", "a job well done....very well done" when she referred to the clever way in which Uribe, with the support of the press had been able to draw curtains over what was really going on - even down to the poorer sections of society who are supportive of military spending over progressive social policy and welfare.

She agreed that yes, for people travelling around the country, getting to their well paid jobs in city centres, it was undeniably safer. For the rich. However at what cost? The government has been spending unprecedented amounts on arms and military, and have been giving large amounts of money to paramilitaries to "disarm"...which in reality is actually no different to them continuing with business as usual and receiving the added bonus of land and money from the state. They have pushed the FARC and ELN out of some areas, but for the civilians living there, things are no different as they are now under the control of paramilitaries and often caught up in the middle of their own "efrentemientos" or "conflicts". The majority are involved in drug trafficking, and in fact many are ex drug mafias taking up arms and joining the AUC (paramilitaries) in order to get a "get out of jail free card".
Paramilitaries are probably best described as private armies that collaborate with the military to carry out tasks that should be done by the military, such as to fight guerillas. But they do their dirty work for them...the massacres, displace civilians suspected to have some kind of link with the guerilla...using torturous methods that the army cannot use officially. Between 2000-2005, the number of human rights violations they carried out rose from 65% to 80%. Paramilitaries also carry out kidnappings, extortion, assassinations, bombings and are heavily involved in drug trafficking.
The difference between the guerilla/leftist insurgents and the paramilitaries are that the paramilitaries are linked to official politics. Under Uribe paramilitaries have entered official politics like never before.

Contrary to most statistics, Tatiana said that the number of paramilitaries have surged recently, under the mask of "demobilization". Many have just kept their arms, and get on with business as usual. Others have entered government. Debate on their entrance into formal politics centred around the governments willingness to forgive paramilitaries for their past crimes...they will forgive and forget the massacres, drug trafficking and other crimes.

Also, by exclusively focussing on eradicating the FARC, Plan Colombia (sponsored by the US) has succeeded in integrating and strengthening the criminal paramilitary networks into a political instrument. Uribe has refused to negotiate with the FARC, and by labelling them as a terrorist insurgent serves for nothing but to provide the perfect excuse to legitimise state led terrorism (paramilitary dominance) to combat them.

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I was very shocked to hear about Tatiana's personal experiences when we met up the next day. She herself, has lost a brother, killed by the paramilitaries 4 years ago. He had disappeared for 4 months, and then they discovered his body in a mass grave.

Later on she talked about her own confrontation with death at the age of 18. She told me the whole story as we were sat out on Sean's balcony at night. Tatiana was walking in the valley near her mother's house in Santa Elena (close to Medellin) with her school friend, when they were stopped by a paramilitary who came out from behind a tree. He led them up a hill and was going to shoot. them. Tatiana said they both knew what was happening, but the only reason the paramilitary let them go in the end was because she was hysterical. She refused to turn her back to him while he pointed the gun at her, saying that if he was to shoot, to do it to her face. Tatiana pleaded with him about her family and her education...and by some extreme luck he let them both go back down.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sheenasumaria/latinam07-08/1207846500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sheenasumaria/latinam07-08/1207846500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sheenasumaria/latinam07-08/1207846500/tpod.html Fri, 11 Apr 2008 20:20:10 -0400 Into the depths of Central and Southern America -my travels and work in the region currently experiencing a wave of popular movements

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Medellin, Colombia

Visit to Comuna 8 - Fuerzos de Paz

Tatiana agreed to take us to some of the communes where she had been previously working. Some of the comunes, like C13, which Rene had previously suggested, she thought were now out of the question - really too unsafe for any of us to visit. We were keen to see these places and talk to some people. Yesterday afternoon she had organised for us to go to Comuna 8 and visit Dona Oliva, a displaced person who had moved with her family to the hills of Medellin 10 years ago.

We caught a very small local bus from the city centre, and within 15 minutes we were already making our way up the winding streets of Comuna 8. The roads were bumpy and the houses gradually got shabbier. There was only really space for one car on the streets - they were so narrow. After another 10 to 15 minutes we got to the last stop near the top of the hill, from which we had to walk to Fuerzas de Paz, the barrio we were to visit.
The view from the top is quite striking. Small slum like houses were bunched together all the way around the valley. Even the steeper slopes supported homes, which rested on wooden stilts. The homes were held together by wood, brick, iron roofing and plastic bags.
I noticed lots of youth on the streets - some working and some just hanging about. We wondered along the main street, where Tatiana warned us against using our cameras. She also told us to keep our voices down, and explained she was going to say she was here with the government and we were some doing some research in case we get stopped.

It was strange feeling so restricted and under surveillance as we just walked. At the top of the hill, there was some green farm land...the only bit of free space we could see. Up there were the granjas - the acres of farmland that the government had given to the paramilitaries who had agreed to disarm. The geography of it all added to the authoritarian feel. The paramilitaries had a good view of everything from there. As were about to turn down into an alley, a plumpish looking man came out of nowhere and questioned Tatiana what we were all doing here and where we were going. She explained she was with the Government's "Programa de las victimas" and that Sean and I were doing some research on the area. Soothed by the fact that she was from the Alcadia (the mayor's office), he said that everything was fine then. As we continued down some steep steps, confirmed quietly that he was a paramilitary, and must have been watching. I thought back to his grimace as he spoke to us and got a sudden chill as I wandered how many crimes he must have committed.

What I saw next shocked me even more. We were entering the barrios from the main road, and inside this maze of displaced people's homes were streets made entirely of stone steps, winding down the steep and narrow hill. It was like we were in a different country. There were several black kids on the street, struggling to get up some of the steps, looking at us with curious eyes. The homes were really poor. Very bare and unstable looking. There were tiny footbridges crossing the open sewers, and sometimes there was no real foot path and we had to climb over rocks and mud. I remember feeling thankful that it wasn't raining or dark, as it would be almost impossible to move anywhere. At this point we got our cameras back out and started snapping.

After descending some of the way down the hill we made it to Dona Oliva's house. As we walked in through the open door, two women greeted us all. They had been expecting us as Tatiana had spoken to Dona Oliva her on the phone. They were both smiley and welcoming, but there was some caution in their gaze. I guess we were two strangers walking into Dona Oliva's house, wanting to know about things that they cannot really talk about on the streets. They both looked very strong - like they had experienced a lot. I couldn't really tell their age at all - anywhere between 40-60.

We spent the next hour asking questions and listening to their stories.

They were original from a mining town called Segovia, which had long been a centre of conflict between FARC, ELN and paramilitaries. They moved to the hills of Medellin to escape the violence after both had suffered some of their children being killed by paramilitaries.

When they first moved to Medellin, they had no support from anyone, and had to start from scratch, building their fragile houses on the steep hills. They said that they often used to be demolished by police and military...and also the weather, but they kept on rebuilding.

Now there are several thousands of houses in their barrios, and displaced people still trickle in from other areas of Colombia to this day.

Dona Oliva, like all other poor families who live there, have to pay around 7500 pesos a month in taxes to the paramilitaries. Quite a large sum for people who barely scrape a living. Many children don't even go to school and spend the days working as street vendors. The men usually work in construction and the women as domestic cleaners.

Comuna 8 civilians had previously suffered from paramilitary, FARC and ELN presence and the fighting between them. Recently, paramilitaries have driven out FARC and ELN, who have retreated to other areas further up the mountains or in other regions, however things are still not very safe. Under Plan Colombia, the paramilitaries who decided to disarm received plots of land and money. These were the men responsible for killing their children and, along with the guerillas, giving them all a life of fear. They both felt a deep injustice as they, the victims have received hardly any help in terms of resources from the state. The paramilitary crimes are simply forgiven, and then they are rewarded by the government. They said that in terms of security, it is still pretty bad. Many disarmed paramilitaries still have arms, and they continue to fight (although, now amongst each other - between the different paramilitary groups or "gangs"). They are also heavily involved in drug trafficking, which is where they get most of their money from.
Sometimes civilians are caught in the middle of their fighting. Every week there seems to be a shoot out. They spoke about hearing multiple gun shots the Saturday just gone - there was a confrontation between two of the paramilitary groups further down in the barrio.

As for recruitment, the paramilitaries try and recruit bored youths from the barrios themselves. They invite them to social and sporting events - putting on discos and football matches.....offering them money to join. Many do join out of desperation. Some are forced to join and receive death threats that their family members will be killed if they don't.

An example of the way in which authority is enforced and fear maintained is that a few days before our visit nights ago, the paramilitaries had dropped printed pamphlets out to all the houses saying that "all children must be in bed by 10pm". The families were obviously scared about this.

When I asked them about politics, they just looked at eachother and laughed. They had no faith in any political party, and especially not in the current government. They have felt detached and excluded from politics for decades, that they do not even have a hope that the state could possibly help them. When asked about Uribe, they had a point of view completely opposed to the average Colombian and the mainstream press. They kept on highlighting the injustices - the lack of support they received, whilst their oppressors where being given resources.

They also spoke about the corruption of budgets. State resources are distributed via participary budgets, however the local paramilitary leader uses the money to build houses for himself. Doña Oliva explained that the consejo comunales (community councils) are all headed up by the paramilitaries themselves. The civilians don´t receive money for social spending.

Doña Oliva had created a mini activity centre above her house for local kids, youths and women to participate in artistic activities. Every Saturday, local kids attend this "Casa De Paz" (House of Peace) to draw, paint and play games. The aim of this is to give children hope and some kind of cultural education away from the violence in the barrios. I went up to have a look around, and was moved by the paintings and poems, all searching for peace and end to the war. When I asked her if she had any hassle from the paramilitaries in doing this, she said that she had to be careful, but that everyone around recognised that this was something non-political so she was fine. I also think that her intelligence helps her. She knows how to conduct herself infront of paramilitaries and is usually quite outspoken when she has witnesses around her.

We were meant to go deeper into the comuna, further down the hill. However, this was not possible as the situation down there had gotten much more serious. Doña Oliva said that it was out of the question because there was simply too much paramilitary control after the recent increase in shoot outs.

Instead, we made our way back up the windy, steep alleys to catch the bus back to the city centre. As we were leaving the road leading to the bus stop, we were stopped again by a man with a grin on his face. He came out of nowhere and said he had seen us taking pictures. Why were we doing this? For what? Tatiana responded again that we were doing some research and she was with the state. He had seen her before when she used to make regular visits through her job with the Mayor, so he said that was fine, and let us go. He was another paramilitary who had been observing us. As we edged closer the bus, we looked up the hill toward the granjas (paramilitary farmland) and saw several men standing still behind the trees and just observing.

Heading back into Medellin centre, where everything continued as normal, I felt very disturbed by what I had seen. I didn´t expect to be so impacted by the trip, but the whole evening I couldn´t help replaying everything I saw. The worst was the sense of injustice felt by the displaced victims, who live under the control of state-supported criminals responsible for the deaths of their family and friends. It was a completely different world - but one that is very real and exists for the victims of the war all around Colombia.

I guess life would be equally as oppressive in guerrilla controlled regions, and probably even worse when rival groups are present and fighting each other. But the important difference is that in paramilitary controlled zones, their presence and the resulting oppression is supported by the state itself.








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Pereira, Colombia

The next morning, I caught the early bus to
head to Pereira, another city in the Coffee zone, and on the way to the thermal
baths I wanted to get to. I was quite struck by the highway which was lined
with pink roses in the middle. Climates change so quickly too in this country.
Pereira was hot! And only an hour away from cold Salento. I eventually made it
up to San Vincente, the higher up of two thermal baths near Santa Rosa, a
village near Pereira.


The next day and a half I spent bathing in
thermal baths in the incredible valley, surrounded by 5 waterfalls and thick
forest. It was very empty...perhaps about 5 or 6 other Colombian tourists.
Humming birds randomly took dips in the hot water pools...of which there were
quite a few. I also ended up having a couple of relaxing spa treatments, one of
which included being buried under hot mud by a small waterfall, natural sauna
and thermal bath...being left there for a few minutes, and then having the sand
massaged and scrubbed off. After that I sat in the natural sulphuric sauna for
bit, and had to wash everything off under freezing water from the waterfall. It
wasn't that pricey either...setting me back about 5 or 6 pounds.



At dinner,
I befriended a Colombian couple making a road trip around the coffee zone. I
got on really well with them, but was a bit taken with some of their political
views. Like most Colombians they are very supportive of Uribe and his iron fist
politics. They all seem to say the same thing about him, as if they have all
read the same papers and heard the same rhetoric. Was quite surprised they
agreed with social policy, education and health taking a back seat whilst the
government sorts out security as a priority. They feel that Colombia has become
much safer in the last few years, and give credit to the fact that the
government have been spending a lot on military to defeat the guerillas. They
also spoke a lot about the demobilisation of paramilitaries and had the
impression that a lot of the m had given up arms and been forgiven for past
crimes...now occupying comfortable positions in g overnment or corporations.
They agreed with the recent government massacre of the FARC in Ecuador...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sheenasumaria/latinam07-08/1207149240/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sheenasumaria/latinam07-08/1207149240/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/sheenasumaria/latinam07-08/1207149240/tpod.html Fri, 11 Apr 2008 19:28:57 -0400 Into the depths of Central and Southern America -my travels and work in the region currently experiencing a wave of popular movements

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Armenia, Colombia

I was greeted by a really friendly hotel
owner and moved into a huge comfortable room in a house that had incredible
window and balcony views over the surrounding mountains. Salento is the
oldest village founded in the region,
and still retains this traditional village feel. It overlooks the Cocora
Valley, famous for wax palm trees, Colombia's national tree.



I was quite lucky with the weather. The following day was the only sunny one in
a couple of weeks, so I walked up a hill to the viewpoint overlooking the town
on one side and the Cocora valley on the other. There was absolutely nobody
around. I then wandered over to the plaza to catch an old style jeep (very
typical form of transport in the region - which works really well on the bumpy,
windy and hilly roads) to the Cocora valley. In the car I met a Spanish
traveller with his very pretty Colombian girlfriend from Armenia...we ended up
horse riding together through the valley, and were great company.

I don't understand why every single horse I
have ridden in Latin America wants to be in front. Every the other horses came
close, mine would break into trot or canter to outpace them! Anyways, the
valley was stunning. Very green with patches of grass that look like carpet,
and then extremely dense forest and random tall wax palm trees, which strangely
enough grow at an altitude of above 2000m.



After I got back to Salento for a nice
veggie dinner, I wandered through all the artesan shops, which sell some really
creative stuff. I befriended one old woman making unique ponchos and chals, who
seemed to believe that every piece of her work had a predestined owner.
Everything she makes is different, and she took pride in the fact that random
visitors pick out a certain piece, sometimes only minutes after it was
completed. I also strolled along the jewellery shops picking out really nice
earrings made from anything from bean pods to dried orange peel, and hand
painted with intricate art designs.


Overall my time there was very laid back
and relaxed...the hours went by slowly, and there was absolutely no rush to
anything.
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Medellin, Colombia

To come...
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Bogota, Colombia

Arrived back to Bogota for my final month of travelling in Colombia. Really quite sad when I think I only have 4 weeks left, but then again you can do an awful lot in a few weeks. Hopefully this will be enough time to discover some of the regions I don´t know yet like the Zona Cafetera (the mountainous coffee region), Medellin and the Caribbean coast.

I felt at home in Bogota, as I was received by Catalina and her family again. It felt good to breathe the clean crisp air of Colombia...and to be able to communicate comfortably with the people. I spent my day there sorting out my return flights, developing fotos, and then met up with Camilo and Aida, Catalina`s cousin and aunt, and friends of mine from London. We walked back to Cata´s home in the evening to be greated by her parents dancing, drinking and listening to music in the lounge. It was great to take part in this typical Colombian family tradition....dancing salsa, vallenato and merengue.

Yesterday I decided to head off to the Coffee Zone, and after 10 hours of buses I got to the small mountain village of Salento near Armenia. The bus journey, as they always are in Colombia, was filled with plenty of long conversations with my neighbours. As we drove though Armenia, the sun was setting amidst a rainbow. It was an incredible sight, which I could not caputre on photo as the bus windows were quite dirty. The sky was all shade of golden, with a vertical looking rainbow cutting straight through the mountains ahead.

I got to Salento after dark, and checked into a nice posada near the plaza.
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