A strange kind of place
Time has a way of disappearing in this place. Somehow it is now October and I have so much to write about I am not sure where to begin.
I will start with last Saturday, when I went to southern Bogota for the first time. Technically we went outside of Bogota, into the municipality of Soacha, but many people consider it an overflow of Bogota. In any case, Soacha is where many of the displaced people who come to Bogota congregate. It is a very poor area controlled by paramilitaries and has over 200 different armed groups in operation. We went with escorts during the day, so we had no problems, but needless to say, it is not an area to which I would ever go after dark.
We went to Soacha because an organization that works with the youth in that area was having meeting about their art and cultural programs and was also trying to raise awareness about the violence facing youth in this area. Most of the meeting was uneventful, though interesting, until one man began speaking about the "social cleansing" (limpieza social) that has been occurring in Soacha. Basically, this "limpieza social" is carried out by paramilitaries or other vigilante groups to "clean up" the neighbourhood by killing youth gang members, prostitutes, drug addicts, street kids, and any other "undesirables" or youth that seem like they might cause trouble. This sounds crazy, I know, but it is true and it doesn't just happen in Colombia. There have been multiple reports of "limpieza social" in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, and I am sure that it happens elsewhere. This organization in Soacha has records of over 450 murders of youth in Soacha since 2001 that have been linked to paramilitaries.
Imagine: over 450 minors in one municipality are murdered within 5 years, and no ones does anything. No investigation, no prosecutions. Nothing.
I noticed with interest that there are very few police in Soacha, especially in comparison to the rest of Bogota, and then I realized why. The police don't need to be there. The paramilitaries are the "police." A BBC reporter recently went into Altos de Cazuca (the poorest and arguably most violent neighbourhood in Soacha) to do research for a story, and he was told that he had to be there by 3pm, because all of the children and youth had to be off the streets and in their houses by 4pm. Why? Because the paramilitaries say so. That is the kind of control they have in this neighbourhood.
After this gentleman spoke out at the meeting against the paramilitaries and against the violence in Soacha, a lot of people looked very nervous. Two men spoke after him and quite deliberately distanced themselves from what he had said (i.e., "oh it's not that bad" or "it's not just a problem here" or "it's not only the paramilitaries" etc. etc.). The meeting was being audio and video recorded but there was no security and no way of knowing who was in the room, watching and listening. It was a very odd feeling. My friend commented later that this man would need bodyguards now for saying what he said in public. They have had this information for years, but they have never spoken about it publicly before for fear of backlash.
So now we wait. What will happen? Who was listening?
How is it that people are so passionate and outspoken in some parts of the city, and then in other neighbourhoods all lips are sealed? How is it that in a modern city that has every amenity of any booming metropolis, there are areas that are completely controlled by militias that hand out " justice" with threats and bullets?
The statistics proclaim that Bogota is safer. Police on every corner and the people's love for Uribe attest to that.
But how do we define "safe"?
Is it a word only for the privileged?
I will start with last Saturday, when I went to southern Bogota for the first time. Technically we went outside of Bogota, into the municipality of Soacha, but many people consider it an overflow of Bogota. In any case, Soacha is where many of the displaced people who come to Bogota congregate. It is a very poor area controlled by paramilitaries and has over 200 different armed groups in operation. We went with escorts during the day, so we had no problems, but needless to say, it is not an area to which I would ever go after dark.
We went to Soacha because an organization that works with the youth in that area was having meeting about their art and cultural programs and was also trying to raise awareness about the violence facing youth in this area. Most of the meeting was uneventful, though interesting, until one man began speaking about the "social cleansing" (limpieza social) that has been occurring in Soacha. Basically, this "limpieza social" is carried out by paramilitaries or other vigilante groups to "clean up" the neighbourhood by killing youth gang members, prostitutes, drug addicts, street kids, and any other "undesirables" or youth that seem like they might cause trouble. This sounds crazy, I know, but it is true and it doesn't just happen in Colombia. There have been multiple reports of "limpieza social" in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, and I am sure that it happens elsewhere. This organization in Soacha has records of over 450 murders of youth in Soacha since 2001 that have been linked to paramilitaries.
Imagine: over 450 minors in one municipality are murdered within 5 years, and no ones does anything. No investigation, no prosecutions. Nothing.
I noticed with interest that there are very few police in Soacha, especially in comparison to the rest of Bogota, and then I realized why. The police don't need to be there. The paramilitaries are the "police." A BBC reporter recently went into Altos de Cazuca (the poorest and arguably most violent neighbourhood in Soacha) to do research for a story, and he was told that he had to be there by 3pm, because all of the children and youth had to be off the streets and in their houses by 4pm. Why? Because the paramilitaries say so. That is the kind of control they have in this neighbourhood.
After this gentleman spoke out at the meeting against the paramilitaries and against the violence in Soacha, a lot of people looked very nervous. Two men spoke after him and quite deliberately distanced themselves from what he had said (i.e., "oh it's not that bad" or "it's not just a problem here" or "it's not only the paramilitaries" etc. etc.). The meeting was being audio and video recorded but there was no security and no way of knowing who was in the room, watching and listening. It was a very odd feeling. My friend commented later that this man would need bodyguards now for saying what he said in public. They have had this information for years, but they have never spoken about it publicly before for fear of backlash.
So now we wait. What will happen? Who was listening?
How is it that people are so passionate and outspoken in some parts of the city, and then in other neighbourhoods all lips are sealed? How is it that in a modern city that has every amenity of any booming metropolis, there are areas that are completely controlled by militias that hand out " justice" with threats and bullets?
The statistics proclaim that Bogota is safer. Police on every corner and the people's love for Uribe attest to that.
But how do we define "safe"?
Is it a word only for the privileged?
posted by Rachel at 3:38 PM
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