Development Cooperation Handbook/Stories/Desplazados

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The return of the desplazados
La India, Santander, Colombia May 2011

⇒ Desplazados

“Desplazados”, are persons that have been displaced from their homes, jobs and social identities.

Santander is a State in northeastern Colombia that has suffered many years of insurgency and inter-class violence, resulting in mass displacement of rural populations that abandoned their homes and all their belongings to seek more safety and security in larger cities; they often ended up finding new marginalization, violence and exploitation. Most of the displaced are women, since men, and even boys, have usually been forcibly recruited by one of the rival warring factions.

International agencies have been supporting the Government of Santander for relocating and assisting its internally displaced persons. Projects on education, health and economic empowerment are implemented in cooperation with representatives of the “desplazados” communities.

Along with Olga Lucia Rodriguez, a community leader, we visited the locality of Cafe’ Madrid, where there is a large resettled community.

Since recently, violence has been on the decline in the rural areas of Colombia and now efforts are on to restore confidence. Violence perpetuated by the Army, during the conflict years, has tainted the credibility of the Government. And building peace is a huge challenge that essentially needs to be taken up by civil society organizations.

The Carare Farmers Association was established before the war for empowering marginal farmers. In the municipality of Landazuri, an area particularly subject to violence, the Carare Association helped establish “La India”, a township built in the middle of a vast wild land and it helped organize basic health and security services for those who dared to stay on during the civil war. Now, in "La India", efforts are underway for facilitating the return of those who left their lands and belongings.

We came to "La India" with Bertolo, a former farmer who left everything during the war and is now one of the leaders of the Carare Farmers Association. He took us to the land he was earlier forced to abandon. The Carare Association is now demanding that the area where this land is located be declared a National Park.