Conflict & War in Colombia

  • Lady from the indigenous rights movement at the Protests in Colombia.

  • Soldiers passing through. No-one talks to them as they induce anxiety and fear.

  • A Molotov Cocktail narrowley misses an officer of the ESMAD ('Mobile Anti-Disturbance Squadron'). Medellín, Colombia, 4th June 2021.

  • 'La Chiquita' (19) and her boyfriend, a leader of one of the Primera Linea groups hug as the arrival of the ESMAD ('Mobile Anti-Disturbance Squadron) is annnounced at the march. Medellín, Colombia, 22nd May 2021.

  • An officer of the ESMAD ('Mobile Anti-Disturbance Squadron) firing a gas projectile directly into a crowd of protesters, in an effort to dispurse them. Medellín, Colombia, 28th June 2021.

  • The shield-wall of the 'Primera Linea' ('First Line') is crumbling under the extreme bombardment of teargas, though many are holding the line. Medellín, Colombia, 4th June 2021.

  • 'El Flaco' (engl.: 'The Skinny'), 18, a leader of the 'Primera Linea de Medellin' which have been leading the confrontations against the police in Medellin during the Paro Nacional. Medellín, Colombia, 22nd May 2021.

  • Paramedics of the 'Bloque Popular de Salud' carry a heavily wounded protester to an imporvised medical service point during the clashes between protesters and the ESMAD ('Mobile Anti-Disturbance Squadron). Caldas, Colombia, 23rd May 2021.

  • A young family disembarks the bus to return to the valley that is still being held by paramilitaries.

  • Two delegates from the ICRC cross our path returning from the abandoned villages & negotiatons with the armed groups in the area

Description:

The National Strike ('Paro Nacional') of Colombia began as a simple social protest against an unpopular tax reform. But as clashes escalated, simple marches turned into violent battles between the protesters and the notoriously ruthless ESMAD (Esquadron Movil Anti Desturbios). The young protesters formed into groups called 'Primera Linea(s)' (= First Line), formed to create a strong line of defence using improvised shields. The initial defensive strategies of the Primera Linea turned into the use of a variety of elaborately engineered arsenal of mostly explosive weapons and arrests by the ESMAD turned into rape, torture, disappearances & targeted assassinations and killings through the assistance of paramilitary units operating alongside them in Medellin.

Ituango is a city surrounded by valleys, where campesinos have settled to live a peaceful life away from the violence of the cities. But a close-by internationally funded dam project needs to flood the valleys and the government’s initiatives to relocate the campesinos have failed. Therefore, paramilitary units of the 'Aguilas Negras'(The Black Eagles) moved into the communities with an ultimatum of 24h to leave and never return. 4.000 people left their homes and farms in a panic to flee the announced massacre and the city of Ituango was flooded with refugees. A week later we decided to join a small group of campesinos who decided to go back despite the looming danger by the paramilitary units remaining in the mountains.