Colombia's indigenous pushed to find safety in cities
Thousands of Colombia's indigenous people have been forced by violence to flee to urban areas. They must balance preserving their identity with starting a new life.
MEDELLIN, Colombia, October 18 (UNHCR) - Forced to flee from her home in the forests of north-western Colombia when she was 21 years old, Hilda has spent the last few years starting a new life in the country's urban jungles while trying to retain her distinct cultural and ethnic identity.
She also campaigns against the discrimination and stigmatization suffered by indigenous people, particularly women, in cities and towns. A member of Colombia's Embera tribe, the 36-year-old teacher is one of tens of thousands of indigenous people in Colombia who have been forced to flee their homes because of violence or persecution during the country's long internal conflict.
Although the UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres has welcomed the launch of peace talks this week in Norway between the government and left-wing guerrillas, indigenous people suffer every day in Colombia.
Since 1997, more than 105,000 indigenous people have been displaced, including some 4,080 last year alone. More than 30 tribes are threatened with extinction in a country where indigenous groups together make up around 3 per cent of the population and have a rich cultural heritage.
Hilda was brought up in the traditional ways of her people, including living off the land in the forests of Urabá Antioqueño, a sub-region of Colombia's Antioquia department. But during the 1990s, the presence of illegal armed groups in the region increased due to competition over its rich natural resources and for control of drug smuggling routes and coca cultivation.
The indigenous people were squeezed in the middle. Many were killed, but more - like Hilda - fled for safety, leaving behind their unique way of life and the freedom of their territories. They headed for the slums of the towns and cities, where they live in poor conditions, struggle to compete for jobs and are discriminated against.
Hilda fled in 1997 with several friends to the municipality of Mutata after constant threats, and on the advice of her peers. The young Embera woman worked for several years as a teacher in Mutata, but one day she received a letter from one of the armed groups asking her for a meeting at the school. She decided to run.
"I was a threat to them because I knew exactly which armed groups were in the area and who was persecuting the community," Hilda explained. What's more, she was the only person in her community who could speak Spanish, the language of the government.
This time she found refuge first in Bello and then in neighbouring Medellin, capital of Antiquoia and Colombia's second largest city. She tried to return home after three months, but realized it was simply too dangerous, with armed groups manning checkpoints on the roads.
More internally displaced people (IDP) seek shelter in Medellin than in any other municipality aside from Bogota, the national capital. Last year, according to the National Registry System, more than 230,000 IDPs arrived in Medellin between 1997 and December last year. This included almost 30,000 in 2011.
A majority of the IDPs, around 80 per cent, are from agricultural areas and most of them just disappear into the urban jungle, where they face a multitude of challenges without sufficient support. The indigenous people, about 0.5 per cent of the IDP population in Medellin, also face the loss of their identity and culture.
But Hilda has decided to speak out for her people, particularly the displaced indigenous women. As a teacher and a community leader, and by example, she wants to help other indigenous women to counter racial discrimination and to help them preserve their culture. "I am from the forests of the Urabá Antioqueño, and I am here in the city of Medellin to make my dreams come true," as she put it.
With UNHCR's help, she has been holding regular dialogues in Medellin through the Chibcariwak Council, an organization gathering indigenous people in Medellin. At these meetings, Hilda and other indigenous women discuss the risks and challenges they face in an urban context and look for solutions.
Aside from issues of discrimination and stigmatization, Hilda said that forcible displacement also threatened the culture and traditions of indigenous people. She added that the children were being brought up in an alien culture and losing touch with their roots, especially in big cities like Medellin.
"When we lose our territory, we are also at risk of losing our identity," stressed Hilda. In response, she and her women friends also regularly research and practise their tribal traditions, including singing, music, art and making traditional jewellery.
Hilda likes making jewellery most. It's a craft that, she says, "revitalizes us and helps give us mental and physical strength and also to make some money." She is clearly a woman with her heart in the past and her head in the present - and that's a good place to be to build a brighter future while she waits to one day return home.
By Diana Díaz Rodríguez and Lívia Mota in Medellin, Colombia
Related news and stories
Food shortages and aid cuts put more displaced women at risk of gender-based violence
Goal Click allows displaced people to document the healing power of football
Goal Click Refugees
Drumming against gender-based violence in Ecuador
For displaced Venezuelans, regularization is the key to building productive lives
Global photo project shows power of football during displacement
Your search for « colombia IDP » matched 1393 results. Only the first 1,000 results are displayed. Displaying page 5 of 112 pages.
-
HIV/AIDS and Internally Displaced Persons in 8 Priority Countries
27 Jan 2006 ... ... Sweeping generalizations are often made with insufficient evidence. Reports make claims about the spread of HIV among IDPs in Burundi, Colombia, Liberia, Nepal, Somalia and Uganda despite the fact ...... -
UNHCR Global Appeal 2001 - South America Regional Overview
1 Dec 2000 ... an integrated regional strategy that aims to protect and find solutions for Colombian asylum-seekers and refugees in the region, as well as for internally displaced persons (IDPs) within Colombia. ...... -
UNHCR Global Report 2002 - Colombia
1 Jun 2003 ... ... donors, academics, inter- national agencies, and NGOs in Bogotá in Novem- Colombia Colombia (IDPs) 950,000 154,980 52 43 Persons of Concern Main Origin / Total Of whom Per cent Per cent Type ...... -
UNHCR Global Report 2009 - Colombia
1 Jun 2010 ... UNHCR Global Report 2009 317 Persons of concern Refugees Various 200 70 31 19 Asylum-seekers Various 120 120 19 5 IDPs Colombia 3,304,000 572,300 49 - Stateless Various 10 - - - Returnees (refugees) ...... -
UNHCR Global Appeal 2011 (update) - Working with the internally displaced
1 Dec 2010 ... ... In this context, the protection cluster has worked in close collaboration with the Joint IDP ... protection and inter-cluster support missions in Afghanistan, Colombia, Nepal, Pakistan and Yemen. ...... -
Home at last for Colombians as settlement declared legal
20 Jan 2016 ... CÚCUTA, Colombia, Jan 20 (UNHCR) - The applause echoes around the sports centre in Cúcuta, Colombia, as the news sinks in. Finally, after ten years, the Las Delicias settlement is to be legally ...... -
Colombia: worsening humanitarian situation
23 Aug 2002 ... UNHCR is extremely concerned about the worsening humanitarian situation of internally displaced people (IDPs) in Colombia and urges all sides to respect the rights of the civilian victims of the ...... -
Evaluation of UNHCR's programme for internally displaced people in Colombia
1 May 2003 ... ... Most human rights violations are committed within a climate of impunity. According to UNICEF and the National Ombudsman, IDPS IN COLOMBIA 2 up to 6000 children fight in the ranks of the FARC, ELN and ...... -
Consistent and predictable responses to IDPs: A review of UNHCR's decision-making processes
1 Mar 2005 ... 3 UNHCR’s involvement with IDPs ............ 21 Colombia.........