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Goldmine dreams end in death for six displaced Afro-Colombians

News Stories, 26 October 2007

© UNHCR//M.-H.Verney
Displaced Afro-Caribbeans, like these living in squalid conditions in Chocó, are desperate for any job.

QUIBDÓ Colombia, October 26 (UNHCR) – In a poor barrio of Quibdó, the main city in the Colombian rainforest of Chocó, the local population is in shock. Six local men were shot dead last week by an irregular armed group and another four were seriously injured.

"We see a lot of violence all the time around here," a local woman said, "but it is a long time since we had seen a massacre like this."

The barrio has grown very fast in the past few years, with the arrival of thousands of people fleeing the armed conflict in their communities on the myriad rivers that crisscross the rainforest. The neighbourhood is very poor, houses are made of wood and tin and there are no public services. In the extreme heat and humidity, lack of running water and sanitation are serious and constant health threats.

For the largely Afro-Colombian population of Chocó, job opportunities are few, and become even slimmer for those who are displaced. A few weeks ago, the men of the barrio received an offer to work in a goldmine near Istmina, some two hours by road to the south. For many, it was an undreamt of chance to earn money and better their living conditions.

Little did they know that by accepting the offer, they were walking straight into a bitter dispute between irregular armed groups. On Oct. 16, only two days after they arrived in Istmina to start work, members of one of these groups burst into the mine, armed and in uniforms. They shot and killed six of the men and wounded another four, all displaced Afro-Colombians.

"This is the latest in a series of very serious abuses the irregular armed groups have committed against the civilian population and displaced people in this part of Chocó," said UNHCR Deputy-Representative in Colombia Roberto Mignone, who went to Chocó in the aftermath of the killings.

He added that UNHCR was very concerned that the worsening humanitarian situation would be the cause of more displacement from the region, which is home to both Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities. Under principles of constitutional and international laws, the state has a special responsibility to protect and prevent the displacement of ethnic minorities with a special relation to the land, which is the case for both indigenous and black communities in Colombia.

Despite the government's efforts to control the area, the civilian population along the San Juan and Baudó rivers continues to suffer from intimidation, threats, violence and killings at the hands of the irregular armed groups. Just since the beginning of September, the Diocesis of Istmina has reported 23 targeted killings just in the city. In recent months there have been various cases of mass displacements affecting hundreds of people, and day after day families are fleeing their home to escape the conflict.

Chocó's biodiversity is one of the richest in the world – the rainforest is wealthy in minerals and precious woods, while its rivers provide direct access to the Pacific Ocean. In a country ridden by conflict and illegal crops like coca, it is prime territory. Irregular armed groups have been fighting for control of its lands and access to the sea for years.

"The humanitarian situation along the San Juan and Baudó rivers has worsened significantly since the start of the year and UNHCR is calling on all relevant actors to respect the rights of the civilian population," Mignone said in Chocó, also expressing his condolences on behalf of the UN agency to the families of the deceased.

Last week's murders of the six displaced Afro-Colombians happened just two days before Colombia's Constitutional Court sat in special hearing to review measures taken by the government to protect Afro-Colombian communities from forced displacement. The court had found last year they were "persistent gaps" in targeted efforts to prevent their forced displacement and protect them afterwards.

By Marie-Hélène Verney in Quibdó, Colombia

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Colombia: Life in the Barrios

After more than forty years of internal armed conflict, Colombia has one of the largest populations of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the world. Well over two million people have been forced to flee their homes; many of them have left remote rural areas to take refuge in the relative safety of the cities.

Displaced families often end up living in slum areas on the outskirts of the big cities, where they lack even the most basic services. Just outside Bogota, tens of thousands of displaced people live in the shantytowns of Altos de Cazuca and Altos de Florida, with little access to health, education or decent housing. Security is a problem too, with irregular armed groups and gangs controlling the shantytowns, often targeting young people.

UNHCR is working with the authorities in ten locations across Colombia to ensure that the rights of internally displaced people are fully respected – including the rights to basic services, health and education, as well as security.

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Like many Colombians, indigenous people often have no choice but to flee their lands to escape violence. Forced displacement is especially tragic for them because they have extremely strong links to their ancestral lands. Often their economic, social and cultural survival depends on keeping these links alive.

According to Colombia's national indigenous association ONIC, 18 of the smaller groups are at risk of disappearing. UNHCR is working with them to support their struggle to stay on their territories or to rebuild their lives when they are forced to flee.

UNHCR also assists indigenous refugees in neighbouring countries like Panama, Ecuador, Venezuela and Brazil. UNHCR is developing a regional strategy to better address the specific needs of indigenous people during exile.

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Along the border with Colombia, Panama's Darien region is a thick and inhospitable jungle accessible only by boat. Yet many Colombians have taken refuge here after fleeing the irregular armed groups who control large parts of jungle territory on the other side of the border.

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