Colombia is preparing for Sunday’s presidential election. Their winner should be brought under control by the growing guerrilla movement again. In the village of Mande, you can see what is needed for real peace.
27.5. 06:10 • Updated May 27 12:53
MANDE / COLOMBIA On the bank of the river that crosses the jungle village is a café-restaurant, the selection of which is as in Finland. Wieners, rolls of cinnamon and dry cakes that look like ears are available.
Before, guerrillas and soldiers fought bloody battles in the same spot.
The left-wing Farc guerrillas, who had Mandea as a base for about three hundred inhabitants, were also fighting here against Colombian government forces. The armed conflict lasted for more than five decades.
More than 200,000 people were killed in the civil war that began six years ago in the civil war that began with the revolt of the farm workers and spread to many fronts.
On Sunday, Colombia will vote in the first round of the presidential election. It is up to the winner to try to fulfill the promises of the peace agreement.
There were guerrillas in the ranks about 14,000 fighters, at least a third of whom were women.
One of them was 31 years old Maria Inés Guzmán Santos.
Now he listens intently as the manager of the cafe restaurant teaches employees the pricing of pastries and the importance of margins. For Guzman Santos, invoicing is the hardest part of doing business.
– I’d rather bake cakes.
Until a few years ago, he cared for the wounded in the jungle surrounding the village.
Born in Mande Guzmán Santos joined in when his brother was killed by Colombian government soldiers.
– The rage grew inside me and the thought of fighting felt great.
However, the reality was harsher than Guzmán Santos expected. As a nurse in the guerrilla camp, she saw traces of violence.
After three years of guerrilla life, Guzmán Santos became pregnant.
– That’s when I decided that I wanted to invest in my family and return home, now says the mother of four.
A year later, the guerrillas laid down their arms and signed a historic peace treaty.
The peace agreement reached in 2016 promised residents of rural areas and remote areas such as Mande, including basic services and better roads.
However, the village can only be reached by traveling for two days on the pier. Another option is a 45-minute helicopter ride from the big city of Medellin.
Internet to the village was obtained four, electricity six years ago.
During the Civil War, Mande was the perfect place to hide.
Now Mande live side by side former guerrillas, soldiers, survivors and internally displaced persons fleeing violence elsewhere. There are about three million of them in Colombia, the largest in the world.
Gloria in her forties immerses her hands in a clay pot and begins to spread it on a wooden frame.
– Everyone here has lost someone.
The building project is already in the middle. He would rather talk about it than the bloody past of the village.
– Life in Mande was extremely stressful during the Civil War. Everything that was built was demolished. The bodies came almost weekly, says Gloria, who has lived in Mande for most of her life.
Gloria’s son joined in and was killed. The body is still missing.
Government soldiers also shot two of his uncles.
– When the government forces hunted the guerrillas, they did not care, even if there were civilians among them.
UN and human rights organizations investigations have shown that thousands of civilians were killed by the Colombian army during the civil war.
The soldiers were alleged to have intentionally killed civilians and disguised their bodies to look like guerrillas. One of the victims was a pregnant woman.
Mandessa the soldiers guarded the peace and there have been no problems.
However, Mande is an exception. Here, too, peace is possible mainly thanks to UN assistance.
It runs various projects such as a school and a bakery for former guerrillas, and helps villagers cultivate the land. Peace is maintained when people have things to do and a chance to make a living.
The government is present only in the form of soldiers. When the village flooded a few years ago and the water took away the houses of many, the villagers waited in vain for help from the government.
Leading to the peace agreement negotiations brought the Nobel Peace Prize to Colombia’s ex-president Juan Manuel Santosille.
However, many experts consider the agreement a failure.
Current president, right-wing Ivan Duque opposed peace and the current administration has not delivered on its promises to rural residents and former guerrillas.
The same applies to young people in remote areas.
The fighting continues in the mountains surrounding Mandeak. In addition to guerrillas, drug cartels and other armed groups are also involved.
The first round of the presidential election will be held in the country on Sunday.
Gloria won’t have time think about politics. He will build his house from morning to evening.
He is no longer startled when heavily armed soldiers walk past the house.
– Now they’re on our side. No one wants to go back in time.
The same is said by former guerrilla María Inés Guzmán Santos, who sells dinner to soldiers who come to the cafeteria to eat.
That is their heel today.
You can discuss the topic until 11pm on Saturday.