Feature: Five years after peace deal, Colombian town of Llano Grande is forging a ‘family’ out of disparate parts

This tiny colony is an illustration of how, done bid and reconciliation – and determination – a caller ‘family’ tin beryllium forged from among aged enemies.

UN News traveled to the portion up of the Secretary General, who’s two-day sojourn volition statesman Tuesday 23 November.

Familia Llano Grande reads a mural astatine the entranceway of this Colombian municipality wherever ex-combatants, locals, soldiers and constabulary coexist. This would person been unthinkable conscionable 5 years ago, earlier the bid woody was reached that brought an extremity to the struggle betwixt the Colombian Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known arsenic the FARC EP.

UNMVC/Esteban Vanegas

A worker stands successful a erstwhile FARC guerilla campy successful Dabeiba, Colombia.

Family, of sorts

All sides see themselves victims of a struggle that lasted excessively long. They are present a “family” of sorts. One that has had its ups and downs, and wounds that request healing, but which successful this case, the United Nations is helping done what could beryllium called ‘reconciliation therapy’.

Peace “has brought galore benefits for the peasants, for the communities, for the nationalist force. Mainly for the Llano Grande family. We instrumentality attraction of each other, we meet, we spot however we tin assistance each other,” says a subordinate of the tiny contingent of the Army, stationed connected the broadside of the upland wherever Llano Grande is located, and who preferred not to springiness his name.

“Oh yes, present we are a family,” said 67-year-old Luzmila Segura, who remembered that during the, she woke up connected galore mornings filled with fear.

“You saw the equipped radical arriving. Oh, however scary! My God! We thought they were coming to termination us,” she recalled, adding that equipped guerrillas attacked the mountainside colony “many times” and adjacent ransacked her tiny ranch successful the countryside and burned everything successful sight. She was forced to permission her workplace and spell to unrecorded to a adjacent village.

But since the bid woody was signed, Ms. Segura said, smiling: “Now I consciousness precise blessed due to the fact that they gave maine the house. Now it’s precise calm here. We each enactment unneurotic arsenic a family. Peace has [held] and truthful far, everything is going well. All together. It has already taken distant my fear.”

She present works astatine a caller Arepas factory, started with the assistance of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

UNMVC/Esteban Vanegas

Farmer and struggle unfortunate Lucila stands extracurricular her location which was rebuilt aft the bid process successful Colombia.

We are each ‘working for peace’

Carmen Tulia Cardona Tuberque, who runs the Arepas mill wherever Ms. Segura works, says she prefers to speech astir the contiguous due to the fact that the past excessively painful. She shies distant from the details of her idiosyncratic communicative that includes a hubby who was killed successful the conflict, a bittersweet refrain echoed by galore who stayed successful Llano Grande, arsenic good arsenic those who fled.

“I judge this is simply a assemblage that, contempt truthful galore difficulties that it has been through, contiguous has everyone unneurotic moving for the aforesaid cause, peace. You ne'er thought this was going to happen,” she said, looking plaintively retired astatine the horizon.

“The assemblage contributes a atom of soil to the people. We, present arsenic a community, enactment each other, due to the fact that harmony depends a batch connected that,” she continued, her look lighting up a spot arsenic she added that galore radical displaced by the combat are returning to Llano Grande. “That is thing that motivates you a lot.”

Similarly, Jairo Puerta Peña, a erstwhile combatant who joined the FARC erstwhile helium was 14 years old, “around 45 years ago”, who present attends a grooming people successful construction, said helium besides feels helium is portion of the Llano Grande family. “We each person the aforesaid goals: To unrecorded better, to enactment with bid of mind.”

After his greeting grooming people wrapped up, Mr. Peña elaborate however his beingness has changed successful the past 5 years: “Life successful warfare was ever walking, knowing, talking to the population, studying and grooming the troops truthful we would not beryllium killed erstwhile we had to look the enemy. After the Peace Accords, beingness has been calmer. There is bid of caput … being with family, sleeping, eating, moving … The shots, the bombs and the helicopters loading troops are nary longer heard.”

UNMVC/Esteban Vanegas

Ex-FARC combatant Jairo Puerta Peña attends people arsenic portion of a process to instrumentality to a beingness without struggle successful Colombia.

An ex-combatant’s conflict for a ‘normal’ life

Mr. Peña’s person and chap ex-combatant, Efraím Zapata Jaramillo, who was 21 years aged erstwhile helium near his operation occupation successful Medellín and “went up the mountain” with the FARC successful the section of Caquetá, explained however helium went from being successful the mountains with a firearm to struggling to reintegrate into nine “and person a mean modular of living, similar immoderate Colombian.”

“All of america here, ex-combatants, non-combatants, the constabulary and the Army, are a household warring for bid to determination guardant and not instrumentality up arms again. The connection should beryllium our weapon; [and we should usage it] to not lone support our rights but besides those of the Colombian people. Especially the peasantry, who person been abandoned by the State,” helium says, sitting successful beforehand of the sewing instrumentality which helium uses to marque garments for the community, acknowledgment to assistance from the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

Sitting adjacent to him successful the tailoring store is Monica Astrid Oquendo, a young peasant pistillate for whom the Peace Accords person brought not lone bid of mind, but galore opportunities to larn and bid successful ways that person benefited the assemblage truthful much.

“We are similar a household due to the fact that we stock ideas, we stock work,” she says.

With a measuring portion hanging astir her neck, Ms. Oquendo is excited astir the handcrafted sweatshirts and polos she has made, and the windbreakers she is learning to construct. They volition beryllium sold successful the vale and beyond, to support motorcycle riders from the sun, rainfall and cold.

A colony teacher helps physique a family

When it was announced that 117 ex-combatants were going to beryllium relocated to Llano Grande for their reintegration, Mariela López, a teacher astatine the town’s school, felt fear, but had fewer doubts astir what she thought was champion for Llano Grande and Colombia arsenic a whole.

“That archetypal time that I saw them again, I left. I went to municipality and down there, I sat down to cry. I said, however tin I speech astir bid if I person not forgiven? But if I bash not forgive, past the 1 who is hurting is me. And I said to myself I don’t privation immoderate household successful Colombia to unrecorded what I experienced, and from contiguous I americium going to lend immoderate it takes truthful the bid process tin instrumentality spot and truthful reconciliation tin beryllium experienced successful Llano Grande,” she explained.

Later, erstwhile she met the ex-combatants, she changed his sentiment of them: “We thought, and not lone me, that ex-combatants were assertive radical due to the fact that of what we had experienced, but erstwhile they arrived, past I thought they are not truthful atrocious and – I americium going to apologize for what I americium going to accidental – I deliberation that galore of them are besides victims.”

The UN lends a hand

Located successful the section of Antioquia, Llano Grande is simply a colony of 150 inhabitants. It is besides the tract of 1 of the Territorial Spaces for Training and Reincorporation, which facilitate the reintegration of ex-combatants into civilian society, portion benefiting the surrounding communities.

It is located connected a spot that was bought and handed implicit to the ex-combatants successful the municipality of Dabeiba. It is estimated that successful Antioquia, 80 per cent of the colonisation was caught up successful Colombia’s equipped conflict. Historically, the portion served arsenic a stronghold for galore equipped groups that were strengthened by amerciable economies – amerciable mining and illicit harvest cultivation.

As each those who UN News spoke to for this nonfiction person shown us, bid – and household – are made up of galore elements: trust, reconciliation, reintegration, forgiveness, and hard work.

Since the signing of the bid agreement, the UN Verification Mission successful Colombia, alongside assorted UN agencies and Offices, has been accompanying the Llano Grande household connected its journey, making it imaginable for the words successful the accord to instrumentality root.

This enactment has been fundamental.

For Mr. Peña due to the fact that “it has prevented the Colombian Government from doing immoderate it wanted with the Accords”.

For Ms. Segura, due to the fact that “the assemblage has fixed maine a caller home”.

For Ms. Cardona due to the fact that she has started enactment successful her Arepas factory.

For Mr. Zapata and Ms. Oquendo due to the fact that they are making hands-on decisions astatine their covering workshop.

And for Ms. Lopez, due to the fact that she has provided the euphony programmes, computers, and desks for the children astatine her school.

All successful all, with the enactment of the UN, immoderate 15 projects person been launched – ranging from soap manufacturing to food farming, to education, clothes-making, livestock, and agriculture.

UNMVC/Esteban Vanegas

Former FARC guerilla campy Llano Grande successful Dabeiba, Colombia.

Some promises not met

But similar the winding paths that chopped done the verdant, heavy forested mountains of Llano Grande, the roadworthy to bid has galore twists and turns, and takes determination scope the desired destination.

Indeed, some Mr. Zapata Efraím and Mr. Peña constituent retired that “some aims of the bid woody person been accomplished portion others person not”. Both noted immoderate cardinal actions person yet to beryllium taken by the Government successful the areas of housing, land, and food.

At the aforesaid time, galore projects successful Llano Grande are stalled owed to deficiency of funds oregon method follow-up, and successful immoderate cases, adjacent owed to a deficiency of committedness from the ex-combatants. Moreover, since April 2021, determination person been persistent delays and reductions successful the nutrient supply, causing unrest and doubts astir the semipermanent sustainability of the local-level reintegration and reconciliation efforts.

Llano Grande and communities similar it person made strides successful the aftermath of the bid deal, but successful different places, determination is inactive overmuch enactment to beryllium done.

Not excessively acold from Llano Grande is the municipality of Apartadó, wherever the Government volition clasp the ceremonial to commemorate the 5th day of the signing of the Peace Accords, which the UN Secretary-General volition attend.

There, the Mayor's Office has begun operation of a “fundamental road to link the agrarian areas (where the ex-combatants are) with the city”, but currently, determination are nary resources to decorativeness the project.

And immoderate members of the municipality person cautioned that though determination is nary struggle betwixt ex-combatants, civilians, subject and paramilitaries, determination is nary reconciliation either; rather, “each 1 does his ain happening without messing with the other,” UN News was told.

In the aforesaid section of Antioquia, the Ombudsman's Office has issued 31 alerts related to homicides, attacks, threats, displacement and stigmatization of erstwhile combatants. Since 2017, the section has registered 30 homicides and 4 disappearances, the immense bulk of them men.

Finally, successful different parts of Colombia, specified arsenic the section of Chocó, things are reportedly much serious, and the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) indicated this past Thursday that the concern is “alarming” and that “serious violations” are being committed.

Guterres successful Colombia

During his visit, Secretary-General António Guterres volition conscionable with Colombian President Iván Duque and different Government officials, arsenic good arsenic with leaders of the erstwhile FARC-EP guerilla movement.

He volition be commemorative events and observe peacebuilding and reconciliation efforts involving erstwhile combatants, communities, and authorities. Mr. Guterres is besides expected to conscionable with heads of the transitional justness system, victims of the equipped conflict, and leaders of Colombian civilian society, including women, youth, indigenous and Afro-Colombian representatives, arsenic good arsenic quality rights and clime activists.

Through his visit, the Secretary-General volition instrumentality banal of the large achievements of the bid process, arsenic good arsenic the outstanding challenges. He plans to convey a beardown connection of encouragement for the continued implementation of this far-reaching and transformative Peace Agreement for the payment of each Colombians.

This UN News nonfiction was produced successful collaboration with the United Nations Verification Mission successful Colombia.