Resisting Displacement

Of all the unique satisfactions of being an international accompanier, one of the greatest pleasures is visiting the Peace Community members in their homes. These visits provide not only a source of enjoyment and connectedness, but also an opportunity for deeper understanding into the reality of day to day survival within this admirable struggle for peaceful living. Whether seeking a snack of arepas or a friendly conversation, walking into a home here may also open the door to witnessing firsthand the tangible effects of the armed conflict that continues to surround and invade the lives of these peasant farmers (campesinos).

On the evening of November 8th as I went to visit my friend and neighbor in the Peace Community, I found myself staring into the faces of the latest victims of the war in this region. Having walked all day from their homes in the settlement of La Esperanza to come to where we live in La Unión, this family of four had just been displaced from their land earlier that day, bringing with them only what they could carry on their backs. As they wearily ate their dinner, they shared with me their story of how the events of the past few days had unfolded, having been forced from their homes to flee for their lives. And this was only the beginning.
In thinking about the significance of the Peace Community, one will remember this collection of campesinos without whom this community would not have been created or could persist in the face of countless losses and endless threats; or one may also recognize their values of non-violence, neutrality and dignity upon which the community has established itself as apart from the rest. However, one cannot help but acknowledge and admire the undeniable importance of these fertile lands in the mountains of Urabá on which these farmers have survived and continue to cultivate their lives, despite the armed actors, including the Colombian military, the guerilla and the paramilitaries, who all desire and even combat to take over this space of the Peace Community.

And thus amidst this territorial struggle, the community was born. The Peace Community began when hundreds of campesinos were forced from their lands almost twelve years ago by the armed conflict overrunning their homes and the paramilitaries terrorizing their lives. Although distressed and displaced, a group of these farmers would not accept this unwarranted takeover of their fields. Founding and organizing the Peace Community, many farmers therefore started to return to their homes in the conflict-ridden mountainsides. Not only were these returns a display of their courage and strength, but was also a statement of their collective will to live peacefully and neutrally in their land, which they had cultivated for decades.

Yet to this day, these Peace Community members are still being threatened by the paramilitaries in the lands to which these campesinos have reclaimed as their homes. Over the last few years and even as recently as this past February, FOR has accompanied the members as they have officially returned to three settlements of the community. However, just this past month has the Peace Community once again experienced the devastating effects of the conflict in and around their homes, as a number of farmers in La Esperanza have been displaced from their homes. However, the Peace Community refuses to neither surrender their land nor let these violations go unaddressed; the community has already publically denounced these recent injustices and declared its unwavering position of non-violent resistance to this illegal armed group.

On November 7th, a large group of armed and identified paramilitaries entered into the settlement of La Esperanza, which is also home to members of the Peace Community. Because it is well-known in the region that the neighboring settlement to La Esperanza is controlled by these paramilitaries, the community acknowledged this invasion as an attempt to spread their authority into this territory. With guns and verbal abuse, this illegal armed group threatened some of these campesinos, saying that they were going to be killed unless they displaced from their homes. Because of this encounter, five families immediately displaced from this settlement, which in turn increased the level of risk of displacement for those campesinos that remained, including the families of the Peace Community. When gunshots were heard on the following day, even more families from La Esperanza displaced from their homes for fear of finding themselves yet again amidst the presence of these nearby paramilitaries, and thus of continued threats on their lives.

Therefore on November 17th, a group of leaders of the Peace Community with the international accompaniment of FOR went to La Esperanza, having heard that the only people that had stayed were the members of the community while all the other farmers had been displaced. In order to maintain a unified presence of the Peace Community in this settlement and increase security for these campesinos, the community leaders gathered and met with these remaining families. By encouraging these community members to stay on their lands and to work together, these campesinos would demonstrate their continued opposition to the armed conflict through their collective refusal to abandon their lands. Despite the paramilitary movements around the community settlement, these farmers believe that maintaining the presence of the Peace Community in La Esperanza is a form of peaceful resistance to the control of the armed groups. Recognizing that they themselves as the remaining few families in the settlement were the last obstacle to the armed groups taking complete control of this area, these Peace Community members agreed to stay in their homes.

These campesinos bravely and boldly decided not to relinquish their land for which they had already sacrificed so much to keep, including previous displacements, a number of assassinations and countless threats throughout the almost twelve years of the Peace Community's existence. With the political support and physical presence of FOR and other international organizations, these families of the community have overcome any fears in order to proceed with their work and lives in their own homes. Nonetheless, the reality of the threat of forced displacement and of the invasion of paramilitaries continues to exist in this region; however, as we have witnessed firsthand this past month, the strength and determinance of the Peace Community have also proven to unwieldingly persevere.