Fedes

Having arrived in Colombia, I spent the morning with the Fedes team – a group of psychologists, social workers, lawyers and teachers which SCIAF supports. They work in the shanty towns of the capital city, Bogota, and in other urban areas which are expanding every day as more displaced people arrive. Most have been forced from their homes and farms by armed groups who use violence and threats to move them on.

Cocaine production is a common factor in these displacements. More recently, an explosion in the production of palm oil - used to make bio-fuels and in many products in our supermarkets - has caused a new wave of displacement. Families arrive with only the belongings they can carry on their backs and are forced to make shacks out of whatever materials they can find.

We are visiting Altos de Cazuca, a shanty town an hour south of Bogota, nearly 3,000 metres above sea level. Corrugated iron shacks and small brick houses cling precariously to the steep hillsides between dirt paths and open sewers.

There are hardly any public services and gaining access to essentials like water can eat up a huge chunk of a household’s income. Water is piped through the shanty town in thin tubes suspended from telegraph poles and each family is charged exorbitant rates for a bucket or two to meet their basic needs.

There is a palpable climate of fear here. Officially, Colombia’s notorious paramilitary groups, who were responsible for much of the violence and killings, have been demobilised. In fact, they continue to operate in new gangs. Altos de Cazuca is under the control of several gangs who threaten and often assassinate those brave enough to stand up for their basic rights.

Fedes works with displaced families and the organisations that are emerging to represent their needs. An important aspect of this work is preventing the recruitment of young people into gangs related to the paramilitaries.

In the shanty towns, disillusioned youths with few opportunities and little access to education are an easy target for these illegal armed groups whose ranks continue to swell as a constant stream of children and young people are recruited, enticed by money and status.

Schools here are under-funded and can only take pupils for two days a week. Fedes helps young people to gain an education and funds weekly youth groups which teach youngsters new skills and build their self esteem. One such group, Roots of Hope, is putting on a play called Land of Ghosts based on children’s rights in Colombia. I joined them for a dress rehearsal and was really impressed by the way the young people expressed their concerns about their environment and their hopes for the future.

Fedes also supports people who have been traumatised by the conflict - particularly women, many of whom have been sexually assaulted - by helping them to access medical services and legal justice. Unfortunately, Colombia’s legal system results in very few convictions. Their work with individuals is backed up by helping supportive networks to form and grow. These groups provide essential support for displaced people as they attempt to re-establish their lives in a new and frightening context, struggle to gain rights and to resist the control of paramilitaries in the area.

Alongside this work, Fedes offer protection to human rights defenders and community leaders whose lives are threatened. I met Don Manuel, a displaced activist and community leader who regularly reports threats and violence committed by armed gangs and is the founder of a number of local groups demanding basic services. His case was given national and international attention which is hopefully enough to dissuade the armed groups from following up on their threats.

Don Manuel’s wife Ester participates in a small project run by Fedes which enables nine women to produce jam and marmalade. They are now earning enough to meet their basic needs and to improve their houses by replacing the tin walls with bricks.

I was really impressed by Fedes. They work with both individuals and communities, helping them to stand up for their human rights and access legal support. Fedes also teaches community groups how to lobby governments and businesses at local, national and international level in order to get their voices heard. The Director has just left for Geneva where she is presenting a report on children’s rights in the context of the conflict at the UN’s review of the status of human rights in Colombia.