Our online video series on "Colombian Children of War" has come to an end! We hope that you found the videos we've been posting over the past two weeks worthwhile and that you had the chance to learn more about our work with our amazing sister organization Taller de Vida.
In case you'd like to revisit some of the entries in this series, here is the full list:
We're getting close to wrapping up this video series on child soldiers and the conflict in Colombia. In today's video, originally posted the website of our sister organization Taller de Vida, we are presented with a series of observations and reflections on the city of Bogota. We see what Bogota has in common with any other city, including in the cultural expressions of its communities in dance and performance. But then we see what it means when violence becomes a threat to those communities.
Internally displaced people face marginalization and discrimination – and the situation is only worse for young pregnant women. This is the story of Sandra and her daughter Tania, who along with their family, arrived in Los Altos de Cazuca running from the violence and war in Colombia. In this country, with the second highest number of internally displaced persons, being a woman and underage increases one’s vulnerability and chance of becoming a victim of human rights violations. Sandra’s story reflects the enormous gaps that exist between social policy and the respect and protection of the basic human rights, where internally displaced persons not only endure the horrific consequences of war but also suffer from the absence of government support and aid.
Sandra not only had to overcome the overwhelming feeling of being displaced and arriving at one of the most marginalized neighborhoods in Bogotá, but also had to find a way to support her family. Her proactive and positive attitude led her to engage in a search for a way to help kids in her neighborhood by making a video proposal so her community could benefit from it. She narrates her story through a video documentary made by students of Taller de Vida, MADRE’s sister organization in Colombia.
She explains:
“There are people here who are fighting for their dreams, that’s what really matters.”
Being forcibly displaced to a neighborhood like Altos de Cazucá can become a traumatizing experience and in many cases expose the most vulnerable populations such as woman, girls and boys to a series of human rights violations and crimes. In many cases there is not only a deprivation of basic needs such as shelter and food, but also access to health, education, among others.
In a country torn by war and armed conflict, with no apparent end, we see the story of a young 13-year-old. Despite widespread silence imposed by armed groups in Colombia, he has recovered his voice through rap and the use of video.
His story is one of many where violence and fear leaves little choice but to seek shelter in big cities, only to find themselves continually marginalized. He describes how their basic needs are rarely met and how they become victims of discrimination, lack of opportunities, and in many cases the same violence that displaced them in the first place.
With the support of the MADRE sister organization Taller de Vida, he has been able to tell his story and "rap at fear" as a way to confront the irregular armed “social cleansing” groups that continue to enforce their control in the outskirts of the city of Bogotá.
Welcome to the second week of our video series, Colombian Children of War Speak Out! For the past week, we have been posting videos highlighting the children and youth involved in the programs provided by MADRE's sister organization, Taller de Vida. To find out more about Taller de Vida, click here.
The theater program referenced above, one of the many innovative art programs developed by Taller de Vida, gives youth the opportunity to publicly perform full theater plays. Through the power of theater, participants are provided a safe space as an outlet to express themselves and to escape their daily realities of violence and conflict. The youth involved in the theater projects are also actively learning a professional skill, while gaining new perspectives on life and developing into stronger individuals.
When asked about the role that theater plays in the lives of Colombian youth, one program participant replied:
"Theater, like many things in life, help young people, but it depends on how you use it. [Theater] uses discipline and particularly it helps young people expand their knowledge, their expectations and their perceptions."
The video above, produced in partnership with Youth Radio, takes a look into the transformative effect of theater on the lives of the youth who are involved. Just a sampling of some of their comments on the experience shows this:
"Theater is a language that makes me feel good. I like to take my daily situations on stage."
"It's an activity that has helped me grow."
"It's a way to express yourself in public in front of an audience."
A few months ago, we shared this video above with you, coupled with a series of reflections by Miguel Macias. Miguel is a youth media producer, MADRE volunteer and an assistant professor at the department of Television and Radio at Brooklyn College--and many of the videos we've been showing you this week are the result of his guidance in leading a multimedia workshop with youth in Bogota.
Miguel reflected on his experience, saying:
Memory is a funny thing. I am fascinated by it. Perhaps because my own
memory is always influencing what I do. Teaching these young students
from Bogota I wonder about their memories. And I wonder about how those
memories shape who they are. One of the people I met in Bogota told me:
"I've met people who have gone through horrible things, and they are
fine. No psychological consequences... that I can see". But can it be
that these young people are immune to the kind of things they went
through? Some of them certainly look like it. That is... assuming that
the kind of things they went through are actually horrible and
traumatic for them. Maybe these realities are just the norm for them.
Maybe they grew up with them and never saw this environment, this
political violence the country has been involved in for so long, as
extraordinary. Nothing extraordinary.
Earlier this month, the Youth Radio website posted some additional reflections from one of the young people who helped produce this video:
In Colombia people take advantage of the chaos to survive. But the
characters you’ll find in this video piece are different from the
displaced citizens who found at a traffic light what they could not
find in the places where they came from when they were violently pushed
out. The characters you’ll see in this video are people who have their
basic needs satisfied. They work at the traffic lights because they
enjoy it, because they love art. You can find them at any Bogota
street, full of happiness and magic. Their dreams live on the streets
for a short period of time. The streets, which are a different world.
It is there where you can witness the solidarity, the proof that there
are good people who hustle, who found in this informal employment, the
way to keep going.
Since 2001, MADRE has been partnering with a great organization in Colombia -- Taller de Vida -- promoting the rights of children to have a decent, safe, and happy life. We’ve mentioned our sister organization on the blog a few already times this week, and we wanted to write a blog entry that gives you a little more detail about the projects that together we have made real.
As stated in the Convention of the Rights of the Child, Article 39 talks about the rehabilitation of child victims -- "Children who have been neglected, abused or exploited should receive special help to physically and psychologically recover and reintegrate into society. Particular attention should be paid to restoring the health, self-respect and dignity of the child". Throughout these years, MADRE and Taller de Vida have worked through the project "Protecting Children of War."
MADRE and Taller de Vida give Colombian children with the support they need to resist exploitation and create alternatives to the on-going violence in Colombia. This includes critical services for children who are at high-risk for being recruited as child-soldiers, giving them the social and psychological support they need.
This partnership provides trauma counseling, art therapy, and recreational programs to young people in Bogotá who have been uprooted from their homes by war and poverty. The organization offers an after-school art education program for displaced children, most of whom are Indigenous and Afro-Colombian youth living in poor communities on the outskirts of Bogotá. The art program helps children develop their artistic talent and learn to express themselves through writing, painting, dance, and acting and helps young people who have experienced the enduring trauma of war envision—and work to create—a more peaceful world.
The video above, produced also in partnership with Youth Radio, shows what this art program for prevention and rehabilitation of children that were involved in the armed conflict looks like in reality. Two of the young men in the video commented on what drove them to start this folk music group.
In Usme, one of the neighborhoods of Bogota (Colombia), five young people that had arrived to the big city from other areas of the country, decided to start a folk music group. But these young people didn’t know how to play instruments and didn’t own them. Then the Non Governmental organization Taller de Vida entered the scene. The five young people joined a street performance group where they learned a lot things including playing drums. But above all, they learned a very important thing: that using art they could fight violence. Finally, these youngsters created a group which the called Kayeke, the name of a typical dish from the Colombian Atlantic coast. The youngsters have gained some recognition and have performed at several art shows in Bogota. They mainly play Atlantic folk music.
To support MADRE's work in Colombia and around the world, click here.
The use of child soldiers is
prevalent not just in Colombia but across the world. Like Jorge and Edwin in the video above, many
child soldiers enlist in armed conflict due to economic or family
hardships.
When
I arrived to the big city, everything was chaotic. I didn’t know how to defend
myself in a city as a big as Bogotá. My biggest difficulties were
transportation and the lack of money. I entered then a reinsertion program,
where I had to follow certain rules. Today, I live independently and still… I
have to follow some rules and attend psycho-social support meetings. This program
also supports me with a monthly stipend. Once I was independent, I had to face
new problems, such as paying for rent, buy food and clothing. That’s when one
goes through tough times. And that’s when I would feel like crying and I
thought about going back to one of the armed groups.
Then
I found the organization Taller de Vida, which supports me through the arts. I
participated in a project called Bambu, where they taught me to believe in
myself as a person, they gave me a job, and helped me live a life with dignity
and not hurting anyone.
The United Nations Convention
on the Rights of the Child (CRC) was put in place, in part, to address
violations of children’s rights, including with the use of child soldiers. Created in 1989, this body of standards was
set in motion to recognize that children have human rights.
Yet, the United States has
not ratified the CRC for over twenty years.
The only other country not to ratify is Somalia—and
Somalia
has indicated that they are moving towards ratification. In the US, it has been opposed by such figures
as the late Senator Jesse Helms, who claimed that “the Convention has the
potential to severely restrict States and the Federal Government in their
efforts to protect children and to enhance family life,” a claim that has been
refuted by those who point out that the Convention would maintain national
sovereignty.
In December 2002, the US ratified
the Optional Protocol to the CRC on the involvement of children in armed
conflict, an addition to the Convention establishing a minimum age of 18 for direct
participation in armed conflict. In
early 2003, the US military changed some of their policies stating that they could not
deploy soldiers under 18 outside of the US, but reports have highlighted that
in 2003-2004, the US military did deploy (at least 62) seventeen-year-old
soldiers to Iraq and Afghanistan. For
the Marine Corps, obligations under the Optional Protocol have been cast aside,
as it is left up to the commander’s discretion to decide whether a soldier
under 17 may be deployed in combat.
The Obama Administration must now take steps, not only
to implement the terms of the Optional Protocol on child soldiers, but to
ratify the Convention itself.
Last summer, we got in touch with a longtime volunteer and supporter, Miguel Macias. Skilled in radio and multimedia production, we helped arrange for him to travel to Bogotá, Colombia and to conduct a multimedia workshop with the youth participants of our sister organization Taller de Vida.
The video above is one of the messages to emerge from that experience. (We will sharing more of these videos with you over the coming days.) Produced by Carolyn Flores and Yovani Mora, it presents a series of viewpoints from people across the city of Bogotá on the question: “What does it mean to be a woman in Colombia?” Check the video out also for a demonstration of Taller de Vida’s dance programs, a key component of their efforts to mobilize art to express messages of social justice and to provide support for former child soldiers.
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