PICNIC PARA AYUDAR EL PUEBLO DE ITUANGO - PICNIC TO HELP THE TOWN OF ITUANGO

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Fuente: CM&
http://cmi.com.co/?ir=noticia&nota=42407&seccion=7

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Domingo, 04 de Abril de 2010 15:21
Unos 1.500 campesinos abandonaron sus tierras y buscaron refugio en el casco urbano de Ituango presionados por la guerrilla de las FARC, denunciaron hoy las autoridades civiles de esa localidad.
Los labriegos proceden del caserío de La Vega del Inglés y otros tres parajes rurales de la población, precisó su alcalde, Carlos Mario Gallo, quien indicó que el éxodo se registró el sábado. Los desplazados atribuyeron el desplazamiento forzado al frente 18 de las FARC, reducto que actúa en la región, agregó el funcionario, que dispuso que los campesinos fueran acogidos en un establecimiento educativo.

En declaraciones a la cadena Caracol Radio, el alcalde pidió a la Gobernación de Antioquia, departamento al que pertenece Ituango, lo mismo que a entidades estatales y al Comité Internacional de la Cruz Roja (CICR), que ofrezcan ayuda humanitaria a los desplazados.

La zona del éxodo estuvo bajo control de grupos paramilitares, cuenta con siembras de cocales y es escenario de frecuentes choques armados.

EFE

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Hola todos, vamos a tener un picnic en el Jardín Botánico a las 12PM para ayudar los desplazados en Ituango. Lo que pasa es que el pueblo de Ituango tiene apenas 5.900 habitantes pero porque hay conflicto en la región ahora tiene más que 1.500 desplazados en el pueblo (como 25% incremento de la población).

NO SE PREOCUPEN, el picnic va a ser un picnic normal con mucha diversión, risas, comida, y amigos nuevos; SIN EMBARGO, para participar con el picnic tienen que traer por lo menos unas comidas no perecederas, artículos de aseo (como papel higiénico), y/o cobijas para donar a los campesinos desplazados de Ituango.

Gracias por su apoyo.

Attn,

-Kevin Post


///ENGLISH VERSION///

Source: Latin American Herald Tribune
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=354766&CategoryId=12393

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FARC Forces 1,500 Peasants off Land in Colombia

Some 1,500 peasants left their land and sought refuge in Ituango under pressure from Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, guerrillas, officials in the northwestern city said.

The peasants, who are from the hamlet of La Vega del Ingles and three other rural communities, left their land on Saturday, Ituango Mayor Carlos Mario Gallo said.

The peasants were forced off their land by the FARC’s 18th Front, which operates in the area, the mayor said, adding that the refugees were given shelter at a school.

The government of Antioquia province, where Ituango is located, public agencies and the Red Cross must provide assistance to the displaced peasants, Gallo told Caracol Radio.

The area where the peasants live was once under the control of right-wing paramilitary groups and is home to coca plantations.

Fighting among rival groups frequently takes place in the area.

Colombia, where leftist rebels and right-wing militias have been battling each other for decades, is second only to Sudan in the number of internally displaced people.

The FARC, Colombia’s oldest and largest leftist guerrilla group, was founded in 1964, has an estimated 8,000 to 17,000 fighters and operates across a large swath of this Andean nation. EFE

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Hey everyone, we are going to have a picnic in the Jardín Botánico at 12PM to help the displaced population in Ituango. The thing is the town of Ituango has a population of about 5,900 inhabitants but because of the conflict in the region the town has more than 1,500 displaced persons (roughly a 25% increase in the local population).


DON'T WORRY, the picnic is going to be a normal picnic with fun, laughs, food and new friends; HOWEVER, to participate you have to bring at least some non-perishable food, toiletries (such as toilet paper), and/or blankets to donate to the displaced campesinos of Ituango.

Thanks for your support.

Attentively,

-Kevin Post

Prelude: Caquetá, Colombia

I almost never think of death while I travel but recently the governor of the Colombian department of Caquetá was captured from his home in Florencia and assassinated by what was believed to be the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or simply Las FARC. Las FARC is to this date still the largest leftist guerrilla army in the Western Hemisphere with an estimated 9,000 soldiers.

Click here for a well written summery of what has happened

Now, I feel for the governor's friends, family and admires but this also puts a huge dent in my plans. You see, I was supposed to be in Caquetá beginning in Florencia for Christmas. I understand that plans change so I have decided to spend Christmas with a girl I'm dating in her home town of Puerto Berrío along the Río Magdalena. It should be a good time with lots of freshly caught fish, music, dancing, humidity, swimming and kissing before I meet my travel partner Diego in Ibagué.

In regards to Caquetá, my theory is that now is the time to be there while security is at its peak. Just like a calm after a storm, after a large well planned attack occurs anywhere in the world it is usually peaceful afterward.

I am going to consult with Diego as well as my contacts in Caquetá before we go to see things from their perspectives. That's how Colombia works, to get way of the beaten path the local population should be consulted first.

For months now I have tirelessly researched, made contacts and planned to go to Caquetá; from my research and advice I have received it is an amazing and very off the beaten path destination for both Colombians and foreigners with a hint of danger. Much of Caquetá was once part of a DMZ created as a safe-haven for Las FARC in order to commence peace talks with the Colombian government. Caquetá has an incredibly strong guerrilla, paramilitary and military presence. Adventure, remoteness, a distinct culture, history, beauty, and a hint of danger is what I am looking for right now and Caquetá provides all of that. It's not a matter if I go but when. If we allow these players of war & public disorder to create an atmosphere of fear, they have already won.

As soon as I'm on my way to Caquetá, you'll be the first to know. Take care everyone and enjoy your vacation time (if you have any).

Attentively,

-Kevin Post

A few days in Bogotá with a few moments in Guasca

Hey everyone, first I'd like to mention that it is so great to be back in Colombia (my second home). I loved seeing friends, family and former coworkers as well as meeting like-minded people with good vibes in my home town of Orlando; nevertheless, Colombia rocks my world.

I usually catch flights to Miami from Bogotá because it is usually less expensive than catching a flight from Medellín to Miami. I have two main motives for going to Bogotá:

1. to renew my student visa
2. to catch flights home

Although I enjoy my time in Bogotá seeing friends of mine, I really don't have any other reason to go there; I've been at least ten times and lots of money have gone down the tubes because Bogotá is a very expensive city weather or not you make Colombian pesos or U.S. Dollars. Still a fun city to kick back cheap boxes of wine in a park and enjoy illegal political urban art.

I honestly didn't take many pictures of Bogotá. As I have mentioned, I have been there many times and therefore no photos needed to be taken. Besides, I am sure that there are millions of photos of Bogotá in Google images.

(Click on photos to enlarge them)

This is what I would picture an eerie 1940's mental hospital would look like.


From left to right: Leo, Kevin, Joanna. I was honored to be Leo's first Couchsurfer and had a blast being simultaneously hosted with Joanna from the Netherlands. Leo is one of my all time favorite people and most definitely my favorite costeño (Valledupar, Colombia). He's moving to Madrid in a few months meaning I have to visit him while he's in Valledupar (I'll be there in a few weeks).

Being a traveler on a tight budget in an overpriced city makes free food a jump for joy occasion. Thanks Joanna for the awesome vegetarian lasagna along with an amazing salad (that was my dinner and breakfast the next morning).

The photo above and the rest of the stencils below are wonderful works of art that send a power yet subtle message to those whom pass by. A good friend of mine Ara took hundreds of photos throughout Bogotá of political graffiti. Bogotá is a goldmine for powerful political urban art. Now, Ara is taking a break from his blog which is smart because spending hours at a time on a computer screen while traveling is a huge waste of time unless it pays the bills. Anyway, check back on his graffiti page from time to time because eventually he will upload some killer stencil artwork from the streets of Bogotá:

http://thelifelesstravelled.com/search/label/Graffiti

Here are the rest:




These two above remind me of a line from a song called "Succexy" by Metric: "Let's drink to the military, their glass is empty"



By far some of my favorite pieces I've seen in Bogotá. The last piece is a game of tic-tac-toe saying "Nadie Gana" (Nobody wins). I've seen many more that I loved (like a "Falso Positivo" piece that I LOVE...coming eventually) but didn't have my camera with me. Again, I am sure that eventually Ara will post them in his blog.


These two photos above were taken by my good friend Catalina Rumbo. She's quite the photographer, many of her works can be found here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ktiusk/


Guasca, Cundinamarca

Guasca happened last minute and by accident. I had no idea this place existed and to be honest didn't really want to go at the time. I was supposed to catch a bus at 1am but to the CS Bogotá crew it was more important to drive out to a remote place away from light pollution. Of course, there were small towns everywhere with plenty of electricity to block the stars' beautiful, taken for granted shine and it just so happened to be cloudy everywhere we went. Long story short, we ended up driving for hours looking for stars and I ended up missing my bus back to Medellín.




Eventually we stopped in a small town called Guasca and decided to take some pictures so that our long drive didn't go completely to waste. However, most of us weren't in agreement because the people who had cars had no consideration that many of us had work early in the morning or in my case a bus to catch back home. I had an okay time but next time I would rather catch the bus and be home on time (I had a date to attend). By the way, these four photos above were not taken by me nor my camera, I forgot the name of the person who had taken them. I will give them credit a.s.a.p.





It was a cute little town and now that I look back I am glad that I went and spent more time with Leo and Catalina.

Reality bites. Here I am in this quaint little town in Cundinamarca with cute energy consuming Christmas decorations and I stumble upon this. It says, "AUC" which stands for Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia) and is the most dangerous armed group in the country (According to Human Rights Watch approximately 70% of all human rights violations in Colombia are caused by right-wing militias such as the AUC). This is Colombia at times, a quaint cute little town with a bloody past or a shinning grace with a dirty secret.

I am so happy to be back in Medellín. In a few days I will be on the road for several weeks before classes start back up again. That's all for now, I promise that while not traveling I will upload more photos and publish more posts.

Attentively,

-Kevin Post

P.S. Another photo taken of me by Catalina Rumbo in Guasca (I don't remember why or what I was doing when this photo was taken):

Don't give in to them, don't encourage this behavior and save lives

Hello family, it was great hearing from you today. I cannot wait to have more conversations with you guys. Well, it turns out that I can't travel on the weekends until I get a new debit card and pay off my utilities from the old apartment.

But when I do travel, as you know, I love going off the beaten path to the roads that lead to nowhere. I love meeting people whom almost never receive visits from foreigners. I love to go places that change me for the better and teach me many lessons. I like to lightly stimulate the economies that haven't developed a tourism industry. I love how much my stories have meant to people as a result. I love the surrealism of being there. I love the hint of adrenalin of being in places I have been told not to visit. I know that these experiences will pay off one way or another.

Colombia is a much safer place than it was a few years ago. I mean, the place is flooded with tourism and foreigners are beginning to discover how amazing this country is although buried in their guide books as if it answered the meaning of life. However, off the beaten path in Colombia can lead to potentially risky situations. Roads that lead to nowhere often mean that they lead to problems with public disorder; in other words teenagers with plastic boots, kalashnikovs and a warped perception of reality outside the mountains and jungles of Colombia. Colombia was once number one in the world for kidnappings but of the time of this writing Colombia is at number four after Mexico, Venezuela and Brazil depending on whom you ask.

I write this blog as a message to family and friends: If I am to be kidnapped (which statically is HIGHLY UNLIKELY) don't give in to their demands. I mean, if they charge something like a few hundred dollars then fair enough (I'll pay you back hehe) but as soon as it reaches the thousands do not give it to them. Like all economies kidnapping for ransom is a lucrative business because it's easy money and easy money signifies that people are continuing to do it. I understand that it is an immense amount of stress knowing that one's loved one is rotting in the jungles of Colombia but if you pay the ransom that is incentive for these players in this ongoing conflict to continue kidnapping. Is that fair to the rest of the Colombian people? If I am to be kidnapped, I would rather have something happen to me than pay them off in order to send a message that kidnapping will not be rewarded. The less we give into grief by paying off armed groups the quicker they will lose funds and in the long run lose power.

My basic message, don't support their dirty war. I am just one life and when we chose to fight against this disgraceful act, the more lives we can save. If I am ever to be kidnapped (I hope that this is never the case), I will comply with my captors and do whatever it takes to survive. But I will do as much as I can to discourage this behavior as well.

This isn't a matter of politics, it doesn't matter if it's the left or the right, kidnapping is unacceptable; especially when one claims to fight for the pueblo (population).

Take care, sorry for writing a depressing blog entry for you to read. Love you guys and I promise that I'll be fine, plan my trips carefully, and not get into intentional danger :)

-Kevin Post