Colombia Protests Inequality

By Lissette Mateus Roa, Co-Facilitator, Global Alumni Network

Colombia is the third most unequal country in the world, and the gap is growing. That is what is causing the latest mass protests in the country.

Colombians no longer care about FARC guerrillas, they no longer protest nor fear this group that signed a peace agreement with President Santos 3 years ago. Now, Colombians have turned their eyes to the real problems that afflict the nation; a health care system that does not work, little chance of education, inequality, impunity and especially corruption. Above all, it is the corruption of politicians that keeps the country in a precarious state because the money that should be available for the benefit of a country is stolen by a few and the government persists in benefiting those few.

President Iván Duque, who was the candidate of the former president and now-Senator Álvaro Uribe Vélez, has neglected the peace agreements, has not complied with them, and instead has allowed new illegal groups in the country to start arming again to fight for routes of drug trafficking and land. Because of that, there are newly displaced people and new massacres again. In addition, due to the tax reforms that Ivan Duque is presenting before the congress and a new law lead by the political party of former President Álvaro Uribe, he has shown that it is a government that aims to favor the richest, widening the gap of inequality in the country.

There are specific requirements that are being presented to the government and for which the huge protest marches began on November 21, 2019:

  • Reduction of war budget, which is larger than the health budget even though the FARC no longer exists.
  • More budget for higher education, because only 10% of young lower social class students enter the university and only 48% of those are from official schools.
  • That the government complies with the peace agreements, and stops the killing of demobilized people. Already 130 have been killed in the last 2 years.
  • That the government stop the genocide of indigenous people and systematic murder of social leaders in the country. 134 indigenous people and more than 400 social leaders have been killed during the government of Iván Duque.
  • That the government stop widening inequality gaps. That it desist in the tax reform (called the package), which raises taxes for the middle classes and lowers the taxes of large companies. It could reduce the salary of young people under 25 years old to 75% of the current minimum, eliminate the pension funds, and left with precarious work to the independent ones that are around 40% of the country workers.

To understand this reform a little more, along with the new law, it is important to know that in Colombia, 1 hour of work is paid 1 dollar, and the minimum salary is 236 dollars per month, but a congressperson in Colombia is paid 9,531 dollars per month, this means 40 time more than a minimum salary. The law proposed by the government pretends to make a flexible minimum salary, and have young people working per hours, or part time, which is going to be cheaper for employers, but precarious for workers who would have monthly salaries of less than 236 dollars. The government said it is a way to have more jobs for unemployed people who currently are 10% of population. Apart from that, they said they will reduce from 48 to 45 hours a week of work, but this is going to leave workers without two days a year in payment, which they used to have for having time with their families and without 2 extra hours a week of recreation. Moreover, workers won’t have Sunday as their rest day, but it could be any day of the week, even if they would not have time with their families because their day of rest does not match with their families’. And they won’t have payment for holidays either.

On the top of that, with the tax reform, the government wants that independent workers, which in Colombia is half of the workforce (about 11,800,000 people), pay 19% in taxes over their salary, knowing that they already pay about 21% of their salary in VAT and payments of health and pensions. Meaning that if an independent worker has a monthly income of 3,000, they should pay about 40% of their salary in taxes, VAT, and parafiscal contributions. While this happened with independent workers, the big enterprises will have a reduction in their tax payments from 33% to 30%, which will amount to a little bit more than 2 and a half billion dollars, which is double the budget for the country's university education, if we want to compare it. Another proposed law states that if companies hire young people less than 28 years old, they would have a 120% deduction on payments. In this sense, under this reform, along with the before mentioned proposed law, companies could hire people for less payment and less obligation, and they would have more deductions. What a great government for big companies!

Apart from that, the products already have a 19% VAT. For example, one gallon of petrol costs 2.60 dollars. All of this is going to widen the inequality gap and will make the rich richer, the middle classes unable to obtain more, and the poorest even poorer.

Despite all of the above, the government says it does not understand why citizens want to protest. For this reason, since the first march on the 21st, police and ESMAD (Mobile Riot Squadron) forces were deployed during the peaceful marches during the day. Because of that, citizens started a “Cacerolazo” from home, a form of protest in Latin America in which pots with spoons are beaten to make the government feel that the protestors are not vandals but an entire nation from their homes protesting peacefully. This sound was heard and spread throughout all neighborhoods and cities in Colombia.

To give you a sense of what these peacedful, if noisy, protests looked like, please watch this video taken at the street level and this video showing an overhead view.

On November 22 again there were marches and there were riots in different parts of the city (see video here). In the evening, President Ivan Duque decided to generate a general curfew in Bogotá and militarize the city. Somehow, a panic campaign was created – we still don’t known by whom it was orchestrated – through social networks, calls, and people entering residential complexes. It was said that they were going to destroy houses and that they were going to steal. It was a night of panic for the entire Bogota City. The next day, the mayor of the city said that all the alert calls were a lie and that it had been a dark campaign to generate chaos in the city.

After that night, many were afraid to go out and march. However, the marches continued on November 23, and in the afternoon hours, Dylan Cruz, 18 years old, was shot in the head by the ESMAD. Dylan was about to receive his high school grade on November 25, but instead, due to the impact, his body did not resist any more, and he died on his graduation day.

Despite all these marches and events going on, the president had said in his speeches he wanted to establish a dialogue. Last week, in the middle of the strike, the president passed the tax reform to the congress, and it was approved in the first plenary. The aforementioned law was also approved. In addition, the housing subsidy for the middle class was removed, and a law was passed to the congress so that the ESMAD could have more riot weapons. And the cherry on the cake was a law called Andrés Felipe Arias, named for a former minister of agriculture of prior President Álvaro Uribe, who was accused of giving land that should be for the poor to the rich, a scheme from which Alvaro Uribe Velez himself benefited. Andrés Felipe Arias was imprisoned in the United States and found guilty, as he was found guilty in Colombia. However, this law will allow him and many other corrupt individuals out of jails or house arrest and shorten their sentences.

Faced with this mockery and interweaving of laws and reforms to benefit a few, Colombians have not stopped marching.

Last Sunday, December 8, a march was called, that was supported by artists and was massive. The marches and protest will continue, but the government does not want to listen.

So, in this moment, we ask for international support for Colombian people. As Desmond Tutu said, “if you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.”


Colombia Update

New Developments Unfolding in Colombia - Peace Process Impacted

The international reports coming out of Colombia in recent days, reflect the most current on-the-ground information from our Global Associate in Bogota, Lissette Mateus Roa

Although the situation is volatile and things are changing almost daily, Lissette remains committed to finding solutions to the violence in her country through peace initiatives like the ESPERE methodology. She also remains cautiously optimistic about the peace process, despite the recent set-backs.

The set-backs that are most noteworthy, include the FARC staging numerous attacks around the country once the negotiated ceasefires were abandoned. These included almost daily attacks on oil pipelines and others to the electrical grid. Lissette commented directly on this:

 

[quote]After the (abandoned ceasefire) we have had different FARC attacks around Colombia. Most of them against police and the oil industry–they have caused the biggest environmental disaster in the last 10 years, because they blew up a pipeline causing the spilling of more than 400,000 gallons of crude oil into nearby rivers, streams and mangroves. It's very sad ... last week there were 2 bombings in Bogota where one person died, but those bombs were set by the ELN."[/quote]

- Lissette Matueus Roa

 

More on the recent roadblocks to the overall peace negotiations and the agreements already in place can be found in this excellent editorial at the Economist. From the piece:

 

[quote]It was never going to be easy. Three times since the 1980s Colombian governments have tried but failed to broker peace with the guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Even so, the latest talks seemed set to succeed in ending a conflict that has dogged Latin America's third-most-populous country."[/quote]

 

As we said, Lissette remains cautiously optimistic and each new day in Colombia brings updates to the situation. Just yesterday, a new announcement was made by FARC which could lead to a new ceasefire beginning later this month. Lissette points to the many people in her country working everyday towards peace. She sent along this video featuring a project that her husband's organization sponsored. Not unlike our partnership with Lissette in finding ways to bridge the differences in communities trying to overcome the scars of the civil conflict in Colombia, this video shows how ex-guerrillas are on the path to forging a new peace by taking part in a unique reintegration course.

 


Summer 2014 Newsletter

It has been a busy summer for us at the Goldin Institute! Visits from global advocates, interviews with local community leaders and progress with our partners around the globe have kept us moving forward both locally and abroad. We are thrilled to share this latest update with news from our recent work on the ground in Uganda and Zanzibar.

Watch a brief video overview of this newsletter: 

Uganda

In June, Diane and Travis travelled to Uganda to participate in a training led by our Global Associate Lissette Mateus Roa from Colombia. Lissette trained our partners in Uganda to use the ESPERE methodology. Developed in Colombia, the methodology is designed to engage the local community by using schools as centers for reconciliation for former child soldiers in the region.

The training took the form of an intensive eight day workshop wherein program participants learned about strategies to promote forgiveness and reconciliation and obtained tools to carry these ideas forward within their community. Sixteen individuals—including child combatants, teachers, counsellors and community members—from five different regions of Northern Uganda participated in the training.

ESPERE Training for Former Child Soldiers in Uganda.

From theoretical to tangible, the workshop began by developing the concepts that would lay the foundation for communities to reintegrate former combatants and develop resiliency against the practice in the future. Language barriers, cultural differences and preconceived notions quickly dissolved as the ESPERE program took root with participants and it became clear that the need for forgiveness and reconciliation, especially towards young combatants, is universal.

The first three days deconstructed the idea of forgiveness and what it means to forgive. Beyond verbally saying the words "I forgive you," workshop attendees learned that forgiveness requires tools, engaged with a thoughtful process, to fix problems that arise for both victims and perpetrators. In addition to a cultural perspective, forgiveness was presented through an academic and practical viewpoint, connecting with all participants in ways that honored and enhanced their personal and communal affiliations. Participants explored ways that forgiveness is instrumental in mending the societal fabric tattered by conflict. Over the next two days, participants were guided through approaches to reconciliation that highlighted the need for an individual to think about the bonds they are trying to fix and identify the terms on which a newly reconciled relationship can function. During this session, surprising connections occurred between everyone in the room. Even though the scars of war were etched in the hearts and minds of both participants and trainers coming from very different circumstances and regions, everyone shared the desire to return to a peaceful community without hostile relationships.

On the sixth day of the workshop, program participants now equipped with the conceptual foundation of forgiveness and reconciliation went through a "train the trainer" session. Lissette taught program participants the methodology behind the ESPERE program so they are able to lead the reintegration program themselves. Finally, the last two days of the program leveraged what was learned and developed plans to put this knowledge into practice. Program participants met with former child soldiers and created action plans based on their insights and aspirations. Speaking with former child soldiers allowed program participants to understand their needs through the new lenses of forgiveness and reconciliation. The first-hand perspectives of the former child soldiers also informed participants about gaps in their society that they could address. The attendees and eventual graduates put together action plans to concretely outline their next steps to carry forward the tools and knowledge gained in the workshop for an outcome that was beneficial and sustainable for their community.

Action plans created by program participants consisted of strategies to train between 15- 90 individuals of varying backgrounds on the ESPERE program throughout the Northern conflict zone of Uganda. By engaging former child soldiers, formerly abducted women, students and survivors of violence, the ESEPRE program will carry forward the idea of forgiveness and reconciliation with the aim of bringing peace to the community. The Goldin Institute is looking forward to partnering with these program participants who will lead community driven social change for reintegration.

Zanzibar

Following the training in Uganda, Travis and Diane headed to Zanzibar for a three-day Peace Camp hosted by our colleagues at the Arigatou Foundation and the Global Network of Religions for Children, an international interfaith network dedicated to securing the rights and well-being of children worldwide.

Dr. Maudarbux leads a discussion on the causes of violent conflict in the Horn of Africa region.

The event had youth participants from Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Each of these countries have experienced conflicts fueled by violent extremism. The Camp provided youth with the opportunity to share their experiences and come up with solutions that can prevent violent extremism, especially amongst the youth. Our partner from the Arigatou Foundation, Dr. Mustafa Y. Ali, convened this group of youth peace ambassadors from throughout the Horn of Africa region and facilitator Belall Maudarbux trained them in new approaches to stop the growing trend towards violent extremism in the region. Based on our work in Uganda and Zanzibar, the Goldin Institute is excited to expand our partnership over the coming months to scale up this youth peace ambassadors program throughout our network.

Haiti

Recently, KOFAVIV co-founder and 2012 CNN Hero of the Year Malya Villard-Appolon was in Chicago to update us on her work to provide social and legal support and combat sexual violence against women and girls in Haiti. While she was here, she courageously shared her story in a taped segment that aired on National Public Radio's Worldview program as part of a show dedicated to current issues in Haiti. In addition to the interview with Malya about her efforts to stop sexual and gender based violence in Haiti, the hour-long program included a live panel discussion on the latest legal proceedings to hold the U.N. accountable for the cholera epidemic in Haiti.

Global Associate Malya Villard (pictured right) during a speaking engagement at Loyola University.

A Look Forward

Watch our next newsletter for an exciting progress update from our partners in the Philippines and an exciting new online initiative that will profile innovative grassroots leaders and initiatives from around the world.

If you have suggestions of individuals who may want to receive this e-newsletter or stories you think we should tell, please contact us at news@goldininstitute.org


Goldin Institute Successfully Returns to Uganda

This June, Institute co-founders Diane Goldin and Travis Rejman returned to Uganda to participate in our first ever cross-continental Child Soldier Reintegration and Reconciliation Training Workshops. Because of her work in developing and using the ESPERE methodology in her native Colombia, our Global Associate Lissette Mateus Roa was the natural candidate to lead the training in Uganda.

Before bringing this project to Africa, Lissette worked closely with our partner and her advisor, Fr. Leonel Narvaez designing and successfully testing the ESPERE methodology to engage local communities by using schools as centers for reconciliation for former child soldiers in the region. We highlighted their work and what this looks like on-the-ground in Colombia in previous reports.

To best adapt the training to our colleagues in Africa, an intensive eight-day workshop was conducted wherein participants learned about the key concepts of forgiveness and reconciliation, and obtained tools to carry these ideas forward within their communities.

In all, Lissette successfully trained 16 individuals made up of child combatants, teachers, crisis counselors and community members. These participants represented five different regions of Northern Africa and because each certified trainer committed to individual action plans upon completion, the outreach within their communities will impact many more potential trainees. In short, Lissette has left a "teaching tree" model in place that we hope to see expand and carry forth the ESPERE program within the region.

 

[quote]My expectations were different than the reality in Africa, normally the mass media shows to the world the bad things about Africa, I was expecting some kind of hungry people, in a dusty or dirty environment, waiting for water and food. But, I realized (once there and on the ground) that they have needs, but also they have so many good things that the mass media doesn't talk about: they are a happy and generous people, (there are) amazing buildings for education, they are bilinguals and have spoken their own language and English since they were kids, they have some kind of sense of community that we have lost in our developed societies, and is highly necessary for healing our societies – they are ahead of the game in that sense. I realized we have as many things to learn from them as they can learn from us. I'm not saying everything is perfect, I'm just saying that not everything is bad, and there is great hope for the future because of the people. Moreover, I was expecting a very rough place but it was a beautiful place for the workshop."[/quote]

- Global Associate and program facilitator, Lissette Mateus Roa

 

Lissette's excerpted comments above are from a conversation with her upon her return from Africa. The full interview can be found here.

In coming months, we look forward to sharing the results of the action plans established by the trainees at Lissette's ESPERE workshop, as they carry out the mission to bring societal changes to their own communities in Northern Africa. If you would like to become more involved supporting this project, find out how you can help.

[slide] [img path="images/slideshow/full/uganda2014_1.jpg"]Co-founder's Diane Goldin and Travis Rejman meet with Everest Okwonga, the Principal at St. Janani Luwum Vocational Training Centre[/img] [img path="images/slideshow/full/uganda2014_2.jpg"]Co-founder's Diane Goldin and Travis Rejman meet with students at a trade school for former child combatants in Gulu[/img] [img path="images/slideshow/full/uganda2014_3.jpg"]Co-founder Diane Goldin meets with students in a Gulu classroom during the Institute's June2014 trip to the region to take part on child soldier reintegration efforts[/img][img path="images/slideshow/full/uganda2014_4.jpg"]Participants of a workshop conducted by Global Associate Lissette Mateus Roa take part in one of the exercises teaching 'forgiveness'[/img][img path="images/slideshow/full/uganda2014_5.jpg"] Global Associate Lissette Mateus Roa (bottom left) and her group of ESPERE students. Also included is friend and colleague and Associate emeritus Dr. Dorcas Kiplagat (standing 5th from right)[/img] [img path="images/slideshow/full/uganda2014_6.jpg"]Participants of the ESPERE workshop during a training session[/img][img path="images/slideshow/full/uganda2014_7.jpg"]Global Associate Lissette Mateus Roa (standing) leads a training session in Gulu[/img][img path="images/slideshow/full/uganda2014_9.jpg"]Global Associate Lissette Mateus conducts an exercise with participants of the ESPERE workshop in June 2014[/img][img path="images/slideshow/full/uganda2014_15.jpg"]Global Associate Lissette Mateus (sitting foreground) leads her ESPERE training group[/img][img path="images/slideshow/full/uganda2014_28.jpg"]Co-founder Diane Goldin meets with students at the St Janani Vocational School. The School is made up of mostly former child soldiers learning new skills (like carpentry in this classroom) to rejoin civilian life.[/img] [img path="images/slideshow/full/uganda2014_27.jpg"]The workshop attended by former child combatants[/img][img path="images/slideshow/full/uganda2014_34.jpg"]Institute co-founder Diane Goldin meets with Ajok Dorah - a psychologist specializing in giving counsel to former child combatants returning to their communities.[/img][/slide]