PIU (Plan Integral Unico) Workshop, and a thought about Praxis

On Tuesday and Wednesday I had the privilege to attend a workshop organized by the local gvmt. The aim of the workshop was to hear what the leaders of Organizations of Displaced Population (ODPs) had to add to the "characterization of forced internal displacement in the city of Medellin associated with the territory dynamics of urban conflict, populations, institutions and public policies" that was developed by the team of researchers of the Instituto de Estudios Politicos (IEP) of the Universidad de Antioquia (UdeA).

The aim of the PIU (Unique Integral Plan) is to bring together government institutions, international organizations and the displaced population to create a plan of action which is constructed in a participative and collective manner, in order to make assistance to the displaced more efficient, integral, coordinated, effective, etc.

This weeks' workshop was very intense (we worked long hours on both days), but many interesting things came out of it. Important problems in the attention to the displaced came to light, as well as problems of lack of access to their rights.

I would like to highlight some of the problems that I found to be most important:

There is a serious problem of information dissemination. Institutions either misinform or don’t inform the population about where they should go to do various kinds of paperwork, and many times this becomes an issue because they need that paperwork to access certain benefits, yet they can’t afford to pay for transportation, especially when they go to the wrong location and have the added cost of extra transportation.

Another important issue that kept coming up is the fact that the displaced are often mistreated, stigmatized and discriminated because of their condition of displacement. Functionaries are rude, call them liars, and are unhelpful with this very vulnerable population. People agreed that the institutions in themselves were not bad, just the people who work at the institutions. The displaced called for "humanity" in their treatment.

It was recognized that although the law is there to protect and aid the displaced (as it clearly states their rights), it is not being observed and their rights are being constantly violated.

One thing that kept being brought up was the lack of coordination among different institutions. One example is the fact that at the national level, the education of displaced populations is supposed to be free, yet at the local level this is, at times, not observed. Schools kick children out because they don’t wear the uniform (unfortunately their parents can’t afford to buy a uniform) or are not given food at school because their parents can’t pay. This coupled with stigmatization and discrimination of displaced children makes them feel insecure and unwanted, and they do not want to go back to school. Another issue is transportation. If the school is far, and parents cannot afford to pay for transportation, children are at risk, not just of homicide (they live in very dangerous places) but young girls are often targeted and raped. So, if the school is far, and parents cannot afford transportation, children are left at home. This is another risk, as these places are dangerous and children are (according to the displaced persons) the most vulnerable. Many times they turn to illicit activities such as prostitution and hired guns as a means to put food on their plates.

Another issue that kept coming up repeatedly throughout both days of the workshop was the differential treatment between the displaced (victims) and the “reinsertados/desmovilizados” (the ones who made them victims). The reinsertados (reinserted) are people who supposedly used to belong to insurgent groups, but who have been “reinserted” into society. They receive gvmt grants for housing and aid for training, education, job placement, etc. For the displaced this is very problematic. They argue that reinsertados keep breaking the law in their settlements (both live close together in the most marginal areas of Medelin), but now with the government’s money. They see a huge difference in what they (the displaced) receive and what the reinsertados receive. This has created a serious rift and an animosity toward the government. Along those lines, one person expressed that the displaced settled in Medellin have only two options. 1. Live along side and tolerate the very people who forced them to flee their homes and locations or 2. Flee again from settlement to settlement.

Medellin is the city with the biggest problem of intra-urban displacement in Colombia. The violence in the settlements and the death threats forced displaced persons to displace again within the city. This is very problematic because they encounter nearly the same situation here they were fleeing from in the first place. In other words, People flee from rural into urban areas because they are afraid for their lives. Yet, they arrive in the city to find a similar situation with the same actors. This creates problems of intra-urban displacement. So, the same dynamics of the conflict are found in the city, which results in redisplacement.

Due to this, there is also a generalized lack of trust in the public forces. There is nearly no police or military presence in the settlements, and they are controlled by insurgent groups who repress the population, steal from them, kill them, etc.

There is also a dislike for NGOs (operadores) because they are said to use the displaced populations to receive funds that ultimately do not go into the communities in need. The other side of this problem is that many times NGOs are hired by the gvmt to do some of the projects, and apparently the money to pay the NGOs is coming from that which is supposed to go to the displaced person. For instance, if one project is worth one million pesos, after dealing with the NGO the actual amount received by the person is much less. The displaced are concerned about the lack of responsibility and accountability that comes from the gvmt placing it's responsibility on private entities such as NGOs (both national and international).

These are some of the most important issues discussed during those two days. I am concerned about the deterioration of the relations between the displaced population and the institutions. Unfortunately, the government has lost credibility among that population and unless things start to change it will be very difficult to gain it back.

I have been learning a lot about this very complicated issue. There are many variables that come into play, many emotions, but what is most important to me, is that behind all of these problems are people. People who are struggling to earn a living who are coming together to participate and to construct their own future. I was asked a couple of days ago what praxis means here in Medellin. To me, praxis in Medellin is exactly what I am studying and experiencing right now. It is people acting and taking charge of their futures, actively working towards a better tomorrow and mobilizing to defend their rights. It doesn’t matter what kinds of obstacles you face, who stands against you, or what strength you have left to participate, because the point is to come together and by means of praxis, of engaging, of living and experiencing, learning through doing and through experimenting. Organizations of Displaced Persons do just that. Praxis doesn't just spring from one’s own inspiration, but it also inspires the uninspired.

Meeting With Leaders of ODPs

Presenting Posters

Presenting Posters

Making the Posters

Discussing the Origins of the Organizations

Yesterday was an amazing day. The research group of the FULAM opened their doors again to me, and allowed me to participate in their meeting with leaders of about 19 Organizations of Displaced Persons from Medellin (a total of about 25-30 participants). The turnout was amazing, since the team wasn't really sure how many leaders would join them. The idea was to present to them their research proposal and hopefully get them to participate. The FULAM's research project is entitled "Organization of Displaced Population and Restoration of Rights in the Cities of Medellin and Bogota."

The meeting was a success, and many leaders were very enthusiastic about participating. It must be said that many were very skeptical and wary at first, because they felt that they had been used many times before. One woman leader expressed her distrust, because she had participated in other research projects that had not been forthcoming about the impacts on the displaced community, or that had promised things or outcomes that never materialized. She was very clear in stating that the only way in which she, and therefore her organization, would take part in the project was if they promised her "sincerity, clarity, respect and honesty."

Other leaders were enthusiastic about the project's aim to provide feedback on what can be bettered in the organizations in order to be more efficient in restoring the rights of the displaced populations in Medellin.

Some were happy to have their pictures taken, videotaped and audio taped, while others, who were under death-threats opted out of any images of them being taken. Rightly so. Being a leader in this violent context can be very dangerous, and unfortunately, many have already lost their lives.

The research group had several interesting dynamics and activities geared toward getting to know each other and the histories of the different organizations. One that I felt was very efficient, was called the "visualization tree". In this activity each organization had to draw a large tree with information about their organization. In the tree they needed to write the name of the organization in the trunk, in the roots the demands and necessities, to the left of the trunk the potentialities and strengths, and to the right the difficulties and obstacles. On the top of the tree and to the left the accomplishments and to the right the challenges. After this was completed people from 9 organizations stood up in front and shared their trees.

This activity was very enriching because it made clear what each organization has accomplished, what difficulties they have faced and where they want to go in the future.

I am very thankful to the team at the FULAM (especially Jenny and Alfredo) for their generosity in allowing me to participate in this activity. It taught me a lot and allowed me to meet wonderful people with whom I hope to work with and learn from while I am here, and hopefully create lasting relationships.

Next week (Tuesday and Wednesday), I will attend a 2-day workshop of the Mesa de Organizaciones de Personas Desplazadas de Medellin (MOPDM) (TODPM - see previous post) and I hope to be able to talk more at length with some of the leaders I have already met, and of course to meet new ones. I admire their tenacity and dedication to the people they are helping and to the fight for the restoration of their rights.

FULAM's Laboratorio Universitario de Estudios Sociales -LUES- website for this project:
http://organizaciondesplazados.ning.com/

ODPs and TODPM

At the Seminar "Analysis of Context and Trajectories of Organizations of Displaced Persons in Medellin"

Well, this has been a very interesting time. I have learned tons for my thesis, and have met incredible people who have worked on Internal Displacement issues in Colombia for decades.
On Wednesday, I was lucky enough to get invited to a seminar on the contexts and trajectories of ODPs (Organizations of Displaced Population) in Medellin. This was great, because I got to meet many people who are involved in the same kind of research I am, and who are trying to answer similar questions. The seminar went from 8.00am to 5.00pm and it was very enriching. I was also invited to a workshop that will take place tomorrow with the leaders of 30 different ODPs in Medellin.

Once internally displaced persons arrive in the city, many are treated as second-rate citizens, and at times they equal stateless individuals who have to fight for their right to have rights. My thesis will explore the kinds of citizens that are formed in Medellín due to forced displacement, by addressing IDPs mechanisms of self-help like coping strategies, survival techniques and adaptation mechanisms through collective action to claim their citizenship and their rights to the city. In other words, I will explore the communal/collective construction of citizenship, particularly in the case of organizations that participate in the MOPDM (Mesa de Organizaciones de Poblacion Desplazada de Medellin) Table of Organizations of Displaced Populations of Medellin – TODPM.

I am very excited and anxious to be a part of the next workshop of the MOPDM, which will take place next Tuesday and Wednesday. I know that I will learn a lot about these collective action mechanisms, and how (as well as why) the displaced come together to form organizations that will make them and their struggles visible. I have read a lot about this topic, and I have to say that I am fascinated by it. There are many people here who have worked very hard on the subject of citizenship constructions and collective social actions of IDPs in Medellin, and they are all very generous with their knowledge.

I will keep this short, because I will probably have more interesting things to share tomorrow after the workshop with ODP leaders.

Photos taken from: FULAM's Laboratorio Universitario de Estudios Sociales -LUES- website for the project "Organization of Displaced Populations and Restoration of Rights in the Cities of Medellin and Bogota:"

http://organizaciondesplazados.ning.com/

A Quick Reflection on Violence

After not living in Medellin for a long time, and especially after living a very sheltered life while I did live here (my whole life until I graduated from High School in 1997), there are many realities that I never had to live.

While it is definitely true that the situation is not as bad as many people advertise (especially in the cities, where there is a lot of state presence in the form of police, military, etc), and while similar situations happen in many different cities across the US, today I was reminded of the violent side of this city.

I am doing this research thanks to the support of the Universidad de Antioquia, a well-known public university with a long academic history. Public universities here in Colombia are tricky places, as many insurgent groups, infiltrate them, and "take" them on a regular basis. Today was one of those instances. As usual, I got of the Metro and walked toward the main gate to sign in, because I just received my University ID today, and no one is allowed inside the university unless they hold a student ID. I noticed 7 policemen at the gate, while my ears buzzed at the sound of an alarm going off. I didn't think anything of it, this is Medellin after all and the cops are all over. I made my way to the Institute, which is located on the opposite side of campus. I was one of the first to arrive and went straight to my desk and continued my archival research. Maybe half an hour later, one of the teachers came in and informed us that the FARC group inside the university had set a few "petardos" or petards, which are small bombs used to blow up things, in this case an ATM (a sign of capitalism) and other things.

It turns out that these acts are part of a "celebration" or "commemoration" of the days of the fallen student (Estudiante Caido), which are on June 8-9 of every year. Apparently the celebrations were running a little later this year, just to be unexpected, as the authorities are usually prepared. I should place "prepared" in quotations as in Colombia, gvmt forces such as the police are not allowed inside institutions of higher education, news to me, because I just found that out today. Well, the day of the fallen student is accordingly "celebrated" or "commemorated," you pick your favorite word, with random acts of violence. Not good. The problem is that students want to have "their voices heard" by using violence, throwing stones, molotov cocktails and larger explosives, destroying the material space of the university. The one place that is opening doors for them, educating them. They cry for a revolution covering their faces with bandanas, but don't realize that they are going about it in the wrong way, the use of violence delegitimizes(?) their efforts. The fact that many of those students are involved with guerrillas like the FARC, turns this into a very difficult situation. Some argue that these are terror tactics to keep the other students in line, and also use it to recruit people who romanticize "revolution" and admire the hooded "patriots." The truth is that most of these "students" have been at the university for, sometimes, decades, and they work infiltrating the student body and recruit among them. Most real students just want to learn, and like me, flee the university every time something like this happens. They are the ones that are most affected, as classes get cancelled and many times the university has to shut down for weeks or months at a time, which completely disrupts the school cycle.

The people at the institute advised me to leave early, because since they had detonated those petards in the morning, they would more than likely wreak havoc in the afternoon. I didn't need to be advised twice, I packed my bag and took off. I just got of the phone with my friend who confirmed the fact that right now "shit has hit the fan" over there. I'm glad I wasn't there.

I share this with you, not to scare you, or to think of me as a daredevil, or crazy person. "What does she think she is doing?" you might be asking yourself. I share this to paint a picture. To express exactly why I am here, and why I am doing this. If I was scared just by the sound of a couple of small explosions, or by the fact that just a few months ago a student was murdered in the same building I am working at right now, I can't even begin to imagine what it is like for a family to be threatened directly, or to see and experience the violence first hand. People who have lost their loved ones to this senseless violence, and who to top it all of are treated as second-rate citizens, many times, stripped of their rights. The displaced are forced to leave out of the same fear I'm experiencing, but to the millionth degree. They are so scared that they leave absolutely everything behind, just to try to save their lives.

The problem is that there are many mechanisms of aid for the displaced, but there is not much being done in the area of prevention. Of course we need to help them while they are displaced, but that should be part of a more holistic solution including the right to return (or to stay in the city if they so chose), and reparations.

I end today reminding you that, like I said before, this happens every day in many places of the world, including the US, so please try not to think of Colombia as just a violent place. I know there are lots of negative things in the media, but I can assure you that there are many more things to this country than this story I share with you today.

http://www.todelar.com/noticias/estudiantes-miedo-actos-vand%C3%A1licos-univesidad-de-antioquia/estudiantes-de-la-universidad-de

http://www.caracolradio.com/nota.aspx?id=827634

Life is Good

Well, finally this thing is taking off. Yesterday, I showed up at the University, but the person I was meeting had forgotten that I had made the great voyage from Berkeley to Medellin and that we were to meet. Luckily, she got my message and we agreed to try again today. Gloria is great lady, she is the director of research at the Institute (Instituto de Estudios Politicos - Institute of Political Studies). She got her BA in Anthropology and did her graduate work in politics. She has a lot of experience working with displaced populations, and I could not found a better mentor for my time here. We had a long meeting in which we discussed everything related to my research, and now I am officially attached to Universidad de Antioquia, I even have my own desk at the Institute!!!

Everyone was very welcoming, and they are all great people to have around because of their extensive experience working with displaced persons here in Medellin. I feel really lucky to have the honor to work with such an amazing group of people.

As is expected, first things first. I have a ton of reading to do, as I started doing archival research to make sure I don't do something someone has already done, and to understand what has been done and in what context. So, right now, the plan is to do archival research, attend talks about Internal Displacement every Thursday for 4 hours in the afternoon, and my first visit to a displaced settlement will be in two weeks.

Needless to say, I am very excited, not only about this, but also because I recently found out that I am the new Anthropological Undergraduate Association (AUA) president at Berkeley. I have tons of ideas that I want to implement, and I'm working with a great team of people.

I guess all I have to say right now is: LIFE IS GOOD!