As I begin to reflect and write about my experiences in Colombia this week, I stop before I begin, unsure what to call us. I can’t refer to as “Americans” to distinguish “us” from “them”. I have come to think of all of us in this hemisphere as “Americans”. Admittedly, this isn’t an original idea; I’m just a bit late arriving at that understanding. It seems to me that many people of the Americas think of themselves as Americans. But when those of us from anywhere between Mexico and Canada use the name “Americans” we refer to “us”, not “them”. This didn’t come to me from our week in Colombia, but rather from my recent experiences traveling in Mexico and Ecuador, and in taking courses in Spanish and in Latin American Civilization and Culture. I believe that this change in perspective is perhaps the most valuable lesson our students can learn from studying in Latin America. To begin to think of us all as “from the Americas”, “of the Americas”, has the potential to make each of us more aware of the ways in which our economies, our environments, our wars, and our peace are interconnected.
Of the many things we’ve experienced in Colombia this week, from the historic district of Bogotá to the barrio Comuna 13 of Medellín, from the incredible variety of fruits shared with us at Universidad Externado to the beautiful display of suculents in the impecable landscape of La Universidad de La Sabana, from the distinctive art of Fernando Botero, “the most Colombian of Colombian artists”, to the spectacular street art in Bogotá and Medellín, nothing struck me quite as profound as a statement in an exhibit in the museum, Casa de la Memoria: “Campesinos” – the rural population, Afro-Colombians and indigenous people have been uprooted from their own paradises where their history and roots are anchored. They have been forced to be part of other people’s wars.”
Certainly this statement is as true for los estadounidenses (I wish there were an equivalent expression in English) as it is for Colombians. In both countries the indigenous people were nearly wiped out by the Europeans who came to claim the Americas for their monarchs. In Colombia, after the native people had been “used up”, like some natural resource, the invaders imported another “resource”, Africans, to replace them. The indigenous people and Afro-Colombians still suffer disproportionately from poverty. In Medellín, we witnessed that poverty in the Comuna 13. This is a recent example of the people being forced to be a part of “other people’s wars” between rival gangs, and between the paramilitary and the guerrillas. But somehow the city of Medellín has managed to help this barrio rise from the ashes of the urban war that it had suffered in the 1980s and ‘90s. It is inspiring to see, even in the presence of continuing poverty, how the area is today a place filled with, yes, MANY people living in overcrowed conditions, but also a creative energy and vitality.
For many years parts of Colombia had been off-limits due to guerrilla activity and drug trafficking. Since the signing of the peace agreement between the FARC and the government many people are eager to see the country. There is much potential for the development of tourism here which could greatly benefit many people. As we discussed in our group reflexions, along with the potencial there are also risks. This is a critical time for the continued progress in bringing peace to the entire country. What is needed, as always, is the political will to implement change for the benefit of the people and not just for those in power.