I really became aware of Colombia when I met Jose and Claudia back in 2001 in Richmond Va just months after moving back to the states after 10 years in Spain. I had gotten a job as a legal aid helping with a new immigration push by Busch to legalize illegals. Mostly Mexican. They however were looking for asylum after his uncle was murdered in the street in Bogota and threats came in against his whole family. 9/11 then hit, the firm dissolved when the attorney was called into active duty and I moved to SC. Then 17 years later I get to go see what they were talking about, the beauty of the country and its people juxtaposed with a brutal past Thank goodness things have improved drastically, though much still needs to be done. My friends have not been able to go back yet.
We were lucky to travel to three different regions. The high grey mountain capital of Bogotá, the innovative and fresh midrange region of Medellin and the Caribbean colonial hot spot of Cartagena on the coast. From a tourist standpoint the food was fantastic, the company of fellow USC faculty and staff was stimulating, the scenery was awe inspiring and the people we met and talked to were open and friendly
But what lies beneath that is decades, if not centuries, of extreme violence, inequality and marginalization of whole swaths of people who build on hills with what they can find and rely on each other for skills and materials. Now that they are trying to heal, the spirit of the people strives to shine through. The street art is everywhere, vibrant and vivid, incorporating indigenous, African and religious symbolism and culture. People are starting businesses and trying to move forward.
So it’s different there. But there are a lot of similarities to the US too. Wars have been fought for freedom in both countries. But those who win suppress and marginalize the ‘different’ to preserve power and wealth. The far extremes of right and left idealism rage there still and feels more evident than ever in the US. Both sides want the same things though it manifests differently. In both countries the stench of slavery is strong. And in both financial and social equality is still out of reach.
We saw that in the makeup of University personnel and students. The difference in neighborhood demographics and access. Racial, social, educational and financial discrimination. The way blacks and the poor are looked at and treated. As in the US. But their system of six taxation strata seems a good start for change on the surface. It follows the communist doctrine of ‘from each according to their means to each according to their need” but in a purer form than the dictatorships it’s been in reality. Whether it really works without tax trickery I can’t speak to. But the higher stratus pays to the lower all the way down to level 1 to subsidize education, medical needs and transportation with an emphases on education; lots of students and universities and more can attend since the lower levels are granted free tuition.
With time progress can be made on all fronts but we did hear congress is shifting to the far right again with the recently elected puppet president of a would be dictator. The government, right or left, doesn’t seem to have ever really been behind a shift in the status quo. We can hope though and I would love to go back.
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