Two members of the nongovernment organization (NGO) Refugees International discussed their research on Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs) in Colombia at a conference on forced migration at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy on Saturday.
Over two million people are classified as IDPs in Colombia. Out of a population of 40 million, speaker Mamie Mutchler said, these numbers are "quite alarming."
The root of the problem in Colombia, according to Mutchler and fellow speaker Andrea Lari, is the government's crusade against the guerilla group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which has been involved in narcotraffic and terror since its inception 40 years ago.
In response, the Colombian government hired paramilitaries to counter the actions of the FARC. The result was that "civilians got caught in the crossfire of the guerillas and paramilitary," Mutchler said.
"If you were a civilian in a rural area where you had a farm, one group could come in and accuse you of having given aid to the other group, single out a few of you and shoot you in front of the entire community," she said. "That starts a wave of displacement."
The government's response has been "severe," but the government is not holding the paramilitary groups accountable for their atrocities against civilians.
Rather than terming the struggle an armed conflict, the government has avoided this label as it holds too many limitations. Thus, international humanitarian law does not apply for them, Mutchler said.
Colombian IDPs have been returning to their villages and restoring their former lives in a remarkable example of community coordination, Lari said. He described one community that approached the government with demands for certain safety measures and resources to rebuild their community.
What is necessary now, he said, is a more coordinated international effort to address the displacement issues and to try to end the violence.
The panel was one of five that addressed more general issues with regard to forced migration, including education, security, and the sustainability of the new ways of life of IDPs and refugees.
- By Zosia Sztykowski
