Juan David, June 9 2021, Bucaramanga.
Since April 28, 2021, Colombia has been experiencing an unprecedented crisis. A new form of urban protest, young and fearless, has emerged. To date, at least 74 people have lost their lives and more than 2300 have been injured. Human rights are being violated and its representatives must be present at every demonstration to account for the violence and guarantee human dignity.
My name is Juan David, I am 22 years old and I was born in Bucaramanga, Colombia. I am a final year law student at the Industrial University of Santander and a human rights defender since 2019.
I think that the problem in Colombia is mainly related to the distribution of land. It is a country whose territory is divided between the same families. Historically, they have controlled the country, ignoring the rights of the owners: peasants, indigenous people and other minorities. For centuries, they have been oppressed by the same oligarchic class, causing a civil war of more than 60 years because of their indifference and despotism.
I believe that a popular uprising is being prepared, because today, what rules in Colombia is nothing other than hunger. For decades, these people have been begging the government to guarantee them basic rights and, in response, have obtained nothing but violent and systematic repression by the police and the army. The so much acclaimed Democratic Security, consists of nothing but attacks and violence against those popular classes who demand their rights, who are tired of their material conditions and exploitation. This is what characterizes the social and political context of Colombia.
Representant of Men rights June 9 2021, Bucaramanga.
It is important to understand that human rights can only be violated by the state, so I believe that those who are mobilizing today are doing so precisely because they are tired of this systematic violence against the civilian population, of seeing their rights systematically violated for so many years.
Our role as human rights representatives is to ensure that the public forces respect internal, national and international protocols on the use of force. We must ensure that the lives and integrity of those who demonstrate are respected, as well as the judicial protections of those who are captured.
I think that the missions of vigilance on the respect of human rights consist mainly in offering people certain guarantees that their rights are respected in the context of social protest. In the field, we realize that people feel more supported when they notice the presence of human rights defenders, they know that we support them, that we watch over their rights, that we don't see them as vandals because we understand the just causes that motivate the anger that is unleashed in the street.
A people more determined than ever to assert their rights and dignity, who are no longer and will never again be afraid of violence, repression and state terrorism.
The different Primera Linea that have been formed in the country show that it is possible to put aside the small differences that separate us for a greater cause. They are an expression of the fatigue of the people who do not see real change, a people more determined than ever to assert their rights and dignity, who are not and will never be afraid of violence, repression and state terrorism.
The Colombian armed forces, especially the national police, have had their uniforms stained with gallons of innocent blood shed with impunity for decades. In my opinion, the National Police is the biggest criminal gang that Colombia has known in its history. Its purpose is to repress, extort, murder and disappear the most vulnerable population. That is why I am not at all surprised by the way they act against social protest, because at the end of the day, they are the lackeys of the oligarchic class that runs the country, they are the ones that take care of all its wealth and allow them to stay in power.
I really wish that one day they would drop their shields and weapons and remember where they came from. Most of them also come from peasant or poor families. I would like them to realize that their lives are worthless in the eyes of those who rule them and support their people. However, I know it is difficult. Those who spread this kind of ideas within their profession, the few good policemen, end up being corrupted, "resigning" or being killed by their colleagues.
Young men of the first line are praying at the beginning of the manifestation. June 23 2021.
I don't know what has changed in one month of "paro". I would like to say many things... Perhaps we are a little more supportive, less indifferent to the pain of others. However, I am concerned that nothing has fundamentally changed, that the death of many has been for nothing or for so little, but only time will tell.
I want a just country, a country where people can live in dignity, in peace and in a just society where wealth is shared equally, a country where one does not have to give one's life to claim one's basic rights.
I want to thank all those who have followed what is happening in Colombia, I want to tell my colleagues to never stop fighting. Maybe the battle will be hard, but the reward will be to leave our children the country we dream of.