Colombia's Displaced

Estella Hefti writes about political violence in Colombia with a special focus on the underreported issue of internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Oct 10 2011	FTA vote Wednesday: Where's the discussion on the 5.2 million IDPs?
No U.S.-Colombia FTALast week, President Obama submitted the proposed trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea to Congress. Congress is expect to vote by this Wednesday.

Mar 02 2011	The Battle for Land in Colombia
[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGZib2PwbXQ 400x400] Above is the trailer for "The Battle for Land" , a documentary directed by Juan Mejia Botero. Synopsis of the documentary: "Filmed across the Pacific Coast of Colombia as well as the capital city of Bogotá, the film pushes us past prevailing notions in which displacement is seen as an aberration and a sad outcome of the civil war, and progressively reveals a much more intricate picture where violence and uprooting are exposed as an intrinsic part of the government’s project for “progress” a project directly complicit with the interests of multinational corporations and the Colombian and U.S governments.

Mar 02 2011

The Battle for Land in Colombia

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGZib2PwbXQ 400x400]

Above is the trailer for "The Battle for Land" , a documentary directed by Juan Mejia Botero.

Synopsis of the documentary:

"Filmed across the Pacific Coast of Colombia as well as the capital city of Bogotá, the film pushes us past prevailing notions in which displacement is seen as an aberration and a sad outcome of the civil war, and progressively reveals a much more intricate picture where violence and uprooting are exposed as an intrinsic part of the government’s project for “progress” a project directly complicit with the interests of multinational corporations and the Colombian and U.S governments.

Feb 25 2011	FTA, Despite Unjust Working Conditions
As the U.S. Congress gets closer to ratifying the pending Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Colombia, it is important to consider the implications of such an agreement. The U.S. currently has active free trade agreements with 17 countries , including Chile, Peru, Mexico, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador Honduras and Nicaragua in Latin America and the Caribbean. Along with having signed FTAs with Colombia, the Obama admisistration has also signed FTAs with Panama and South Korea, both which are also pending legisltive action in Congress. In both the 2010 and 2011 State of the Union Address, President Obama has talked about these free trade agreements as a crucial component to the recovery of the U.S. economy. President Obamba has met with both former Colombian President Uribe and the current President Santos.

Feb 25 2011

FTA, Despite Unjust Working Conditions

As the U.S. Congress gets closer to ratifying the pending Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Colombia, it is important to consider the implications of such an agreement. The U.S. currently has active free trade agreements with 17 countries , including Chile, Peru, Mexico, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador Honduras and Nicaragua in Latin America and the Caribbean. Along with having signed FTAs with Colombia, the Obama admisistration has also signed FTAs with Panama and South Korea, both which are also pending legisltive action in Congress. In both the 2010 and 2011 State of the Union Address, President Obama has talked about these free trade agreements as a crucial component to the recovery of the U.S. economy. President Obamba has met with both former Colombian President Uribe and the current President Santos.

Dec 11 2010	New Report on Colombia's Disappeared:
The Latin America Working Group (LAWG) and U.S.

Dec 03 2010	"Remember Me: Voices of the Silenced in Colombia"
Through an email update from the Latin America Working Group (LAWG), I learned of the Lutheran World Relief (LWR) art exhibit called Remember Me: Voices of the Silenced in Colombia .This exhibit is dedicated to all of the victims of violence of the 60 year conflict--from victims

Dec 02 2010	Popular Culture vs. News
Be honest. When you hear the word "Colombia", what do you think of?

Nov 11 2010	A Call for International Solidarity
[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWqoKupzSgE 500x500] The website for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has a country profile on Colombia's Refugees and its over 3 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). On this site, there is access to various statistics, reports, videos and photographs, illustrating the situation in Colombia.

Nov 11 2010

A Call for International Solidarity

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWqoKupzSgE 500x500]

The website for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has a country profile on Colombia's Refugees and its over 3 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). On this site, there is access to various statistics, reports, videos and photographs, illustrating the situation in Colombia.

Nov 07 2010	Colombia Coverage on the History Channel (part 1)
Saturday, November 6 there was an hour long documentary titled "The True Story of Killing Pablo" featured on the History Channel .

Nov 03 2010	Source Watch: Where's the news on Colombia coming from?
I recently did an assignment looking at sources within the news coverage on Colombia. Though originally planning on doing this specifically on news coverage of Colombian IDPs, I found there is not enough coverage on this topic to analyze broad patterns (this in and of itself says something).

Oct 23 2010	Oil palm industry fueling displacement?
Colombia is a country with rich natural resources and an ideal climate for agriculture. One growing industry is oil palm . Oil palm is grown commercially to produce palm oil , a product that goes into products we use every day in the US including including soap products and cooking oils.

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EstellaHefti

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Joined: 04/20/2011