Episode Description:
Since last September, an Indigenous community, refugees forced off their land by armed groups from Colombia’s ongoing rural violence, has been living in Bogotá’s central Olaya Herrera National Park.
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Opening statement:
For two months, a family of six had slept beneath a plastic tarp in the cold rain. 22-year-old Maria Lubia Queracama Tanigama held her newborn and two toddlers tight, using her body to keep them warm as nighttime temperatures dropped into the 40s. Her husband and their 6-year-old lay next to her on a thin mat, the only thing between them and the Bogotá dirt.
Since last September, an Indigenous community, refugees forced off their land by armed groups from Colombia’s ongoing rural violence, has been living in Bogotá’s central Olaya Herrera National Park. Many cycling in and out of government-subsidized housing: a few months in an apartment, a few months on the streets. Back to an apartment. Back to the streets.
Desperate to break this cycle, Indigenous leaders tried once more to demand a solution from the government. In late September, hundreds of evicted families marched through Bogotá for 14 hours before camping out in National Park in the heart of the capital. They set up hundreds of plastic tarps between the park’s monuments, fountains, and trees. Perhaps here, in one of the city’s most prominent parks, they thought, their cries for help would be impossible to ignore.
However, The Colombian authorities have been struggling to dissolve the camp, which has housed up to 1,500. As of recently many have left, but a determined group remains, including children, dozens elderly, and several pregnant women.
For those who remained their fight would come at a steep cost.
In today’s episode, we’re going to be talking about… an Indigenous community, forced off their land by armed groups from Colombia’s ongoing rural violence, that has been living in Bogotá’s central National Park. For months, the situation in the park gained limited attention. Then on November 28th, the death of a 21-month-old Emberá child in the park stimulated coverage by the national press, increasing pressure on the authorities to address the issue.
I’m your host kevin muñoz, this is today’s free episode, if you want early access to episodes and bonus episodes you can find that right now on our patreon.com/latinamericaneo and if not then enjoy this one!
For two months, a family of six had slept beneath a plastic tarp in the cold rain. 22-year-old Maria Lubia Queracama Tanigama held her newborn and two toddlers tight, using her body to keep them warm as nighttime temperatures dropped into the 40s. Her husband and their 6-year-old lay next to her on a thin mat, the only thing between them and the Bogotá dirt.
Since last September, an Indigenous community, refugees forced off their land by armed groups from Colombia’s ongoing rural violence, has been living in Bogotá’s central Olaya Herrera National Park. Many cycling in and out of government-subsidized housing: a few months in an apartment, a few months on the streets. Back to an apartment. Back to the streets.
Desperate to break this cycle, Indigenous leaders tried once more to demand a solution from the government. In late September, hundreds of evicted families marched through Bogotá for 14 hours before camping out in National Park in the heart of the capital. They set up hundreds of plastic tarps between the park’s monuments, fountains, and trees. Perhaps here, in one of the city’s most prominent parks, they thought, their cries for help would be impossible to ignore.
Sources:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/01/05/colombia-indigenous-displaced-protest/
https://revistas.uniandes.edu.co/doi/pdf/10.13043/dys.8.1
