SAME, BUT DIFFERENT:
Accompanying in the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó Fourteen Years Later
By Marion Hiptmair
Marion Hiptmair worked with FORPP as an international accompanier from 2009 to 2010. During this time, she spent considerable time in Mulatos, a remote village in the hills of Urabá where, four years prior, a violent massacre had occurred, resulting in the displacement of many habitants. In the years that she spent in the Peace Community, Marion and her teammates were called upon to accompany residents, providing an added layer of security, as they returned to their abandoned homes in Mulatos. In August of this year, Marion returned once again. This time, to support FOR accompanier Michaela Soellinger, whose presence was requested in the aftermath of the murder of two Peace Community residents earlier this year. The following is an excerpt of her reflections, over 14 years later, as she returned to accompany the Peace Community once again.
As I returned to the Peace Community after 14 years, I asked myself, what will it be like to return to a place where I lived for over a year? …
… a lot has happened in 14 years … both for me personally as well as in the Peace Community itself and in Colombia.
By the end of 2016, following numerous failed negotiations and eventually years of productive talks, the long-awaited peace agreement between Colombia’s largest guerrilla group at the time, the FARC-EP, and the government was finally reached, with significant support from Norway and Cuba. This agreement is closely tied to many expectations and hopes for progress in the human rights situation.
In 2022, for the first time in its history, Colombia has had a progressive president, who has set himself the goal of creating “total peace” throughout the country and is now also sitting down with another guerrilla group to reach an agreement.
How have all these changes in the country also led to changes in the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó? Has anything changed at all?
14 years ago, the road from Medellín to Apartadó was still largely unpaved, a typical “dirt road” on which it was always so dusty that it was often impossible to open the windows in the bus despite the heat …
…now the road is paved the entire way, equipped with tunnels and even has a “4G” (4th generation) main road leading to the Atlantic port in Turbo. Interestingly, the journey still took seven hours, the same amount of time it took when the road was not yet paved. Pineapple monocultures are now also planted along the road, alongside the oil palm and banana plantations that already existed at the time.
Apartadó, the district capital, has grown … more inhabitants, instead of one large supermarket there are now around five and two complete shopping centers have also been added.
Just as we did 14 years ago, we take a Jeep from Apartadó to La Holandita, the main town in the Peace Community and most easily accessible from town. There are three options for passengers: sitting inside, squeezed between shopping bags, chickens and other passengers, sitting directly on top of the Jeep, together with the passengers’ cement or food bags, but with ventilation and excellent views; or standing on the rear bumper, hands tightly grasped, as the Jeep jostles up and down along the dirt road. The main town of San José has changed – I am told – more people live here too and larger housing units have been built.
Arriving in La Holandita is somehow the same however. Apart from the fact that there are now several shady almond trees growing in the streets, there is also a new cultural center, the warehouse has been renovated and a facility for panela production has been built. But here they are, the people I know and appreciate, as well as our long-standing international accompaniers’ house.
Early the next day we have a meeting with the Peace Community’s Internal Council, which has been “rejuvenated” – a good sign for the renewing energies and the future of the Community itself. We then set off on a seven-hour hike to Mulatos, where we will spend the next ten days.
The path to Mulatos has changed; the tall forests have been largely cut down in recent years by private landowners who have settled here and planted cocoa monocultures. Nevertheless, the trip there is still beautiful. We even see a group of macaws high in the trees on our way. We walk for seven hours, and the journey is peaceful and quiet.
Violence and threats against the Peace Community remain a frequent occurrence. Today, new tactics are being used to attack, defame, and stigmatize its members. Fourteen years ago, the distinction between armed groups was clearer: the state military, paramilitaries, and guerrilla fighters, typically identifiable by their specialized uniforms. Now, greater caution is required. Former paramilitaries and ex-guerrillas, often in civilian clothing, make it harder to discern who is aligned with illegal armed groups and recently, homemade videos have surfaced on social media defaming the Peace Community.
Threats against Nallely and Edinson, who lived on collective lands in the Peace Community in the village of La Esperana, had been building for many months. Nallely and Edinson, along with the Peace Community, openly voiced their disapproval of the construction of a road that would cut through the Peace Community’s collective farmland. The construction additionally lacked proper paperwork and approval from authorities in charge. Years ago, the Peace Community denounced that the construction of this road was moving forward and partly built by illegally armed groups. Its purpose would ultimately be to grant easy access to the region for mining companies. The situation escalated when, in March of this year, the 30-year-old woman and 15-year-old boy were murdered. Since then, no one from the Peace Community has lived permanently in La Esperanza. They return to cultivate crops on collective farmlands in working groups and only when there is international accompaniment, as they do in Mulatos and La Resbalosa as well.
Arriving in Mulatos brings back many memories. In 2009, after the 2005 massacre in Mulatos, the Peace Community began to build the “Aldea de Paz” – an alternative community center with large meetings, celebrations and training sessions for which members traveled from all over the community and hung up their hammocks. The memorial to the hair-raising massacre of three children and five adults in 2005 has now been completed. In the meantime, the now-resident village council has also built a bridle path that runs right through the Peace Community’s settlement, as well as a village council center and a government school just across the road. Now, after the murder of the two members in March, the Aldea de Paz is being settled by families who lived on the scattered fincas, because everything is easier together and so they can work the surrounding fields together.
During our stay, we stay in the Aldea de Paz Luis Eduardo Guerra, the headquarters of the Peace Community in Mulatos, and accompany the members to work in the surrounding fields or to La Resbalosa, a community area just over an hour’s quick walk away. Fences are repaired, cocoa trees are planted, the fields for the cattle are tended, the cows are milked and cheese is produced, and el pan coger – the daily necessities – such as rice, beans and bananas, are also harvested.
La Resbalosa is even more remote than Mulatos. Since the murder of the two members of the Peace Community on March 19 in La Esperanza, the crime remains unresolved. Instead, a rumor was circulated, tying the murders to a jealous husband, who killed the two, distancing it from the expansion of the illegally-built road and mining projects. The rumor was even published on the mayor’s office social media account in Apartadó.
Where are the outcomes of the government’s support? Of the international community’s efforts? Can such a murder truly go unpunished? Will it remain in impunity like so many that have come before? These are the questions we find ourselves asking again and again.
Paz total is a lofty goal with many challenges. How long must the civilian population continue to feel so much fear and insecurity in the defense of their rights?
So yes, a lot has changed. But, a lot has also remained the same. I continue to witness widespread insecurity across the region and a lack of effective government support on the ground. Support from international organizations and individuals remains crucial to realizing the Peace Community’s ambitious project of fostering a peaceful, communal life amid a conflict zone with competing economic interests.
Fourteen years has brought with it many changes. Yet, danger and fear has remained the same. But, I also see continued courage and resilience from those who live there, who strengthen and support their community through ever new ideas. After fourteen years, my respect for this revolutionary worldwide flagship project, and especially the people who live it, goes unchanged!
After returning home from the Peace Community, I’ve been able to reflect on my experience. I believe international visibility is still very important! The international community needs to continue to support the Peace Community of San Jose de Apartadó. We can do this in many ways – by following them on social media, reading their reports, talking openly about their courage and strength, making sure they feel our support from afar, and sharing their experience with others as much as we can.