In May and June, Pete Hämmerle volunteered as an accompanier with the Peace Community. Between May 17th and 30th, he visited Aldea de Paz—the “Peace Village” in Mulatos, one of the 32 hamlets within the larger San José de Apartadó community. After returning home, Pete reflected on his experience and the realities he witnessed during his time there.
Context: The Struggle to Reclaim Mulatos
Several families have owned land in Mulatos for generations, which is why this private land became part of the Peace Community when it was founded in 1997. On February 21, 2005, the paramilitary group AUC (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia) carried out a massacre in the region, killing eight people—including community leader Luis Eduardo Guerra, his partner, and his 11-year-old son in Mulatos, as well as five others, including two children, in the nearby hamlet of La Resbalosa. In the aftermath, many families were forced to flee from the surrounding area.
The Aldea de Paz was founded in 2008 by members of the Peace Community as a way to return to and reclaim their land. However, violence has continued. The murders of Nalleli Sepúlveda and Edinson David in March 2024 in La Esperanza—just over an hour from Mulatos—marked another devastating turning point, triggering renewed displacement. Since then, threats, insecurity, and a climate of fear have become a part of daily life. As a result, extended stays in Mulatos are currently only possible in larger groups and with the presence of international accompaniers.
A Life Between Here and There:
As an outside observer, one inevitably wonders what it means to live a life suspended between two places—between La Holandita and Mulatos, between forced, violent displacement and the ongoing resistance to it through persistence and return. What is it like for those who are trying to reclaim their homes while never truly being allowed to stay? Here are a few reflections:
The journey between La Holandita—the main settlement of the Peace Community—and Mulatos takes five to six hours on horseback, traversing steep, muddy terrain that becomes nearly impassable in the rain. While there is basic infrastructure in Mulatos (housing, electricity, water, and internet), everything else needed to sustain a larger group—food, tools, materials—must be carried up each time under these difficult conditions.
“Normal” life on the farm depends on daily care. Animals must be fed and tended; rice, cacao, and maize must be planted and harvested at the right time. There are mother cows with calves in the pasture that require daily milking, but this can only happen if someone is there consistently. Chickens continue to lay eggs, but no one is there to collect them. Livestock injuries and illnesses often go untreated until the next visit—sometimes too late. Cheese made from the milk must be hauled back down to the valley on horses and mules at the end of each stay.
Hovering over all of this is a constant sense of insecurity. The influence of paramilitary groups has expanded far beyond sporadic acts of violence or threats. It is now embedded in the political and economic structures of the region, asserting control over more and more of the population. This has created an atmosphere of mistrust, fear, and isolation. One community member put it this way: “We used to have normal relationships with most of our neighbors. Today, it feels like we are living in an occupied country that is being taken from us piece by piece.”
Despite these harsh realities, the members of the Peace Community remain committed to their land and way of life. Their history of nonviolent resistance, community solidarity, and deep connection to the territory leaves no space for surrender. They know—through lived experience—that there is always a way forward.
By accompanying them in their effort to return and resist, FOR Peace Presence offers support, protection, and solidarity on a path that, one day, may allow them to truly live “here” again.
Pete Hämmerle worked in Colombia in May/June as a volunteer companion alongside Michaela Söllinger from our field team.