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Tuesday, 03 October 2006 17:50 |
By JEREMY MORRISON
In Columbia, government and corporate interests trump those of citizens, three UNC Asheville students reported Sept. 6, following a humanitarian mission taken to the country earlier this year.
The students presented their findings to about 20 people at UNCAës Humanities Lecture Hall during a forum hosted by the schoolës Socialist Unity League.
"Itës a real life-changing experience," Eric Gardner said. "Iëll never look at a banana the same way again."
The
students were part of a delegation, sponsored by the Anti-War Committee
and Colombia Action Network, that traveled to the South American
country to take stock of the impact of multi-national corporations and
the U.S. military on the peasant population.
The group was hosted by Fensuargro, Columbiaës national peasant workersë union.
Gardner, along
with Katie Ketz and Doug Michel, traveled the country in July of this
year. The trio spent time on university campuses, coca farms and
guerilla encampments.
Ketz said that traveling under the guise of a political or social mission made for a stressful environment.
"If youëre going to work for Fensuagro, or for social change, youëre almost a marked man," she said.
Working with the
peasant union, the group spent a considerable amount of their time in
the nationës backcountry. There they met with coca farmers.
"For a lot of
peasants, there are not very many ways to get by," Gardner said,
explaining that many farmers choose to grow coca ÇƒÓ the raw predecessor
to cocaine. "Theyëre not making a lot of money off coca, nevertheless
itës the only thing they can grow to provide for their families."
Gardner
attributed the peasantsë conditions to international free-trade
treaties. If the farmers grow traditional crops, he contended, it is
impossible for them to compete with larger agricultural corporationsë
low-prices.
However, while the coca crops do allow the peasants to make a living, there is a downside, he added.
"The fact that they grow coca allows the government to label them drug traffickers, narco-terrorists," Gardner said.
The Colombian
government ÇƒÓ with financial and logistical support from the United
States ÇƒÓ combats the coca growth by spraying chemicals on the crops, he
noted, which inevitably hit crops other than coca, as well as people.
During their
time in the couintry, the group also visited with armed guerrillas at a
FARC camp. While the government in Colombia ÇƒÓ as well as that of the
U.S. ÇƒÓ has identified FARC as a terrorist organization, Gardner
described the group as "freedom fighters." He said the group was
founded to protect indigenous peopleës rights to their land. Though
FARC is an armed group, he asserted they are working towards the same
ends as other, non-violent, social and political organizations.
ǃÚRight now,
there is no peace process," Gardner told the audience. "But if you look
at the big picture, itës the government every time that closed the
door."
In urban
centers, people were generally reluctant to talk about politics, the
students said. The one bastion ÇƒÓ or, safe haven ÇƒÓ of free speech, is
university campuses.
"The student movement is pretty intense," Michel noted.
He described
energized student rallies and political graffiti marking university
buildings. However, he added, campuses are not immune to government
squelches. A law-enfocement branch known as ESMAD ÇƒÓ similar to swat
teams ÇƒÓ routinely cracks down on dissent.
"On campus, when thereës protests, ESMAD will be there," Michel said. "You can expect someone to get shot, even killed."
Following their lecture, the students took questions from the audience.
The first speaker was asked about the level of political awareness in Colombiaës urban centers.
"Itës at an unprecedented level," Michel said. "Everyone knows their place, politically."
He went on to say that there is a portion of the population which supports the governmentës policies.
"Just like
everywhere, there is a rich minority in Colombia that are reactionary ǃÓ
that are working against the people," Michel said.
"The media, just like in this country, play it up that thereës a war on terror," Ketz added.
Gardner added that political consciousness is particularly high among university students.
"You can tell the government is really scared of the students," he said. "The students are really in a revolutionary movement."
The next
questioner asked if they found it easy to talk with people about
politics or social change during their stay in Colombia.
"To be honest, the area of the country I felt I could speak most freely was when I was at the FARC camp," said Gardner.
A woman from
Colombia then asked about her home countryës security. She noted that
many Americans choose not to travel to Colombia due to concerns over
safety, and wanted to know if the UNCA students felt safe there.
"Itës just a
very different mentality to get used to," Ketz said, adding that she
felt more exposed because of the nature of the groupës trip and the
people with whom they were associating. "I think we were more nervous
because we were there on a human rights delegation and weëre meeting
all these already-marked people."
However, Gardner added that as Americans, they felt less vulnerable.
"It wasnët so
much fear for ourselves," he said. "Itës in nobodyës interest, no
matter what side of the conflict youëre on, to have American blood on
your hands."
"I think people
were very impressed we were there," Ketz added. "Everyone just wanted
to talk to us and tell us ǃÚthis is whatës going on, and your government
is involved in it.ë The U.S. is integral in all the problems theyëre
having."
Another person asked how the trip to Colombia affected the students.
"Youëre going
and staying with and meeting people who are willing to die for change
in their country,"
Ketz answered, adding that she is now inspired to do
the same. "Everyday thatës what I think about."
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