WAR    ZONE

Pastor  Alfredo  Torres Pachón

“We do not give swimming classes from the lake  border to those bathers who are drowning, we only  try to take them out attending to their help calls”

During the last month,  “San Vicente del Caguan” city  has been at a war stage.  The guerrilla band gave orders for an armed strike in the whole town or municipality, which  paralyzed the region.  The confronting with the State Security Forces has left dead casualties, on all sides, and losses of several lives of the civil population, including girls and boys.

During two months, the peasants population have not been able to move and they have been  forced to remain as if they were in jail and/or seized in their own farms.  Their daily lives have  been violated and their behaviour patterns have been disturbed , up to the point that, the home heads have to make long journeys on foot, searching for nourishments for their families.  Many times, on the road, they have been forced to return, and, sometimes, what they carry on their shoulders  or  on the mules backs, were destroyed.

The town commerce had to close their doors, in several times, because of the guerrilla orders; the road transportation was stopped, the people were unable to move neither the nourishment products nor their livestock, the route along the river also was closed.

The only travelling way that works is “SATENA”, the airway transport. The limited road movement is carried our with convoys protected  by military  forces, which, constantly, are besieged or chased by guerrillas.  Public and private transportation services that have nor followed the strike orders have suffered human losses, with the firing for destruction of their  vehicles, and for this, several drivers have been kidnapped.   Daily, at “San Vicente” city, one or two persons are assassinated  mainly young men, and their bodies has shown torture signs.

At the urban city, there have been serious assaults, as the one perpetrated on March 3, 2006, with a bomb shell by which there were killed soldiers and civil persons, and twenty persons were injured, and more than ninety families where harmed by the explosive wave. 

The population or community with the help of several organizations, such as the “Vicariato” , the “Cristianos por la Paz” (Peace Christian Foundation”, the “Comitè Municipal de Ganaderos” (Cattle Raising City Committee), the “Alcaldìa “ (The Majority), and “Juntas Comunales “ (Community Assemblies) have improvised community big pans or cookers to feed children, pregnant women  and oldest  adults.

Last  week, I was at  “San Vicente”  city, and  I felt, very close, to the  war painful  drama.  One thing is to say it and another thing, is to live it.  I was much impressed by the fear and anguish of the people, up to the point, that I lost the desire to eat and to sleep.  There is a quiet pain in the people soul mainly in peasants, who suffer the intensity of the conflict without any type of security .  It is perceived as shouts, in silence, which can not be expressed because of the fear to dead.  The war is  seen on the face and the look of people; many persons try to mitigate it with liquor.  It is really a social, human tragedy with serious consequences for the present and future of the community..  The people of the community have to resign themselves because they do not have any place to go.  Those  persons that depart  leaves everything, perhaps with the hope that when  this improves,  they  may be able to return.

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