Ana Manuela Ochoa, a lawyer with the National Indigenous Organisation of Colombia (ONIC), speaks about the problem of forced displacement and how it affects indigenous people. "Large-scale development projects bring militarisation, which forces us to abandon our lands," she explains.
PBI: How many indigenous people have been forcibly displaced?
Ana Manuela Ochoa: According to the ONIC database, since 2002 to date, approximately 74.000 indigenous people have been displaced from their traditional territories. In the first three months of 2009, we registered 3.000 displaced persons. The Wayúu indigenous peoples in Guajira, the Embera in Chocó, and the Awá in Nariño, have been most affected this year.
PBI: What are the factors that cause the displacement of indigenous people?
AO: One of the principal factors is the presence of State security forces, paramilitaries and guerrilla groups in our territories. Many people also abandon
their land because they fear their children may be recruited by armed groups.
We have many cases of youth who do not want to be displaced —but also do
not want to be recruited— and instead commit suicide.
Another cause of displacement is the presence of crops used for illicit purposes in their territory. People who are not from the communities are introducing these crops and then the people are displaced when the coca crops are fumigated. These fumigations damage traditional crops and as a result create a problem of food security, including the malnutrition or death of children. This year in Vichada, in a community called Barranco Minas, we registered the death of 41 indigenous people due to malnutrition.
Large-scale development projects are also cause displacement. These large-scale development projects bring militarisation, which forces people to abandon their territories.
PBI: What are the different forms of displacement in indigenous communities?
AO: There are different forms specific to indigenous peoples. First, displacement
from one reservation to another where they are not registered. As a result,
they do not receive any kind of aid. Second, cross-border displacement from Colombia to Ecuador, Colombia to Panama, and Colombia to Venezuela, which especially affects Wayúu, Awá, Embera, Sikuani and Tule peoples. They are not recognised as refugees in these neighbouring countries and, therefore, also do not received any kind of aid. Third, the collective or individual displacements
where whole communities or families leave their territories to other reservations
or cities. When the displacement is collective there are many possibilities for
them to receive assistance and have the strength to demand their rights. When the displacement is individual, people are not accounted for and the conditions of their assistance are unknown.
Once indigenous people are displaced, they have many difficulties because they do not know city life, which results in cultural shock. Many people do not speak Spanish and they have to try to make themselves understood to authorities at Social Action, which is the State institution in charge of providing assistance to the internally displaced population. Furthermore, there is no differentiated assistance for indigenous peoples.
This year, this has been issue that has kept us awake at night. There have been a lot of armed strikes by the guerrilla. (The guerrilla takes control of an area and does not let anyone go through this area). As a result, many communities are blockaded. People are not able to leave their communities. They cannot cross the river or bring food into their communities. The situation remains grave and is also less visible. The situation of indigenous peoples has worsened in 2009, which is reflected in statistics. In 2009, we registered 117
indigenous people murdered throughout Colombian territory and in just the first
three months of the year more than 3,000 people were forcibly displaced.
PBI: Can you describe the assistance provided by different government
institutions to internally displaced indigenous communities?
AO: To date, there has been no differentiated approach. Indigenous people are treated just as any other citizen. This does not mean that other people do
not have the same rights, rather special conditions should be taken into account with indigenous peoples with respect to their language, culture and food. These conditions should be taken into account when assisting these people.
PBI: What do you think about the work done by the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office?
AO: We believe it does a good job. The problem is that the decisions made by the Ombudsman’s Office and the recommendations and reports presented by the community ombudsmen are not taken into account. In the case of the Awá, despite risk reports and early warnings issued by the Ombudsman’s Office —in addition to an Ombudsman’s resolution in 2008—, the State has not provided them with protection. This is demonstrated by the fact that 68 Awá people were murdered in only 2009.
PBI: What measures have been taken by the communities and ONIC insofar as prevention and humanitarian assistance?
AO: The ONIC does not have the economic capacity to support communities with emergency aid. Nonetheless, we report alleged violations, visibilise what is happening with indigenous peoples, accompany to verify the situation, and
demand that the State assist indigenous peoples in situation of displacement.
PBI: What is the psycho-social impact suffered by the internally displaced
indigenous communities?
AO: The impact is devastating. Forced displacement may cause people to lose
their culture, customs and traditions as well as their identity as a people. The
relationship with territory is fundamental and if a person leaves the territory they are not able to keep practising certain rituals. People forget their language and have to dress in a different fashion. As indigenous peoples, we have a lot of dignity and for many indigenous people it is strange to see other indigenous people begging in the street. We are people that work the land and it is difficult to live in a context where we cannot grow crops, fish or hunt.
PBI: What is the situation of internally displaced women?
AO: There are many internally displaced indigenous women. For instance, in the
Kankuamo territory more than three hundred men were murdered over the last twenty years. Of these, 127 were murdered during the Uribe government.
This means there are approximately 300 widows and 600 orphans. Many women were forced to flee when their husbands were killed and they became the heads of their households. Moreover, many women have been sexually violated. The murder of their spouses and their forced displacement are frequently reported to the relevant government agency, but the sexual violation is taken as another act that will not be investigated. Additionally, men generally have more access to Western culture. In many indigenous communities, women do not know the Spanish language, a decision taken by these communities to
preserve their culture.
PBI: What measures should be taken by the State?
AO: It is fundamental to comply with Resolution 004 of 2009. With respect to internal displacement, this means differentiated assistance is taken into account in prevention, fulfilment, implementation and economic support for the development of life plans for indigenous peoples. We believe that indigenous territories have to be completely demilitarised. If all the armed groups leave our territories, we will be able to live in peace. We also want them to make our territories whole, that is, for there not to be any settlers remaining in our territories. On many occasions, these settlers grow crops used for illicit purposes in our territories and as a result there is fumigation and the presence of armed groups.