COLOMBIA / WOMEN DISPLACED

Indigenous women displaced by the armed conflict in Colombia continue to be the victims of sexual and domestic violence. UNHCR

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:02:34
• Production Date: 8 March 2010
• Asset Language: Original
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES - UNHCR
• Subject Topical: REFUGEES; DISPLACED PERSONS
• Geographic Subject: COLOMBIA
• MAMS Id: U100308g

Description

STORY: COLOMBIA / WOMEN DISPLACED
TRT: 2:34
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: SPANISH / NATS

DATELINE: 26-27 FEBRUARY 2010, PUTUMAYO, COLOMBIA

Shotlist

1. Various shots, Putumayo in Colombia
2. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Gilma Nastacuas, Displaced Woman:
“It was very violent when we were forced from our land. The paramilitary groups came in and started threatening everyone. I remember they held a bomb to the stomach of a pregnant woman. Since then we lost many family members- who were killed or displaced by the violence.”
3. Various shots, Nastacuas making handicrafts
4. Various shots, Alejandra Rodríguez at radio station in Putumayo
5. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Alejandra Rodríguez, Radio Presenter:
“The biggest problem in Putumayo regarding children and youth is a forced recruitment by illegal armed groups. As regards women, the biggest problem is violence, sexual and domestic violence. The majority of women displaced from their homes are displaced alone or with their children.”
6. Wide shot, Putumayo landscape
7. Wide shot, woman with child
8. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Gilma Nastacuas, Displaced Woman:
I have not forgotten the pain of displacement. Today what I have here is because of hard work - because of my hands, because of my strength. I always say we have keep going, we can’t be defeated. I have many friends in the same situation. They cry a lot but I always say to them that we have to persevere and we have to work hard.”
10. Various shots, women in Putumayo

Storyline

In the volatile region of Putumayo in southern Colombia, forced displacement remains a real and daily threat.

The Putumayo region is the home to 90 indigenous communities and the continued violence threatens their very existence. When armed groups use violence to push tribes off their land for wood, oil and coca, they also cut them off from their traditional and spiritual ties.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Gilma Nastacuas, Displaced Woman:
“It was very violent when we were forced from our land. The paramilitary groups came in and started threatening everyone. I remember they held a bomb to the stomach of a pregnant woman. Since then we lost many family members- who were killed or displaced by the violence.”

Indigenous women are especially vulnerable. As the keepers of family and traditional values, when they become victims, the whole community suffers. Gilma like many other women in the region have found support through a radio program aimed at the displaced population.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Alejandra Rodríguez, Radio Presenter:
“The biggest problem in Putumayo regarding children and youth is a forced recruitment by illegal armed groups. As regards women, the biggest problem is violence, sexual and domestic violence. The majority of women displaced from their homes are displaced alone or with their children.”

Through the radio programme, women have the opportunity to listen to and participate in discussions relating to forced displaced in Colombia. In the rural area such as Putumayo, radio remains the most effective form of communication.

According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), women and children make up about 70 percent of the displaced population in Colombia.

On their own, women and children are defenseless. Once they are cut off from their culture and land, they become much more susceptible to exploitation. For women in Putumayo, Alejandra’s radio programme gives them strength and guidance to continue despite the hardships of displacement.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Gilma Nastacuas, Displaced Woman:
“I have not forgotten the pain of displacement. Today what I have here is because of hard work - because of my hands, because of my strength. I always say we have keep going, we can’t be defeated. I have many friends in the same situation. They cry a lot but I always say to them that we have to persevere and we have to work hard.”

UNHCR estimates that Colombia’s decades-long conflict has forced more than three million Colombians from their homes. Indigenous groups have been especially hard hit. In Putumayo, more than 43 percent of the population has been displaced. There are fears that continued violence against the indigenous groups could mean some tribes might disappear altogether.