Newsletters

Date: October 14th 2008

Visit to the displaced community near Piojó
Miranda Brownlee & Bob Leslie 10/4/08

We accompaniers traveled with a representative of ANDESCOL (National Association of Displaced Persons of Colombia), to a farm outside of Piojó, a small town west of Barranquilla. There we met the current owner of the property where about 37 displaced families are settling. It turns out that he is a childhood friend of our guide. By chance they had met again not long ago and he told him that his children did not want to work the land. However he did not want to leave it fallow. They eventually decided that if the government would comply with the law for displaced persons, it could be possible to sell the land to this group using state funds. Now some families have begun to move there and to plant. The law requires that they farm the land for five years, to prove their commitment and expertise, before the land transfer can be completed.

We traveled four miles to the farm, on mules along a very steep, muddy and rocky trail. Our guide could walk it in knee high rubber boots and keep up with the horses, but it was hard. When we finally arrived it was a wonderful sight. We were very high above an alluvial plain whose farms reached to the Atlantic in the distance. We were on a high promontory looking west and north about 15 miles to the sea – a magnificent view of the Colombian countryside. The families have constructed roofed structures; open on the sides with drainage in case of heavy rain. One family has added walls but still has a dirt floor. There is an outdoor oven where they cook most meals, burning wood for fuel. The main building is large and has a new zinc roof which gives good protection against the rain.

There we met Tito, who has been a farmer all his life. He showed us some of the farm. To get to the fields of corn, yucca and rice we had to go down a steep slope and walk about a quarter of a mile to a pasture. Crossing a fence we could see ears of corn which had dried on the stalk. Also there was yucca mixed in with the corn. They do not plow nor do they plant in rows. It did not seem to be a planted field; it looked overgrown. In reality it was rich and ripe for harvest, which comes four times per year. Tito told me that they hold back some of the corn for seed for the next planting. We picked some corn and later would shuck it, flicking off the kernels to be used as seed. With the yucca, it puts out baby shoots at the root as it matures, some of which can be cut for later plantings. Still further down the hill on a plot of flat ground they have a plantation of rice.

Later when we returned there was a lunch of chicken and rice which they had cooked for all. An older man was doing all the cooking and while we were waiting we listened to conversation among the mostly older men. Some were resting in hammocks. They were joking and talking about the weather and the farm. At this time there were only 6 to 8 men and one woman present, she the wife of the man who had built the house with walls and a roof. Finally we were ready to eat. They served us first and we began to eat alone. They waited until we were almost done. Along with the meal we drank sugared coffee or water. We were hungry and the food was good. Later I helped remove the kernels of corn and Miranda took a nap in a hammock. Tito brought out another hammock and motioned to me to try it. I did and quickly fell asleep for a short nap.

Soon a man named Chino and a young woman arrived with her son in tow. Chino works for the owner as an assistant and guide. They had walked from Piojó and I assumed Chino had carried the boy, who was only about 6 or 7 years old. I was amazed that they thought nothing of walking 4 miles up and down through mud to work the farm.

In talking to Tito he told me that his sons did not like farming and were working in other occupations but doing well. He has been a farmer all his life, enjoys farming, and would do nothing else. After having been displaced he was lost for a while until he joined with others supported by the Presbytery of the North Coast to begin searching for land on which to resettle. Initially they found Los Anones close to Barranquilla and then eventually this land near Piojó, which is larger and they say much better land.

After lunch our guide rose and began to speak to the group about a formal letter that he, as president of ANDESCOL, had received from Bogotá concerning benefits to the group under the laws governing displacement. Chino was selected to read the letter with help from others. It was evident that reading was not easy for Chino and I assume would have been even more difficult for the others. It was a bureaucratic matter and the words were not part of normal conversation. The letter indicated that the government recognized their group and would attend to some needs, but only as money was available. I'm not sure exactly what else the letter said but at least it confirmed that the group was being attended to, but at worst that the group would only exist as a file in a file drawer of the government. I'm afraid of the latter. The attention they deserve is a monthly stipend for basic necessities, like food and housing. They have a card which gives them acces s to medical clinics, but they cannot always afford the medicine. Tito told me that he has a condition which causes pain in his lower back, which can be controlled by medication, but the government health plan won't pay for what he needs, and it is expensive for him to buy. Under the law the government is responsible for providing land for the displaced, which in many cases is a small house in a housing project near a large city. Such projects are common throughout Colombia. The problem is that while they can get electricity, cooking gas and water near a large city, there is no work available for farmers from the countryside, and most of the displaced are farmers from rural areas. So this group has sought to move back to a farm where they can work with aid from the government to buy the land. Negotiations continue. It appears they will have to wait for electricity and other services. There is talk of a road for access, but that too is probably a long way off.

As the afternoon went on, it became evident that a rainstorm was coming. We had to wait until it passed before returning. Pretty soon the wind picked up and the rain came in buckets, for about 45 minutes. It grew very dark and soon the view we had enjoyed earlier was completely obscured by clouds and rain. Our hosts saddled the mules and brought them under the zinc roof. I noticed that the chickens had all gathered against the brick wall on the leeward side of the main building. Soon it stopped and we decided it was safe to go. So we left on the mules wearing our ponchos with Chino escorting us.

We actually made good time going back in spite of conditions and stayed relatively dry under the ponchos. When we arrived back to Piojó we found that the bus was coming and soon we would be on our way. We got back to Barranquilla at 7 pm a little sore but happy and not too late, which certainly would have worried our hosts.