Colombia: Indigenous March for Peace - Just 100 Kms of a Long Road (September 20, 2004)
The Nasa Indians that make up 2% of the Columbian population organized a march that originally set out from the city of Santander de Quilichao, reaching Cali, the capital of the southwestern department (province) of Valle del Cauca on Saturday, September 18. The marchers demanded that their autonomy and neutrality in the war be respected, and that the armed groups stay out of their reserves. The elderly stayed behind in the reserves, because the rebels had threatened to seize the indigenous territories if the people left to take part in the march.
Argentina: Your Mother's Life is Theatened: Give Us $250 Thousand Pesos (August 19, 2004)
(Article in Spanish)
An elderly woman was violently kidnapped from her home at 4:30 in the morning. Her daughter has asked government authorities for help, as she does not have the means to pay the ransom. The police have stated that the only possible reasons for such an act are personal revenge or extortion between narcotic gangs. However, the daughter assures that no family member is involved in such activities. Meanwhile, this elderly woman is still kidnapped without any news about her condition.
Colombia: Colombia's 3 Million Refugees, Hidden in Plain Sight ( September 12, 2004)
3 million Colombians (double the number reported by the government in Bogotá) live as "internally displaced persons," a term used to describe refugees who stay in their own country. Marxist guerrillas or right-wing paramilitaries have chased them off their native land. The fact that a law establishes their rights and outlines some measures to protect them does not make any difference. The elder community leaders such as Roberto Camacho are also unable to help their people as displacement from their lands undermined deeply rooted traditions of life style and the way of living
Guatemala: Guatemalans Commemorate Massacre Victims (July 20, 2004)
Guatemalans continue to pay tribute to the memories of 184 people, mostly elderly, women and children, who died in a massacre 22 years ago in the small village of Plan De Sanchez. Buenaventura Manuel, who survived miraculously but lost his grandmother, mother and three sisters, recalls the horrors of those days.
Colombia: UN Refugee Agency Deeply Concerned For Indigenous Community in Colombia (July 20, 2004)
1,200 indigenous people called Emberas from northwest Columbia are still in serious danger after returning to their places of residence. The presence of irregular armed groups puts the lives of these people at risk. Moreover, the elderly Emberas worry that indigenous youth will be recruited into the country's irregular armed groups. The indigenous live in areas that many believe contains oil reserves. Competing-but invisible-forces for control of the oil bring misery and death to the people who in these areas.
Colombia: Colombia's Ghost Towns (July 8, 2004)
The guerilla attack compelled the inhabitants of a small rural town in Colombia to flee. The three-year-old Stefania and her grandmother, aged 80 and great grandmother, aged 102, have nowhere to go
UNHCR says 556 Embera Indians Fled Violence in Colombia (March 30, 2004)
Several hundred persons, including elderly, have become internally displaced due to the outburst of violence between insurgents and the militia in Colombia. According to UN sources, these indigenous persons from the Embera tribe need drinking water, waste disposal and health care.
Colombia's
Elderly Targeted Increasingly in Kidnappings (June 22, 2003)
In
Colombia's deadly guerilla war, kidnappings are a common weapon of
warfare. Recently, though, armed militia increasingly target the
elderly: those least able to cope with the harsh life of captivity. The
oldest known abductee is an 84-year-old man.
Death Reigns in Meta (April 15, 2003)
The Colombia Support Network collected testimony
from several civil society groups in the Colombian state of Meta describing
human rights violations from June
2002 to March 2003. Elderly villagers were frequently among the
murdered, tortured, and abducted.
Kidnapped: Pinned by the Sword and the Wall (2000)
Groups of guerrillas, paramilitaries, and criminals
in Colombia increasingly kidnap the most vulnerable members of society, including
children and the elderly. Eighty-three-year-old Rigoberto Lopez survived four days
of detention in 1999 by the National Liberation Army (ELN), and was
released only after his son took his place. In 2000, Lopez was abducted again by right-wing paramilitaries.
