(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
It was a huge downturn. Sunday the 2. last October we should finally see Colombia vote on a historic peace agreement. Around 200 Norwegian and Colombian participants gathered on cultural events, organized by the Support Group for Peace in Colombia and the Multicultural Association Tayawik, among others. I am a Colombian myself, so this was important for me to attend. Here we should celebrate the efforts made for peace in the country. We danced for hours, ate and conversed to the rhythms of the drum. Both hugs and optimism were shared. Because that's how most Colombians are, they dance their frustrations and sing their grief. We were sure of a majority for the peace agreement. It could not fail, peace was the only way out.
The result came as a blow to the stomach: 50,22 percent voted no. I felt anger, sadness and disappointment. My own people, the Colombian people, voted against the peace agreement. Although it is now being debated what significance the vote will have in political and legal terms, there is no doubt that the country is in a spaghetti. For what now? While the government has invited all parties to crisis meetings, we are left fighting for peace and justice again, shocked back, and with many questions about what is going to happen now.
What about the victims? My first thought when the election results became clear was that the people have turned their backs on the victims of the war. There are clear patterns in voting. Those who have known the war closely on the body voted yes, while the urban population who have experienced the war at a distance voted no. The victims gave their voice and no one listened to them.
In Miraflores in Guaviare, 85 percent voted for a yes and 14 percent for a no. In Valle del Guamuez in Putumayo, 86 percent voted yes and 13 percent no. In Bojaya in Choco, 96 percent voted yes and 4 percent voted no. The latter is a place where the FARC guerrillas and paramilitary forces fought for control of the area, forcing thousands of people to flee.
The paramilitaries had a list of names of women they ended up torturing and killing – the majority were leaders in the area, and the majority were mothers.
The women's great losers of the war. In a country where gender equality is in crisis, sexualised violence has been a major part of the conflict. Men's violence against women in war is a well-known war strategy. Women have felt the war on their bodies in the form of rapes and gross physical degradations. The massacre at Bahía Portete is a good example of how cruel this aspect of war has been: Nearly 40 paramilitaries occupied the village. They had a list of names of women they ended up torturing and killing – the majority were leaders in the area, and the majority were mothers. The paramilitary forces burned down houses, gang-raped young girls and other women, tagged down walls with sexual and misogynistic drawings and forced 600 Wayuu Indians to flee. Women have thus been a concrete goal. They have been subjected to severe abuse and human rights violations. They have also lost their children, their husbands and their families, and they have been forced to flee their homes and their land, either for fear that something more would happen or because they were forced to do so.
The way forward. I share the concern of many of Colombia's women's organizations and activists about how the government has handled relations with women and the peace process. The women were underrepresented at the negotiating table, and their perspectives and experiences were thus overlooked. After great pressure from women's organizations, women politicians and many women who were directly affected by the war, a separate commission for gender was set up. The goal was to have a gender perspective.
Despite the fact that the process has been reprehensible, I have never been in doubt about supporting the peace agreement in its entirety. We in Young Feminists were and still are part of the many actors and individuals who are fighting for the peace agreement and peace to win.
The victims have had an important voice during the peace negotiations. For many years, individual women and groups of women have fought hard for peace and justice. They have dressed in black, they have marched for days, they have held theater performances, concerts and flash mobs. Their way of dealing with their difficult past as widows, single mothers, and older sisters has been admirable. They have been through a long process where forgiveness, healing and justice have been in focus. It is these victims who have been burying their dead for over 52 years, searching for their missing, longing for their families and fleeing their homes. It is these victims we will now follow up after the election result.
The women's struggle is not over. The government and the negotiating parties have sat down to conduct new dialogues, and those who ensured that the majority voted no must come up with proposals on how they believe peace will be achieved. In parallel, several students and organizations have taken to the streets to protest the election results, to show their support for peace and for the victims.
Peace is the goal, and peace will win. That is the message from large parts of the country, and it is an ambition we share. The victims must continue to fight for peace and justice, despite the fact that they felt overlooked both during and after the peace process. The women's struggle is not over. On the contrary, it has been given new opportunities for influence and visibility. While the election result from October 2 is really starting to sink in, we will try to find new ways out.
Let's hope we do not have to see more people buried.
Lina M. Álvarez Reyes is a spokesperson for Young Feminists.
lina.alvarez.reyes@gmail.com
