IndyMedia - Vrij Media Centrum Nederland

Wanneer: 01/06/2021 - 14:36

A generation of children has grown up in Colombia in misery. Their parents were small farmers who were murdered by an alliance between paramilitaries and large corporations and driven from their land to make way for banana plantations and mining. Or their parents were native Colombians or Afro-Colombians who had to leave for the slums of the big cities because their territories were sold to multinationals.

[see here for the version with lay-out and pictures: https://www.vrijebond.org/support-the-resistance-in-colombia-financially/ ]

In an economic model that is only focused on robbing resources to supply the North, for them there are no jobs. For them there is only abject poverty. For them, there are the army officers who approach the youngsters in their poor neighboorhoods, pretending to be businessmen, offering them a job and then killing them to count them in the statistics of killed guerrillas, the so-called falsos positivos. These children see how the elites have deliberately sabotaged the 2016 peace agreement because they need the war to maintain their macabre privileges.

These children have no chance of work or study and saw how the corona pandemic was abused to rule by decree to push them further into misery on a daily basis, while the alliance of the elites, extreme right-wing politicians, paramilitaries and mafia continues to enrich itself. at their expense.

These children have now grown up, are strong and well organized and with the spirit to fight back. The young adults are revolting en masse in a peaceful resistance movement called Paro Nacional. A tax reform announced in late April this year that would raise the prices of basic necessities was the last straw. They won this first battle and with it they gained confidence. The government's response has been that of more repression, so far at least 61 protesters have been killed, nearly 600 missing, with many victims of police sexual assault and countless injured. But the uprising continues with determination, for more than a month now. This generation has nothing to lose and everything to gain. In this resistance they show a high level of self-organization in the neighborhoods and between the different collectives. Losing would mean revenge from the elites, winning would mean a dignified existence. But to continue they need pamphlets, logistics for the manifestations, medicines, food, etcetera. Money is needed to continue and these sections of the population have no money.

Your financial support will be distributed among the following three collectives and activities in the city of Medellín. The names of the collectives are not mentioned in connection with their safety, but are known to the Vrije Bond (Free Union). For a general impression of the movement in Medellín, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soIf9YpIATQ .

- Collective first aid

Every day in Medellín, people are injured by the police brutality against peaceful demonstrators. This collective carries out the following activities within the framework of the Paro Nacional, which will be continued with your support:

1. The collective provides first medical aid during the demonstrations to the injured victims of the police violence. They have also set up a home as an emergency hospital where the injured are treated without the risk of being arrested. Your support will be spent on the purchase of medical equipment

2. Pamphlets will be printed from your contribution explaining to protesters how to protect themselves against police brutality

- Collective in marginalized neighborhoods

This collective has years of experience working with young people in the marginalized neighborhoods in the western parts of Medellín. Here, through self-organization and creative expression, young people are offered an alternative against violent gangs in the neighborhoods and the value patterns on which they are based. Within the framework of the Paro Nacional, the collective realizes the following activities that will be continued with your support:

1. Several days a week, this collective organizes Asambleas Populares in the neighbourhoods, accessible to all interested residents and other collectives. In this bottom-up self-organization ideas are heard and decisions are made about the actions that will follow within the framework of the Paro Nacional. Your donation will be used for the logistics of these asambleas.

2. The collective mobilizes and organizes the young people in the neighborhoods with creative actions such as political murals, flash mobs, music, etc. Your contribution will be spent on purchasing material for these actions.

3. The manifestations of the Paro Nacional are characterized by a high artistic level, which is essential to create awareness and keep the movement vital and organic. The collective organizes the mobilization and logistics of political music groups, flash mobs and other artists from these neighborhoods to the manifestations in other parts of the city. Your contribution will be spent on the transportation of instruments and other logistics.

- Political student organization

The political student movement is a very important part of the Paro Nacional.

1. The collective produces material with political slogans that are visibly present in the manifestations. With your contribution the necessary material can be purchased.

2. The collective offers support to the protesters of the primera linea. This is a group of demonstrators, often consisting of the very poorest young people, who are at the front of the demonstrations and try to offer the other protesters protection against police violence. They are considered popular heroes. Your contribution will be spent on food and protective clothing for this group.

Please send your contribution to:

VB solidariteitsfonds
NL25 INGB 0007 6604 36
Mentioning ‘Medellin’ with your transfer

A million thanks from struggling Colombia.