On August 18, one of the five tours of the Humanitarian Caravan for Life in Colombia ended in the community council of Cugucho, in the department of Chocó. With a delegation of more than 20 internationalists from Europe, Central America and the United States, the caravan carried out a medical mission and a cultural day with Afro and Indigenous communities.
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One of the main tasks of the medical mission was to treat cases of stomach infections caused by the contamination of the Baudó River. This tributary is not only the only means of transportation but also the main source of food for the Afro and Indigenous communities that inhabit this region, one of the most biodiverse in the world. The international delegation also recorded proposals for a dignified life in the context of the armed conflict, including the popular education workshops that the Colombian Pacific Human Rights Network (Red de Derechos Humanos del Pacífico Colombiano) usually carries out with children.
According to Elena Freedman, of US origin, one of the objectives of the Caravan is “to prepare a report addressed to the central government of Colombia, to the different governments of our colleagues from other countries and, of course, to multilateral bodies such as the United Nations. We hope with this report to make visible what is now covered up in these towns, what the media does not cover and what does not come to light, to contribute to their transformation and that the government really works so that they may have a dignified life.”
The human rights situation in Chocó has suffered due to the armed conflict associated with the paramilitary group Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia (AGC), currently in conflict with the guerrilla group National Liberation Army (ELN).
“They forbid us to communicate with public opinion. We are very careful because if we say the right things, the causes of the problems, they can kill us. Here there is a health institution, but it is not fulfilling its responsibility. Due to the violence we do not have a school, it is a small house where the children receive classes,” said Víctor Saburaga, Colombian Indigenous human rights activist.
