Displaced Persons in Colombia

Colombia is experiencing the western hemisphere's most serious humanitarian crisis. Armed conflicts have persisted for more than forty years. As a result, an estimated three million persons have been displaced within Colombia, and another estimated half a million have sought shelter and protection in neighbouring countries. Next to Sudan, Colombia has the highest number of persons displaced internally by armed conflicts.

Conflict in Colombia opposes government forces and two main illegal armed groups: the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army. It affects economic growth, endangers communities and infrastructures, and harms Colombia's social and cultural cohesiveness.

This situation, on its own very dangerous for civilians, is aggravated by the presence of about twenty illegal armed groups fighting for private interests and drug traffickers seeking contraband routes and land to grow coca (from which cocaine is extracted). The World Bank estimates that the average income of Colombians would be 50 percent higher if there were no conflict.

Jenny, a young Colombian displaced to Pasto, is a typical case. She explains: "I come from Putumayo, a region in southeast Colombia. The conflict did not affect us until 2008, because the illegal armed groups and drug traffickers operated elsewhere. The government plan to fight armed groups, as well as campaigns using herbicides to eradicate coca growing, caused armed groups to move to my area. At the time, my husband and I owned a small shop in our village. One day, armed men showed up at the store and demanded protection money. We gave them some because there was nobody to defend us. They kept coming back, and each time we paid them. At the end, we had nothing left to give. They beat my husband to death, claiming we were hiding our money from them. That same night, I left with my three children for the city, Pasto, more than one hundred kilometres away."

Jenny continues: "My neighbours, who were raising crops on a plot of land in the area, did the same. The repeated spraying of the lands with glyphosate to destroy coca shrubs had completely ruined their yucca, maize, and fruit crops. They have had health problems since. What is more, illegal armed groups mined all the fields in the area to protect their coca shrubs and keep government forces away. We could no longer live in peace."

Having no money and with no friends in Pasto, Jenny and her family went to the care and counselling unit for displaced persons to report the situation and register as displaced persons. The unit, set up by the municipality, works with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The required documents were sent to the Ministry of Social Welfare in Bogotá. Three weeks later, Jenny received confirmation of her status as an internally displaced person. This gave her access to a variety of services ― luckily for her since 55 percent of internally displaced persons are denied recognition of their status. The unit, as well as the UNHCR, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and UNICEF (all CIDA-funded agencies), provide food, psychosocial assistance, emergency care, informal education, and minimal financial support to help officially registered displaced persons find housing and work.

Some refugees spend time in a temporary home run by the diocese of Pasto. Families can stay for up to 35 days. Sometimes, the home takes in orphans whose parents were killed by armed groups. All refugees experience a strong sense of discrimination by their fellow citizens, who see displaced persons as potential delinquents who might steal their jobs and their plots of land.

Most displaced persons will never return to the region or village they came from. There are several reasons for this. Armed groups have taken up permanent residence in their region. Land deeds are not clear enough. The memories of loved ones who died and were left behind are too painful. Families are now scattered. The city's pull has grown too strong. And the list goes on...

In 2005, the number of displaced persons per year in Colombia was estimated at three thousand. Nearly half of displaced Colombians became so before the age of 15. A displaced family earns a monthly average of US$65―40 percent of the legal minimum wage. For 58 percent of displaced persons, living off the land is key to family survival; adjusting to urban centres, where they have no possessions, no means of subsistence, no roots, is hard.

CIDA works closely with the Government of Colombia and United Nations multilateral agencies to provide basic services to displaced persons. To this end, CIDA's approach aims to strengthen the Government's capacities in meeting the needs of Colombians while respecting human rights and focusing on child and youth protection.