« | Main | A salt sanctuary deep inside the mountain »
March 18, 2005
The bad and the ugly
The first thing I noticed when I walked into Fundacion La Fortaleza Thursday morning was the little girl who played with an inflated condom as if it were a balloon. La Fortaleza is home to 32 demobilized paramilitary soldiers, their partners and children. It's a two-story Colonial of chipping-white walls and green window trims. The men and women who live there renounced their arms and surrendered to the Colombian army, just like 7,000 others who live in roughly 50 auberges throughout Bogota. These men and women joined a federal resocialization program, but they spend most of their time watching TV, trading war stories or lounging on the sidewalk to the disgust of local residents, who want the ex-paras out of their backyard.
Jovany sat down to tell me the story of his ascent within the ranks of the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia - from patrolman to military commander to political leader of one of the group's eight blocks. Jovany is well-spoken, but is apt to long pauses. His legs tremble uncontrolably while he talks. He has a companion, Monica, who is 19. They sleep in a bunk bed and share Room 8 with four other couples. Their living areas are separated by a bookcase and, in one case, a hung blanket.
Before he joined the AUC, Jovany used to help his father make furniture out of wood. He showed me a jewelry box he made for Monica and told me he would like to work as a carpenter again. For now, though, he spends his time writing a draft to a law he hopes to have introduced in Congress; a law, he said, that would give the former combatants who have joined President Uribe's reinsertion program more to do with their time than sit on a plastic chair and watch TV.
Posted by Fernanda Santos at March 18, 2005 04:01 PM
Comments
Nandinha,
I`m here again, reading your blog. Foundation La Fortaleza seems to me being in many places of our huge Brazil, not only in the slums but also in the north ou notheast regions.
How about your visit to the salt mine?
Here, we had a enjoyable time during the week-end. As I told you, Daniel and I went to a wedding party in a farm close to Petropolis. It had about one thousand people and the outlook was terrific, I had never seen something like that before in all aspects. We met a lot of famous people and the ball lasted until early in the morning.
We will be here in Rio during this week. I'll call you soon.
God bless you.
Vera
Posted by: V era Saraiva at March 21, 2005 11:50 AM