The next leg of our journey took us north on the Magdalena River to the town of San Pablo. With a population of maybe 15 – 20 thousand located on the river, this town’s population, like Barrancabermeja, is made up of several displaced farmers and miners, both men and women, who have resettled after being forced off their land. Much of the land has been taken by multinational corporations who use it to grow their own crops or mine for gold and minerals.
Our first day was spent meeting with several community organizations that work with displaced populations, small farmers and miners, union leaders, refugees, youth and many other groups working towards a more peaceful existence.
Programa de Desarrollo y Paz del Magdalena Medio (Development and Peace Program of the Magdalena Medio) works with farmers who have traditionally grown coca (used to make cocaine) and are looking for alternative and economically viable crops, such as cacao (chocolate). Make this kind of switch can be difficult and costly unless there is organization to help the farmers find ways of transporting and selling cacao. For many farmers, growing coca has been one of the few ways they can make money because of the high demand by drug cartels for coca.
OFP (Women’s Popular Organization) works with women who have been displaced from their homes and are heads of their household – single women with children. The organization provides food, health services and job training in an effort to empower women to advocate for their rights. Since its foundation in 1972 in Barrancabermeja, leaders and members of the organization have been persecuted and some of been assassinated or have disappeared. To learn more refer to the link at the top of the blog page under "Informative Links".
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