Key Statistics
- Between 1990 and 2000 nearly 27,000 Colombian citizens were murdered in their own country.
- In that same time period, there were 13,000 combatant deaths.
- There are an estimated 3.8 million internally displaced persons in Colombia.
- Colombia has the highest murder rate of any country in the world.
Forgotten Victims of the Conflict in Colombia
Voices of the Displaced: Stories from the Magdalena Medio Region
"The most painful thing is having to leave Colombia. I thought I didn't have any more tears to cry. Forgive me for crying, but it's good sometimes to lose your composure. When I do leave Colombia, I won't be able to come back to enjoy the beauty here. We have to leave because our own people are attacking us. I'm leaving with a heavy heart, because I was born here--I grew up here. Now I have to think about what's best for me and my family. They don't deserve to go through all these bad times because of my involvement [in nonviolent community organizing]. If I get the opportunity to leave Colombia, I won't risk the lives of my family members by turning it down." — Ricardo
Hundreds of thousands of Colombian men, women, and children have disappeared or been murdered during Colombia's long history of civil strife. The deaths of citizens are both calculated and the result of uninvolved campesinos being caught in the cross-fire between careless and ruthless armed groups.
A Note from the National Director
Dear Friends of JRS/USA:
In this first issue of The Refugee Voice, JRS/USA marks its return to a series of occasional papers describing forced migration and refugee crises and the major issues that underlie them. More than simply presenting abstract problems, we will provide you with first-hand experiences from the refugees, internally displaced people (IDPs), and other vulnerable populations with whom JRS works around the world.
We begin this series by addressing the plight of refugees and IDPs in Colombia, a country that has been ravaged by 40 years of civil strife between the Colombian government and opposing armed groups. Over the course of the long conflict, millions of Colombians have been forcibly displaced from their homes. Currently, of the 40 million people living in Colombia, 3.8 million are internally displaced and hundreds of thousands have sought refuge in neighboring countries.
I thank Alejandro Olayo, S.J. for his dedicated service in collecting these interviews as well as Sara Kane and Shaina Aber for making this first edition of The Refugee Voice a reality.
We hope this small window into the losses of these displaced peoples will inspire you to act and motivate you to support JRS's work to remedy these tragic situations.
Fr. Ken Gavin, S.J.