What the FARC Peace Agreement means for a Colombian Expat
Even being almost 30 years old, the FARC has existed my entire lifetime. In fact, they have existed for the entire lifetime of my parents. There are now three generations in Colombia which were born after the rebel group was formed.
Even worse: no one living in Colombia today has experienced a period of time were the military was not involved in an open conflict with parts of the population. The roots of the violence run deeper than the FARC, the Paras or the Narcos, and go well into the beginning of the century.
So violence and war are realities every Colombian has been confronted with, directly or indirectly, for as long as the country has existed. Even living in the city, where the most brutal conflicts happen miles away, the victims of forced displacement swell the shanty towns and most young people feel frustrated as they blame the violent image of the country in the world for the sluggish economy.
The peace agreement between the FARC and the Government offers, at last, a sing of hope for those who have never experienced peace. Hope that the much potential Colombia and its people have will someday be achieved.
No one believes there will be no more violence at all on Monday.
Or that the entirety of the FARC (or the government, for that matter) will stand by all the points of the agreement. Nor that, by association, all other Guerrilla, paramilitary groups and petty criminals that still exist will put down their weapons. But the agreement shows that peace is hard work, it recognises, finally!, that the reasons for war are deeply rooted in social problems, chief among them, the distribution of land. The agreement exemplifies that for peace, there needs to be commitment and mutual understanding.
And 60+ years of bullets, bombs, bloodshed and broken promises have been enough to show that change will not come by the hand of violence.
Colombia is more than ready for a brighter future. A future where that great country, stretching from the thick jungles of the Amazonas to the white beaches of the caribbean and the red desserts of La Guajira; from the immense plains of Meta and Orinoquía up to the mighty Pacific Coast; that great country crossed by the mighty Andes is open to anyone, without fear and without hatred.
For love and hope, my vote tomorrow is unimstekably: SI!
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