"If children were stillborn due to poor medical care, if some of us died due to lack of medical attention, if there was a shortage of potable water, if hunger tormented us, then this showed that they were going to kill us here or in our territory as they have been wanting to all along. So, the question of dignity for us is to return to our native land. The history between our people and our mother earth calls us. There will be no more deaths here, we will live there and die there in the Reserve”, said a family representative from one of the 29 families of the Nonan community, who were forcibly displaced last August by paramilitary operations in the region of Bajo Calima in the department of Valle Del Cauca.
Another community member added, "The Colombian state never really looked after our needs, they provided some support, but it was done in whichever way they wanted. The municipal government of the city of Buenaventura only briefly responded during emergency calls. Nothing that would provide for our dignity was offered, neither through legal procedures nor through the precautionary measures that have been granted to us by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights"
It was under these conditions that on August 30th, 2011, 97 people returned to their territory that had been declared, since May, a humanitarian and biodiversity reserve. Most of those that returned were women and children. "The national government has not offered us any support for our return. We returned to the reservation without any security measures from the government because local authorities are stuck in bureaucracy, are not effective, and the security forces have continued with complicated relationships that you already know of, that the country knows of, and that the international community knows of" said a leader of the Nonan referring to illicit relationships between government authorities and illegal paramilitary actors.
The Nonan, during their forced displacement, were threatened by paramilitaries on three occasions. They were also continuously harassed by these actors that continue to operate within the urban and rural perimeters of one of the most militarized cities in Colombia which, also suffers from high levels of poverty and social exclusion. Given the void of any real protection, of any transparency and efficiency from the public forces, and their need to confront their fear of the state and of the internal armed conflict, they turn to their spirituality and their deities as a present and constant foundation for their protection and return.
"Guns cause damage to human life and protect the lives of some; they protect the accumulation of wealth and the plundering of Mother Earth. Our return is without weapons because it is harmony that we seek, that which we believe in. Peace and protection of our lives and our mother Earth is the force of the Supreme Being "
Just as they arrived to their territory they discovered police presence within the humanitarian reserve. The leaders and children showed that stoic pose of an iron face. Government institutions do not offer support from civil society, but instead offer military solutions to what is seen as a civilian proposal for Life.
The indigenous community immediately asked them to leave the exclusive civilian space, and asked them instead to assume the responsibility they are obliged to carry under the Constitution. As usual, the police did not like this demand for what is considered as the implementation of humanitarian law.
Faced against the revival of military offensives which initiated the first wave of displacements in 2000, as well as the most recent military operations, the harmony within the community space has liberated the energy from the lives of those who have breathed in the air of destruction and dispossession.
Matriarchs and patriarchs, women, have all walked step by step throughout the village, have revised again and again their homes, places where they left clothing, kitchen utensils, tools, craft materials and animals that today are no longer present and are missed as part of the natural surroundings. They have walked step by step throughout the reserve to realize harmony.
From August 29th through September 3rd they have been dedicating their energy to rebuilding their own lives and their own dwellings. Through collaborative, social and community work known as “Mingas” they gather to clean, build makeshift housing, rebuild the community aqueducts for water supply, install bathrooms, and rebuild meeting spaces.
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The Nonan community returns without a response from the state
A gathering of Nonan from a nearby reserve along the San Juan river, were present to receive them with a gift of food and with a canoe that will allow them to move around the river, go fishing, and go in search of life as the grandparents from the community say.
Young people have led the recreational activities in the river and along the creek. They have lead the cleaning and upgrading of the football field and the collecting of native fruits and sugar cane which still survive in the reserve.
They walk surveying the water, observing the forest and the joy of the children. This joy is not deep however; pain continues. One of the families had to stay behind in Buenaventura demanding relocation. It is the family who until August provided an indigenous teacher, who because of threats from their community decided not to return.
However most have joyfully returned with the harmonious dreams of the past, present and future; of life and of land, because "here we are someone, there we are nobody," says a small Nonan girl.
More information in Spanish:www.justiciaypazcolombia.com
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