CCTS
Review 36

Hasta La Ultima Piedra (Until the Last Stone)

Louise Winstanley introduced this film, which records the initiative of the Peace Community of San Jose de Apartado, established in 1997 in Colombia in response to ongoing violence in the region. The inhabitants of the community of San Jose de Apartado, located in the municipality of Apartado, were forcibly displaced in the course of 1996 and 1997 as the paramilitaries and the army sought to wrest military control of the Antioquia region from the FARC.

There has been violent internal conflict in Colombia for more than 40 years. Jan Egeland, the UN Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, described the situation in Colombia as ‘by far the biggest humanitarian catastrophe of the Western hemisphere.’ He was referring, among other things, to the numbers of displaced people in the country, which currently lie at between 3.5 and 4 million. All sides in the conflict – government forces, the paramilitaries and the guerrilla groups – commit atrocities. However, the paramilitaries commit by far the greater number of human rights abuses.

It should be noted that people in Colombia are terrorised into displacement. Although many people have been killed, terror has been the main method employed, particularly by paramilitary groups. Louise said that she would always remember being told about a member of the community of Cacarica, in the region of Choco. This young man, Mario Lopez, had his head chopped off by the paramilitaries. They then played football with his head, forcing the horrified community to watch. Following this killing, and the dumping of the bodies of many other community members in the river, they were too afraid to stay in their homes and became displaced.

The people of San Jose de Apartado were the first to declare themselves a Peace Community. It was their way of trying to live outside the ongoing internal conflict. They declared themselves to be neutral, and refused to have anything to do with the violence and the conflict, or with any of the armed actors. These included the army, police, guerrillas and paramilitaries.

The community was attacked the week following the declaration. It is the perception of the Colombian state that anyone who is not for them is against them. This community was therefore assumed to support the FARC guerrillas. The latter have a similar attitude. The community of San Jose de Apartado wants nothing to do with violence and conflict; they simply want to live in peace.

However, since the community proclaimed themselves to be a Peace Community in 1997, San Jose de Apartado has experienced continued human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law. These acts of violence have been carried out by FARC, the Colombian Army and the paramilitaries. More than 450 people from this community have been murdered since 1997. There have been 33 investigations and only one person charged. Witnesses have been murdered, or have had to displace. The Community decided that they would no longer co-operate with the Colombian state in these investigations, because not only were these crimes committed with impunity but the investigations often brought only further death or displacement to community members. The Community also rejected the proposal that a police unit be established in their village, since the police were armed and this would make the village a target for the FARC. Fearing that they would be turned into a human shield against the guerrillas, the villagers decided to leave, thus losing their homes and what goods they could not carry with them. They reconstructed their village about twenty minutes down the road from San Jose, and called the new village Sanjosecito (little San Jose). Their decision to move was vindicated when a guerrilla attack was launched on the police station.

The film shows how the intensity of the violent conflict brought the people together and strengthened their bonds with one another. In the words of one speaker ‘my problem has become our problem’. They undertake joint work and have established a decision-making council, whose members are elected. They sell cocoa, bananas and coffee through fair trade channels. They are enabled to move around safely through the accompaniment of PBI on the road between San Jose and Apartado.

In February 2005 the community experienced several brutal murders. Luis Eduardo Guerra, one of the community leaders, was killed along with his wife and eleven year old son. The following day a leader of los Malatos, Alfonso Tuberquia, was murdered, together with his wife, their eighteen month old baby and three year old daughter, and a farm worker. Following this the community went through a period of exhaustion and despair, but was re-energised by collective determination to resist, even if this meant their own deaths. Those who had died would not have died in vain. In the words of one speaker, they went from ‘we’ve had enough’ to ‘they’ll have to take us out dead’. The film takes its title from a line of stones, which the community has set up as a memorial to those who have died. Each stone is marked with a name of one of the dead. The community is determined to resist until the death of its last member, the very last stone.

When the Community first organised and declared themselves to be a Peace Community they were supported by the Catholic Interecclesial Commission for Justice and Peace (CIJP). (This Commission now works with other ‘peace communities’ calling themselves Humanitarian Zones and based in Choco.) They continue to be supported by the Catholic Church. Part of the organisation of their protection has been the international accompaniment of Peace Brigades International. The US Fellowship of Reconciliation (FoR) also provides accompaniment. In addition they have obtained special protection measures from the InterAmerican Committee of Human Rights (IACHR). The EU has made resolutions in favour of the Community and various countries have brought the situation of the killing to the attention of the UN. They have also won several international awards.

Responses to the film

The film was deeply moving and inspiring, showing how a sense of community develops, and how precious it is because of the high price that is paid for resistance and the degree of courage needed for people to remain committed. The community includes both the living and the dead. The victims are named and remembered with pride for their resistance. The eloquence with which the community members spoke, their determination and clarity of purpose and action, were impressive.

There was some discussion about what was not visible in the film. The community appears to have no problems and it would be interesting to learn more about what goes on beneath the united front: what tensions are there and how are they handled, do individuals have to make sacrifices for the common good? How are decisions made? What is the gender and age balance in the power equation?
The film also raised questions about the role of other players in the situation. How is the community regarded by the military and the guerrillas? What does the world look like to them? The community has a collective approach; how is this to be separated from the rhetoric of FARC?

There was some discussion of the role of international players. When the EU passes resolutions, what significance does this have on the ground? When leaders get targeted, where does responsibility lie? In response to these questions, Louise said that the different peace communities are linked with one another and with international and national organisations in a web of protection, in which PBI plays a part. The special protection measures directed by the IACHR mean that when the community makes a report to the court about the violations, the court requests a response from the Colombian government and the government must respond. This does put some restraint on the situation. PBI’s accompaniment of the leaders and FoR’s accompaniment of the community provide visible presence on the ground of the interest of governments, NGOs and solidarity groups, in what happens to this community. This, alongside the network of international support that they have built up and the pressure from the IACHR protects the community and reduces the number of deaths.

Louise drew attention to the broader context of a culture of violence in Central and South America, where massive numbers of people have been killed (for instance in Guatemala 2% and Salvador 1%). The cost of resistance in Colombia has been high, but it could serve as a model for other countries. There are other communities that have declared humanitarian zones, along the lines of the Peace Community, but if the community of San Jose did not exist, others would also become much easier targets. San Jose has a very wide network of international support and is well known across the globe – much more so than the other communities.

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