Synergies in the face of acts of violence in Colombia

Last week was celebrated worldwide the International Day of Peace, an elusive superior good for Colombia; and although it seems utopian, it is certainly worth working for, however difficult it may be to achieve it.

A country without peace is a sick country, where inequalities deepen and well-being is limited to a few people and communities. While violence has not left us and cyclically escalates at the hands of multiple actors, in recent days the country has seen an outbreak of impudent protagonism by state institutions that have the mandate to safeguard the citizenry.

From Sinergias we reject any kind of aggression and violence, especially when it comes from institutions that should protect us.

We do not believe that any entity or organization, much less those claiming to represent the citizens, should make excessive use of force and power to attack people's lives. We cannot continue to tolerate violence: neither that which is known through the media nor the hundreds of abuses that do not reach any microphone or screen. We cannot continue to tolerate that the armed forces, nor any of the actors in the conflict, continue to harass and kill children, young people, trans women, street dwellers, social leaders, Afro or indigenous people, or anyone else.

Our Constitution protects us with a series of Fundamental Rights, which are unattainable for many; from this perspective it would be easy to understand the social unrest. The violations of fundamental rights that were experienced in several cities of the country, that marginalized populations live daily and that many rural populations have suffered for decades, demonstrate the need to rethink the role of the institutions that have the power of arms. If we want to transform our country and our society, it is essential that the hundreds of thousands of people who make up these institutions take part in the efforts to change the current reality, direct their capacities and forces to reach where the State has not reached: to build a country responding to the territorial logics of what this means, to contribute to make these rights achievable.

Respect for life must prevail in these times of crisis, in which solidarity and working together for a peaceful future that respects and is built on diversity must be the basis. At Sinergias, we also believe that health is one of the essential links to peace and is fundamental to achieve complete peace.