Research Project, Barrio Oasis, Colombia

Lucy Hallam 08029693

MARIA DEL PILAR, DAYANA CATALINA MARTINEZ ACUÑA, ANDRÉS ARTURO BUITRAGO, SARA RAMIREZ LEON, PAMELA GOMEZ, ZAIRA ROLE CARDONA, LUIS GABRIEL DEJEAN, GUILLERMO FIGUEREDO, YANIDA VERDE KING, HECTOR BOLIVAR LEON, JUAN PABLO BARRIOS GOMÉZ, HEIDY VELASCO BEDOYA, SEGIO VEDARRE LOPÉZ, ROVIER

SOSA ESCOBAR, GLEIDY E POVEDAR, KERRY MARISSA RESTREPO, SERGIO CORREDOR CARDOZO, EDUARDO RODRÍGUEZ, NICOLÁS MOSQUERA MANCERE A, BIBIANA BALERDI GALEANO, CARLOS ENRIQUE PERALTA MEJIA, JORJE FERNANDEZ PERALTA, ROBERTO DIEGO BUITRAGO ALIAGA, CARLA MARIE CARDENÁS LEAL, YESICA TORRES GUZMÁN, EMERSON PATINO RAMOS, MARÍA DE LOS ANGELES GUTIERREZ, ERICA VIVIANA VIÑA PAREDES, MIGUEL ANGEL PACHECO MADRID, KELLO MARTINEZ MOLINA, LEIOLES SANCHEZ ARRIETA, HIJDA ROSA CUKIES SANCHEZ, MARÍA ALEJANDRA ESPITIO FUENDE, YUNAIS SOSLENYS GUTIERREZ MONSLAVO, YIANNISS YANINA FIGUERUA MARTINEZ, LUIS GUSTAVO MADRID, LEINER EGOSE QUESADA MAGA, YENITZA TATIANA SARMIENTO VELDEZA, EDGAR VIÑA VEDARRE, JOSE AL SIBER, ESTEFANI SARAI VERDEZA JIMENEZ, ALEJANDRO DAVID MENDOZA MERINAS SANCHEZ, DALLANA MOIRCELA ERRERA, YULEIDI PACHECO DIAZ, AUSTINO CASTANODO TODO, JEFFERSON DESIRLABA LENDOSA, NOREBIS XIMENA BOLIVAR MEJIA, ANDREA ALANIS MARTINEZ, SHIRLEY PENATE PACHECO, ELKIN RAMIREZ GARCIA, JUAN BERNARDO COLMENARES,

YESENIA PATRICIA OROZCO URUETA, MATTEO ESTEBAN PEÑA TEJEDA, ALEX TORRES QUIROZ, ANDREA CAROLYNE GARCIO CUELLO, STIIVEN MUNAR ARIAS, LUKAS DANIEL OLMOS BRICEÑO, SANTIAGO ARGOTE, JHON JOSÉ MONTENEGRO, QIKE MORENO CAMPO, KATTY FLOREZ DEL RIO, JHERSON MANUEL ORTIZ SOLÓRZANO, MARCELA SAN PALLARES, SARY ESCARRAGA JIMENEZ, AMARANTA CHIPIAJE DE LA ROSA, RAFAEL ALEJANDRO VALDEBLANQUEZ CAÑAS, ANTONIO SAIEH SANCHEZ, ANIBEL REYES VIDAL, JUAN ESTEBAN MADRIGAL, ELIANA RUTH ANZOLA COTES, GABRIEL HERRERABARRÍA, TATIANA VERTANI PEREIRA VIDALES, JOSÉPH PATERNINA MATIZ, FELIPE SOLARTE, LUISA MERY MENDIETA ESCORCIA, ANGELY FERNANDEZ RIVAS, NELLY RUIZ ANGULO, JEISON HEINER PEÑARANDA PEREZ, SUSANA GUERRA MARTINEZ, NATY URREA BOLIVAR

The integration of Internally Displaced Persons

into the host communities of urban slums in

Colombia.

The case of Barrio Oasis, Santa Marta.

Lucy Hallam

YURANIS MOSQUERA LEON, KAROLAY YURITZA PIÑA JARAMILLO, MARLENY G LOCUMI, DAVARIS RODRIGUEZ DE LAOS, YORYETH GRANADA ALBARADO, XIMENAS NAVARRO AVENDAÑO, MAYDIS DE LA HOZ CAUSTIL, IVAN LEYER DE MELO, DANIELA VALDEZ MELENDEZ, MAGALIS MARÍA GUTIERREZ ACUÑA, OSACR LOPEZ PALACIOS, ZARAY ALBA TORRES, JESAR CAMILO B MAYORGA, LUIS SIMÓN ORTIZ BOLOIVAR, CRISTINA DHARA GOYENECHE URBINA, JHOANA A CUERVO, RAUL EDWIN VIDAL, REINALDO MIGUEL

VANEGAS REYES, ALVARO LEONARDO ROMERO BERNAL, MAURICIO HOYOS VERA, GREISY LUQUEZ VARGAS, URI NARVAEZ HERRERA, NANDO JAVIER PALACIO TOLEDO, ALEJANDRA MENDOZ RUEDA, MARINO PORTO ESLAVA, JESUS ENRIQUE CERCHAR ALVARADO, GERARDO LUIS PORTO, RAHEL AMADOR IGLESIAS, ANAIS KATIA LOBERLO COBO, JULIAN FRANCISCO ROSENSTIEHEL PALACIO, MAURICIO ESMERAL PATIÑO, VIVIANA LAURA FERREIRA RUIZ, DANY GOMEZ OROZCO, ANDY DE JESUS BARRAGAN, FELIPE FORERO FUENTES, JORJE ARTURO ROLON SANABRIA, EDGAR ANDRÉS BAQUERO BOLAÑO, IRENE MARGARITA OVIEDO, AYDA LUZ FONTALVO FERRADANEZ, JOSE PALERMO, LUIS JAVIER ARGOTE, LAURIS MARY ACOSTA GUERRERO, RAUL DAVID CORDOBA DIAZ, SAMUHEL MONTALVO LEÓN, FERNANDO DUICA MORRÓN, SERGIO ROGER BUSTAMANTE BARROS, DARIO JOSE CEBALLOS, MARÍA SILVANA DIAZGRANADOS, JOSELYN MONERY PEDROZO, MARIO ALBERTO VILLAFAÑE, YAIR ANTONIO LOGREIRA HOYOS, JHON OROZCO BENEDETTI, MANUEL JOSÉ CABALLERO,JOHNN PABLO IBÁÑEZ, DANILO OMAR MORENO, NICOLE CARRERA DEL VALLE, HEINER CARLOS SOCARRAS,

ANA MARCELA CASTAÑEDA MORADA, VANESSA VASQUEZ, JAIME TRUJILLO HELSEN, NELSON LUIS DAZA CARDENÁS, FERNANDO MIGUEL OCAMPO, SANDRA ISABELCABAS CUETO, RUBEN RAIS CAYON, ANGELICA REDONDO VIDAL, EDGAR CAMILO L CANTILLO, KEVIN LÓPEZ BLANCO, SEBASTIAN PORRAS TAMAYO, MAURICIO NOGUERA CANTILLO, GREISS BAQUERO ARANGO, GERMAN GRISALES PALMA, LAUH MENDOZA, SHARLYN ESTRADA IRAHY, ALEJA ZAMBRANO DEL ORIBE, LUCHO JAVIER GALEANO HERRERA, JIMMY ALEXANDER MORA VAERLA, MATIAS ENRIQUE BERNAL BOTELLO, YANELIS ASCANIO CESPEDES, LUIS GUILLERMO MARTINEZ, JUAN SEBAS OCHOA DE CASTRO, JOSUE GARCIA, ROBINSON PEREZ GOMEZ


“la ciudad te hace libre”1

Before we begin….

... I’d like to briefly explain the thoughts and ideas that came to shape the arguments

to come. The idea of looking into internal displacement started on a personal note; I was

taken in by a woman named Magalis in a small barrio on the outskirts of Santa Marta after

fantastically squandering my rent on little luxuries. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and I

know now that wasting my pesos away on guanabana and aguardiente was a blessing in

disguise. I spent almost 4 months living in that barrio - happily ignorant of the situation

Magalis had found herself in only 15 years ago, and only haphazardly unravelled her recent

past when I noticed a photo hanging on her bedside table of her with a prominent older

gentleman.

“¿Who’s that man?”

“That’s my dad”

“¿Where is he now?”

“He was killed”

“Magalis, how did you come to live here in Oasis?”

“We were made to come here, we were displaced”

“……..Oh.”

Internal displacement in Colombia to me, up until that point, was something that had

happened during La Violencia from 1948-1958 (Richani, 2007:406). Something in the past. It

was only when I started to look into Magalis’ situation that ‘the void in the literature’

(Ináñez, 2007:338) became depressingly apparent and I realised that this significant portion

of the population ‘isn’t of interest to the telly, nor the government, nor to academics, nor

indeed, to anyone’ and that their predicament had been ignored for encroaching upon ‘our

moral complacency’ (Rincón, 2008). After poring through impersonal journals and articles I

decided to focus on the local and tie together the 2 groups most affected by this ‘profound

humanitarian drama’ (Villa, 2006:22) the urban poor and the rural displaced. Because I’m

aiming for intimacy, I won’t claim to be speaking on behalf of all IDPs, or even Colombian

IDPs. Nor will I analyse the history or the politics, or get tied up in the age old debate of who

is to blame.

I will be echoing the thoughts and opinions that the inhabitants of Barrio Oasis harbour

regarding their situation, because they should be echoed.

1 “the city will free you” – an old Colombian saying endorsing urban living


The integration of Internally Displaced Persons into the host

communities of urban slums in Colombia.

The case of Barrio Oasis, Santa Marta.

We should begin by defining our key terminology. I will take the widely accepted UNHCR 1992

Secretary General definition of internally displaced persons (IDP) as:

“Persons of groups who have been forced to flee their homes suddenly or unexpectedly in

large numbers, as a result of armed conflict, internal strife, systematic violations of human

rights or man-made disaster, and who are within the territory of their own country” (UNHCR

1992:17)

Internal displacement, as the very name suggests, is considered to be a national problem, ‘something

that happens within a country’s borders’ (Villa, 2006:12), and subsequently receives very little

international aid. If we are to rifle through the maze of UNHCR mandates, we note that the first ever

mandate that took into account the existence of IDPs was created in 1992, well after the Colombian

trend began, so it isn’t surprising that now, 21 years on, the primary responsibility to protect citizens

still lies very much with the state. I’ll be looking closely into the alleged negligence and contested

success of the Colombian government, and what it has done to prevent “citizens suffer[ing] the

impacts of government dysfunction” (UNHCR, 2012:6).

A second issue to spark tense emotion is that of the infamous Colombian imaginario of the poor the

reluctance of the Colombian press to expose ongoing crises. Rincón argues that ‘there are millions of

[DPS], but they don’t serve for entertainment (2008) exposing a darker side to the situation:

indifference.

So the failure of the government to address problems of integration, and the failure of the press

allowing “the social and humanitarian issues [to] remain barely visible to the public” (Camargo,

2010:135) are the two issues Oasis inhabitants believed to be the biggest contributors towards

quotidian difficulties.

But it is also important to take into account the academic approaches to displacement, and to put these

theories under a magnifying glass. It is unusual for reports to focus on the human perspective of

national politics (Morgan, 2005), and when journalists take an ‘individual’ angle it usually fits in with

the stereotyped view of the poor as being uneducated, simplistic, and politically unaware (Rincón,


2008). But they are, in fact, experts, whose opinions and experiences are arguably worth more than

those of a desk-based scholar. However, in a country where the numbers of IDPs vary from 3.6

million to 5.2million (CODHES, 2013) with ‘strong discrepancies between governmental and non-

governmental sources’ (Meertens, 2003:5) it becomes increasingly difficult to trust the authorities, so

independent academia and journalism are growing in importance. Nevertheless, I would argue that

having this new wave of literature verified by its very protagonists (the host communities and the

IDPs) is a privilege that any author should strive to obtain.

We’ll only examine academic published post 2002 (the year with the greatest influx of IDPs that

Santa Marta has ever seen, approximately 33,000 people (Camargo, 2010:143)) as this is when the

sheer scale of IDPs in the city would have ‘expose[d] communities to a cocktail of multiple

hazards...creating so-called stress bundles’ (Zetter and Deikun, 2010:6). Oasis is considered to be a

‘shanty town’ and, as a result, ‘outside the administrative boundaries of the city of Santa Marta’

(Jacobsen and Howe, 2010:21). Therefore, specific studies conducted in Santa Marta, for example the

Tufts-IDMC funded 2010 report, point us in the right direction but need to be cautiously used as ‘as

we do not have census data on these areas, they are not included in the studies for the city’ (Jacobsen

and Howe, 2010:21). Barrio Oasis is only a 10 minute taxi ride from the historical centre of the

touristic Santa Marta and is well established. Created 28 years ago; these ‘unofficial’ shanty-towns

should be included in any city census.

The fundamental areas highlighted in academia concerning integration were extensive....

‘IDPs can suffer from abuse that neighbours and strangers commit against their families’ (Villa,

2006:32)

‘fundamental objections to the identification and treatment of IDPs as a separate group are

noteworthy’ (UNHCR, 2012:26)

‘segmentation of assistance is often the source of tensions between host populations and stigmatised

displaced populations’ (Mooney, 2005:20)

‘exclusion and segregation that manifests for the displaced population is an extension of the war’

(Alape, 2003)

‘there is a widespread belief that newcomers take away jobs from locals’ (UNHCR, 2012)

‘hidden crisis’ of urban violence, social unrest and the growing insecurity of urban populations’

(Zetter and Deikun, 2010:7)


...but can be efficiently broken down into one key question: whether or not IDPs are subject to hostile

treatment from their historically poor urban counterparts?

The majority of reports suggested, rather depressingly, that that this dominates behavioural patterns in

the barrios. The majority of inhabitants suggested, rather encouragingly, that in reality this is just not

true.

The Tufts-IDMC report in 2008 interviewed 909 people in Santa Marta and reached the conclusion

that 14.4% of their sample fit into the ‘displaced’ category (2008:37). Camargo states that ‘one in five

people who now live in the city are displaced’ (2008) Depending on who is asking, and where, it may

be wise to ‘identify onseself as an IDP to take advantage of social solidarity, or to hide the IDP status

for fear of stigmatization from the host community’ (Villa, 2006:36) which could help to explain this

discrepancy.


The Tufts-IDMC study identified ‘high’ and ‘low’ population IDP areas, illustrated here (2008:38).

Oasis (marked) is amongst the darkest of the zones surveyed, with an IDP population of 33.4-53.5%.

In my initial questionnaire I asked 146 participants whether or not there was a high proportion of IDPs

in Oasis, the answer was unanimous: “yes, the vast majority”, “totally, yes”, I’d say yes”. My study

suggested that 49.3% of the inhabitants were IDPs, the remaining were the historically urban poor2.

The precise location of the Barrio is not important. I want to emphasise that these contributing

circumstances affecting integration are found throughout the department of Magdalena. Barrio Oasis

can be used as a archetotype and can illustrate that the urban poor do not, contrary to what traditional

journalism would have us believe, compliment the clichéd state of childlike ignorance (Paredes,

2010).

2I hate to generalise to such an extent as to use the term ‘historically urban poor’, but unfortunately constraints

mean that I am forced to do so. Please remember this is an umbrella term, take it with a pinch of salt.

Barrio Oasis


“El Barrio Oasis

es un barrio bendecido por Dios”

“Primero eso empezó siendo una invasión de tamaño muy pequeño con una sola entrada y

esa misma es la salida. Viven aproximadamente 300 familias, aproximadamente 190 casas,

algunas de cartón, otras de madera y algunas en ladrillo que se encuentran en obras

negras.” Gresiy Luquez Vargas “It began life as a small illegal barrio with just one way in, and out. Approximately 300 families live there, in

190 houses; some hardboard, some wood and some from bricks found on the black market.”

“A pesar de su poca luz y agua pues se puede vivir bien. Sus habitantes son algunos

malgeniados pero con un buen corazón a la hora de cualquier emergencia. Tiene

aproximadamente 27 años algunos habitantes los creadores pues todavía viven aquí fueron

los primeros habitantes, aunque en los últimos años se ha sobre poblado” María Silvana

Diazgranados “In spite of the lack of electricity and water, you can live well. Some inhabitants can be bad-tempered but

they’ve a good heart and step up to the mark if an emergency arises. The barrio is about 17, some inhabitants –

the ‘creators’- still live here, they were the first residents. In recent years it’s become overpopulated.”

“Es bendecido por Dios y por todos los moradores que lo habitan. Es un barrio pequeño,

pero mucho que lo habitan tiene personalidad, gracias, amor, pero es una carbonera hay

como mínimo 300 familias. Está ubicada unos 10 minutos del centro en moto, pero no tiene

transporte de busetas.” Jherson Manuel Ortiz Solórzano “It’s blessed by God and by everyone who lives here. It’s small, but the residents have personality, grace, love

– but it’s so overpopulated 300 families at least. It’s about 10 minutes from the centre if you go by motorbike,

but there are no buses.”

A view of the Barrio’s high street. This is one of the most developed areas, where the houses are made primarily from brick

and metal, not wood.


Has the government addressed problems of

integration in Oasis?

Colombia’s Constitutional Court stands out internationally after, in 2004, it acknowledged ‘that

disregard of IDPs rights was an unconstitutional state of affairs, and issued a series of orders aimed

at improving the situation’ (UNHCR, 2012:20). Following this revelation the IDP funding and

investment increased ten-fold, to $44.2 billion pesos, and was issued a 2 month deadline to allocate

resources (Small, 2012:31; El Espectador, 2010), an enthusiastic yet ultimately unfeasible objective.

In 1998 the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement were released and Colombia, whose IDP

rate at that time came second only to Sudan, was the first of 6 countries to officially apply these ‘soft

laws’ to national law and political framework (Weiss, 2003:434). However an ‘out of sight, out of

mind’ practice was still very much in play and only recently with the election of President Santos in

2010 were painful truths diverged on previously blissfully unaware upper classes; he has accepted that

ongoing internal torment is absolute, vows to address the problem, and has made history by

committing to liberalise information which had previously not been recognised ‘neither by the state

nor Colombian society’ (Villa, 2006:22).

Colombia has 3.6 million internally displaced persons at least and despite President Santos’ passing of

the Victims’ Law 1448 in 2011, which aims to provide a ‘rights to reparation, truth, and justice’

(Summers, 2012:220) increased ease of integration is not identified as an issue. Given that ‘96% of

IDPs have completely rejected the idea of repatriation’ (Camargo, 2008) integration is something that

should have been considered.

‘Es que la ley 1448 se enfoca demasiado en la repatriación, es decir quieren que nos regresemos a

nuestras propias tierras, pero he estado aquí con mi familia por casi 12 anos, no quiero regresar. Dice esta ley que no merecemos la ciudad. Necesitamos ayuda para integrarla, no que nos obliguen a

viajar de nuevo a un lugar donde ya no son nuestras vidas.’

Carlos Enrique Peralta Mejía

‘Law 1448 focuses too much on repatriation, they want us to return to where we came from, but I’ve been with

my family here for almost 12 years, I don’t want to go back! This law implies we don’t deserve to be here in the

city. We need help with integration, not to be forced back to a place that isn’t longer our home anymore.’

Oasis is a fairly new barrio, but 96% of IDPs interviewed did not want repatriation, they wanted

integration.

The country’s ‘strong history passing pieces of legislation that it does not have the capacity or

resources to implement’ (Small, 2012:30) is also dismally apparent. Multiple newspapers periodically

publish short but sweet tales of governmental guarantees but, thanks primarily to the ‘comment’

section below these stories, it is blindingly evident that these schemes just don’t have an impact

(Bustamante, 2012; Caracol, 2009).


Photo by tanya~b http://www.flickr.com/photos/tanyabowd/3454719889/lightbox/

‘De hecho, la ley de víctimas se estreno en 2011 cierto? Pues soy desplazado, toda mi familia, muchos amigos…vecinos míos son desplazados, y esta ley es para nosotros. Pero no se me acercaron,

es bueno que hay una nueva política para ayudarnos, pero no está ayudándonos! De pronto hay

planes y ayuda en Bogotá, o en Medellín pero aquí en Santa Marta no hay nada.’

Greiss Baquero Arango

‘This law was released in 2011 wasn’t it? Well, I’m displaced, all my family are displaced, lots of my friends,

neighbours, so this law is supposed to be for us? But no one’s approached us, it’s good there’s a new law to

help, but no one has helped! Maybe in Bogota or Medellin, but no here in Santa Marta.’

So when Villa wrote in 2006

‘when politicians talk about forced displacement they talk about repatriation, but what

happens in reality is that people opt for integration, mostly without institutional support’

(Villa, 2006:31)

it seems she did so with justified scathing. Yunais Soslenys Gutiérrez Monslavo points out that...

…‘les dan 3 meses desde el momento de desplazamiento para registrarse y reclamar ayuda de urgencia pero después de 1 año ya no son considerados como desplazados. Que tal – ¡por que se

necesita más que 1 ano para integrar en una sociedad! Pero el gobierno hace hasta lo imposible para

negar apoyo financiero. Pues es por eso que no vale la pena. La gente aquí son desplazados de corta distancia, a ellos nunca reciben ni un peso. Es mejor confiar en nosotros…los que viven aquí tenemos

que ayudar a ellos, a darles consejo, alojamiento, lo que sea para compensar por el gobierno’

‘They give them 3 months from the momento their displaced to resigter and claim emergency aid, but after a

year they aren’t considered to be displaced any more, ridiculous! People need more than a year to integrate into

a society! But the government does what it can to avoid paying, so it’s not really worth registering. People here were displaced from close-by and they don’t receive a peso. It’s better for them to trust us, people who live here,

to help them, give them advice, a home, whatever they need to compensate for the shortfalls of the government.’

Yunais eerily echoes the exact point Villa gets across: ‘people are far more motivated to rely on

family ties and compadreship than the government’ (Villa, 2006:31); the academics and residents are

in agreement here.

‘We, the displaced, are miserable. Mr. Uribe, Where is the aid? Where is

the respect for our human rights?’


Profiling IDPs is important: a registered IDP is legally entitled to goods and services and IDPs who

are not registered leave themselves vulnerable to a minefield of obstacles: ‘they struggle to sign a

lease, cash a cheque, they live in fear of state actors and remain vulnerable to arrest, detention,

solicitation or bribes and intimidation’ (UNHCR, 2012:22). Magalis María Gutiérrez Acuña has

firsthand experience of this; she is what is known as a ‘dormitory’ IDP, ‘known as intraregional

displacement, or short-distance migration’ (Villa, 2006:17), and so her application for official IDP

status was not recognised, but integration into the host community was effortless as she knew already

knew the culture of the city.

‘Sé que el gobierno no es inocente, que tienen amigos paramilitares. Y creo que es por eso que no han hecho mucho, aunque ya está mejorando. Cuando llegué aquí en Oasis me fui a las autoridades pero

me lo negaron todo. Me fui de Rio Frio en Ciénaga, había grupos por allá – insurgentes y guerrillas

– y había escuchado historias del…que matan y violan. Tuve 4 hijos chiquiticos, tenía que irme. No

quería arriesgar nuestra seguridad. Siempre confió en Dios y sé que gracias a Él estamos aquí bien felices. Para nosotros integrar en el barrio fue mucho más fácil que si fuéramos a otra ciudad,

conocimos la cultura y tuvimos amigos y todo.’ Magalis María Gutiérrez Acuña

‘I know the government isn’t innocent, they’ve got paramilitary friends. And I think that this is why they

haven’t done much. When I got here to Oasis I came from Rio Frio in Cienaga, there were insurgents and guerrillas around there............they were killing...and raping. I’ve got 4 small children, I had to go. I couldn’t risk

their security. I’ve always trust in God and and thank him that we’re safe and happy here. For us, it was easy to

integrate, it was much easier than if we’d gone to another city. We already knew the culture and had friends and

everything here.’

Considering that being registered is essentially ‘the only way to take advantage of state-led

programmes specifically for IDPs’ (Villa, 2006: 35), Magalis’ decision to evacuate to an urban

proximity was financially devastating, but socially beneficial when it came to integration. It is a

choice that she shouldn’t have had to make: government aid or cultural ties, but Mooney claims that

in general ‘IDPs who are taken in by relatives, friends or local residents generally fare better’

(2005:16), and given Magalis’ high social standing in the community, this snap-decision taken 15

years ago, in hindsight has worked out well for her.


Magalis’ house on the high street of Barrio Oasis, which is among the nicest properties in the Barrio.

‘A large gap still exists between the rhetoric of the government and the lived experience of

many IDPs.’ (Small, 2012:2).

So it seems that although the government has tried to increase flows of capital into

problem areas, it has not taken integration into account when tacking the problems of

internal displacement in Colombia, and more specifically, in Barrio Oasis.


Has the press raised awareness to problems of

integration in Oasis?

You probably wouldn’t plan a holiday to Iraq, Sudan, or Somalia nowadays. In fact, there are

probably a lot of places you wouldn’t want to visit in today’s climate of tempestuous combat. But

Colombia, thanks to fractured journalism and an impressive marketing assault, has attracted scores of

tourists with the promise of colonial grandeur and emerald landscapes. It has become a haven for

backpackers, and cities of outstanding natural beauty are now hotspots for wealthy holiday makers.

There is a new marketing slogan...

www.colombiatur.net

...which is seen at various airports and bus terminals around the country, and long-forgotten images of

La Violencia died alongside Pablo Escobar. This tourist-tempting slogan is brilliantly ironic when

applied to the plight of IDPs; for them too the only risk is wanting to stay. ‘Not even war-stricken

countries such as Iraq reach Colombian levels of casualties’ (Rincón, 2008).

The Colombian press is reluctant to acknowledge IDP presence, continuing displacement, repatriation

and integration issues that secretly plague NGO and municipal authoritative bodies. President Santos,

elected in 2011, was the first president in Colombian history to ‘formally recognise the consequences

of the ongoing internal conflict’ (Summers, 2012:2) and introduced a policy of transparency.

Consequently, his popularity in Colombia has fallen as the Elite feel threatened from the poverty-

stricken masses that surround them (Morgan, 2005). This is not because the threat has risen; the

difference is that now they know about it. Ignorance is bliss, and this can explain to a certain extent

why a democratic developing country can hide these stains and purposefully continues to do so.

Before in Colombia the notion of ‘freedom of the press’ could often be overruled by the ease in which

people could ‘disappear’; now, under Santos, cartoonists and columnists can satirically express (albeit

very sparsely) their wonder and amazement at the inefficient government in national newspapers, like

the one printed below in El Tiempo – the equivalent of The Independent.


‘Thanks to democratic security, we

can travel safely on the roads’

Published in El Tiempo newspaper on 21st May 2009, by El Matador

The cartoonist El Matador is trying to highlight that the government has been successful in combating

violence – it is now safe to travel on the roads at any time of day. But displacement and integration

have been put to one side, which explains why this displaced family are still travelling on these safe

new roads; they have yet to integrate into a new community.

Cartoons and articles like this aren’t published often, despite the fact it is the ‘social responsibility of

the press to inform’ (Camargo, 2010:136). The Colombian displaced is something that the richer Elite

does not want to deal with. When they are represented, journalists tend to emphasise their ignorance

and childlike understanding of the conflict. They tend to portray the seemingly folkloric lifestyle of

the rural community as idyllic and makes displacement seem trivial; difficulties in integration are

often put down to the ineptitude of the urban poor (Morgan, 2005).

Samhuel Montalvo León states

…‘debe ser debido a la corrupción - los que tiene el poder controlan la prensa, y los que tiene el

poder son los amiguitos de los paramilitares y narcos que causan el desplazamiento. Quieren que todo esto, que nosotros – este ocultado, por eso no publican nada. Son culpables y no quieren

reconocerlo – es más, si hubiera más información, si todo el mundo supiera que todavía existen

desplazados – ellos tendrían que afrontarnos, darnos ayuda, apoyo, dinero, lo que sea. Para nosotros

los desplazados sabemos que no hay nada, el gobierno, los académicos, la prensa, el público no saben porque nadien les dice nada – y eso es la culpa de la prensa. Que no quiere confrontar los

poderes culpables.’

‘It’s probably corruption – those that have the power control the press, and those that have the power are the

friends of the paramilitaries and drug traffickers who caused the displacement. They want us to remain hidden so they don’t publish anything. They are the guilty ones and the don’t want to have to admit it. On top of that, if

there was more information, if all the world knew about it, they’d have to confront the problem, help us, aid,

money, whatever. We all know that there’s no help but no one else does because no one talks about it, and thats

the fault of the press. They don’t want to confront the guilty one’s with all the power.’


Again the academics seem to be in agreement with the residents, ‘Television isn’t interested in IDPs,

they’re just the victims of the politicians friends...those with money control the television and for

them, displacement is just something that has to happen’ (Rincón, 2008).

Jhon José Montenegro talked in depth about a blockade organised outside the barrio on the main

road going inland from the port. The barrio needed help integrating IDPs into the community, and the

blockade was supposed to raise the issue with the citizens of Santa Marta but ‘they’re not really

visible to the local, regional and national public’ (Camargo, 2010: 139).

‘Hace 2 meses se ahogó el hijo de mi prima – fue en Octubre. Aquí se inunda porque es sobre

poblado y no se puede escapar de las inundaciones. ‘2 months ago my cousin’s son died – in October. It

floods here a lot and because it’s so overpopulated there’s no where to escape the water.’

Photo by Paul Emmerson, thebatteredrucksack.com

‘Quisimos que viniera la prensa, para que supieran que sufrimos aquí. Es que....nosotros amamos a

los desplazados pero no hay más recursos, no podemos ofrecer más apoyo. Invitamos a Caracol, Hoy Diario y Radio Galeón pero nadie venia, supongo que es porque no querían saber ni ayudar y por al

fin las únicas personas que afectan este bloqueado son los habitantes de Oasis. Es ridículo, somos

patéticos. Íbamos a bloquear la carretera cada día hasta que nos ayudaran pero no afectan a nadie – la prensa tiene el poder de informar a la gente de nuestra mala situación pero no lo hace.’

‘We wanted the press to come because we are suffering here a lot. We love the displaced neighbours but there’s

just no more resources, we can’t offer them anything else. We invited Caracol, Hoy Diario, even Radio Galeon

but no one came, I guess it’s because they didn’t what to know or help. At the end of the day the only people

this blockade is affecting is us, and similar barrios. It’s ridiculous, we’re pathetic. We were going to block the

road every day until they helped us but they don’t affect anyone – the press has all the power to inform people

of our situation but they don’t.’


“Action committee for the

community of Barrio Oasis”

Jhon and the blockade on the road

outside Oasis.

Photo by Charlie Thomas

Camargo conducted a 5-year study into the media representation of IDPs in Santa Marta

observing that ‘it isn’t considered to be an area of journalistic interest’ and that ‘indifference

and insensitivity’ (2010:136) of the public cause the media to focus on other topics resulting

in yet more ignorance and consequently, indifference. It is a vicious circle; and when tackled,

journalistic talent ‘without time or resources produces simplistic and partial versions of

reality’ (Camargo, 2910:137).


Samhuel sitting outside his house, reading his newspaper.

‘The voices of those affected are always absent’

(Camargo, 2010:138)

In 2002, the year with the greatest influx of IDPs, the 3 major Samarian newspapers published just 22

articles involving displacement. (Camargo, 2010:140). The media is very much aware of their social

responsibility to report the news, and of the gravity of the situation, but that it is for a lack of

resources and interest that they do not and so ‘we have seen Colombian indifference swell’ (Villa,

2006:33).

Again, it seems, failure of integration aid is attributed to the government, and to a lesser extent,

the power of the press. Society isn’t interested, because the media doesn’t report it, because the

government doesn’t allow it, resulting in a lack of aid when it comes to IDP integration.


Are IDPs subject to hostile treatment and

resentment in Oasis, or have they integrated into the

community?

This issue is the most conflicting. It is interesting to note that so far we have heard our

interviewees talk about their contempt of the government and of the press, but not once

during my stay in Oasis did they ever talk about contempt with each other: quite the opposite,

both IDPs and hosts speak favourably of one another.

‘Aquí todos somos los mismos....desplazados o no todos somos iguales, todos nos caemos

muy bien. Nadie aquí en Santa Marta pelea con los desplazados somos todos humildes y

pobres.’ Anibel Reyes Vidal Here we’re all in the same boat, displaced or not we’re all the same, and we all ge ton well. No one fights with

the displaced people because we are all poor!’

‘Es un barrio bastante tranquilo hay personas amables cariñosas y todos me tratan muy

bien.’ Roberto Diego Buitrago Aliaga ‘It’s a pretty quiet barrio, there are kind caring people and everyone treats me well’

‘Cada persona tiene valores, principios, personalidad que es lo que no hace ser ricos sin

tener plata y cosas materiales.’ Stiiven Munar Arias ‘Everyone here has morals, principles, personality and that makes us rich without having matieral posessions’

‘Se ha sobrepoblado y ha avanzado mucho, es un barrio bastante tranquilo alejado un poco

de la violencia y a pesar de todo tiene buenas personas.’ Naty Urrea Bolivar ‘It’s become very overpopulated, but it’s a quiet barrio, a bit detatched because of the violence but in spite of

everything it’s got a good population.’

‘Es bueno, tranquilo, no hay violencia, no peleo con mis vecinos.’ Yoryeth Granada

Alabarado ‘It’s good, quiet, there’s no violence and I don’t fight with my neighbours’

Despite this, all academic reports mention hostility as a potential and probable issue likely to

inhibit smooth integration into host communities. We saw briefly in the introduction several

academic quotes illustrating that this troublesome facet of displacement is repeatedly cited,

curiously so considering that ‘no one in Santa Marta looks down on the displaced population.

We’re all the same, we’re all poor. There’s no rivalry’ (Greiss Baquero Arango)


Greiss and her daughter.

I am not contesting the existence of ‘tension between established city dwellers and

newcomers as a global phenomenon’ (UNHCR, 2012:36), but as a global phenomenon I

don’t believe it can be condensed into a ‘one size fits all’ model; it is too simplistic and not

always applicable at a local level. The problem with international mandates is that they are

not localised, and here we see the greatest difference between academic opinions and local

residents. We noted in the introduction that this Barrio can be seen as a archetype of

Samarian barrios, reiterated by Montenegro and León when they speak of their friends and

family in identical situations in and around Santa Marta, but Samarian Barrios cannot count

as a archetype for displacement in Syria, Sudan or even other Colombian cities such as

Bogotá and Medellín, and vice versa. This is where academic reports on IDP integration fail.

In general, regarding integration there are 2 principal beliefs: the first, that IDPs should be

treated with ‘special attention, as they have certain needs which are distinct from the general

population’ (Mooney, 2005:19); the second, that ‘it will often make sense to address the

plight of IDPs through a broader- community based approach’ (Mooney, 2005:20). It can be

argued that each category holds some truth. It is difficult to deny that IDPs have certain

needs, but addressing these needs exclusively could lead to a situation where ‘the new urban


inhabitants are potentially in a situation of relative advantage over the structural poor of the

municipality’ (Guevara and Guevara, 2010:19) and this ultimately is what results in hostility.

‘Los desplazados aquí son iguales que nosotros y deberíamos tratarlos igual. Si ellos

estarían como superior que nosotros, y que las autoridades las trataran mejor, pues si claro

sentiríamos un poco, pues, enojados, pero no diríamos nada. Porque han tenido malas

experiencias y tenemos que respectarlos.’ Yunais Soslenys Gutiérrez Monslavo

‘The IDPs here are the same as us and we need to treat them equally. If they were superior to us, and the

authorities treated them better, well then yes we’d feel a bit, well, angry, but we wouldn’t say anything. Because

they’ve had a bad time and we need to respect that.’

Hostility is not something that results simply from the arrival of a displaced person in Santa

Marta; hostility is a phenomenon caused by the interference of authoritative bodies

prioritizing assistance of IDPs over other vulnerable groups which can, understandably, result

in ‘deep resentment that in the end endangers their security’ (Mooney, 2005:20). Ensuring

the protection of IDPs shouldn’t in any way inhibit the protection of other qualifying citizens.

Santa Marta is the 2nd

biggest receptor of IDPs in Colombia (after the capital, Bogotá) and is

in the much poorer department of Magdalena (Camargo, 2005) and so resources to ensure fair

protection to all citizens are scarce.

But although this lack of governmental support and resources should, theoretically, be a

hindrance to integration and quality of life in Oasis I am going to argue the opposite: we’ve

already seen that governmental presence is absent, but NGO presence in the barrio is not. It is

by no means ample, but the Red Cross are reliable and respected in Oasis, coming in often to

offer medical advice and hold workshops.


2 residents just after receiving vaccinations from the Red Cross.

These charities never differentiate between IDPs and the urban poor, and I see this as proof

that the second theory of IDP treatment (that ‘the plight of IDPs cannot be treated in isolation

but needs to be responded to in the broader context of the urban poor’ (Zetter and Deikun,

2010:8)) works. The majority of host communities have expressed their objection to the

separate identification of IDPs (Mooney, 2005:18) as have the IDPs themselves, as ‘their

dream is not to be identified as displaced persons’ (Villa, 2006:37). Also significant is that

intraregional displacement in the area is common; culturally the IDPs are no different to the

urban poor, having grown up just a few miles away their accents don’t vary, they have the

same customs, and usually frequent the city on social visits. This plays a big part in the

peaceful nature of integration in the city.

That isn’t to say that there aren’t problems in integration, but these problems are exclusively

caused by logistical obstacles: a lack of clean water, electricity, gas, a shortage of schooling,

work and medical services. These problems are caused by overpopulation, and a rapid influx

of people into an already precarious living space. This barrio has always been illegal, started

28 years ago by the urban poor and has seen a steady influx of IDPs ever since. The fact that

in barrios like Oasis there have always been a fairly even number of urban poor and IDPs


mean that polarisation isn’t a viable option. The problems in integration are not to do with the

social status of each family but with infrastructure, and if the inhabitants want to improve that

infrastructure they know that the most direct way to go about it isn’t by engaging in isolating

stigmatisation, but by lobbying together.

IDPs are not subject to hostile treatment in the barrio; they have integrated wholly into

the community and are seen as a viable asset in economic stability to their hosts.

The government does not recognise this asset, as it shows in the Victims’ Law where

repatriation, not integration, is a key focus. The press does not acknowledge this asset as

shown by the lack of interest and coverage, and very few academics recognise that

integration ‘means more than just tolerance, it is to recognise the ‘other’ as part of the

production for a common, better future’ (Villa, 2006:41).

I’d like to finish by contrasting Villa when she says that ‘for an IDP the pilgrimage of

displacement very rarely has an end’ (2006:33), with Acuña who is certain that she’s ‘not

displaced any more, Oasis is definitely [her] home now.’

Magalis and her granddaughter, Lisneidis.


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Research Project, Barrio Oasis, Colombia

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