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Colombia – 2017 / 2019

‘ We do not want to be seen as terrorists anymore.’
One of the deepest desires expressed by the women of the FARC.

Fifty three years of armed conflict ended when in November 2016 peace was signed between the Colombian government and the Marxist FARC guerrilla. More than 7,000 Rebels handed over their
weapons to the United Nations.

About forty percent of the former FARC rebels are women. They play a crucial role in the peace process. Harvard studies proved that peace in crisis-ridden countries is less related to prosperity and democratic conditions than to society’s attitude towards women. Hence it highly depends on them how successful the FARC integration process will be in the end. In the FARC, gender equality played a vital part. The female rebels fought like men and held equal ranks. Their present struggle for peace is also a commitment to women’s rights in a highly patriarchal society.

This long-term project named after a song of the famous Colombian singer, la Grande Negra (Leonor Gonzalez Mina ) is about six women ex-FARC rebels, who are fighting today for recognition and acceptance in Colombian society. It is a project about de-stigmatization and forgiveness, crucial for a society in order to start a new chapter and to cohabitate as former enemies in society. In numerous interviews Sandra, Milena, Nasley, Viviana, Juliana and Camila shared their deeply moving life stories. Extreme poverty, hopelessness and the search for ideals, drove these women into the arms of the FARC. “I finally wanted to be somebody” – a phrase these women said on multiple occasions. The result: Since the age of sixteen the female fighters have known nothing but a life in war.

I portrayed and documented the six women from July 2017 until January 2019. My intention was to document the beginning and the evolution of the peace and reconciliation process through the lives of these women in Colombia. I wanted share their personal wishes and hopes and paths they all undertook since the end of the war. Initially the six protagonists were sheltered in Icononzo, one of the 26 disarmament and transition zones, housing circa 300 ex-combatants out of a total of 7000 remaining rebels. I concentrated on women in this particular zone, because this region in the province Tolima, was severely affected by the armed conflict. Further Icononzo is close to Bogotá, which makes the reintegration process even more challenging. Today some of them moved and started a new life in Bogotá.

Initially it was difficult at times for the women to share their traumatic experiences and lives as fighters. But through the trust I have learned about their fears, their braveness, their strength, their dreams and hopes and plans for the future, which they have been realizing over the course of time.

The former fighters, especially the women, face immense challenges: the Colombian communities make it difficult for them to return to civilian life. As ex-female rebels they are acutely stigmatized. They are seen as
unfeminine for renouncing traditional gender roles. Beyond that, the FARC is held responsible for drug trafficking, countless kidnappings, 200,000 deaths and the displacement of more than five million persons in Colombia. Now, the FARC members are making an enormous effort to assimilate into a largely hostile society. These women represent the thousands of rebels taking responsibility for their past, asking for forgiveness, and trying to begin a new life in peace. This project is about forgiveness and the try of a new beginning.

This peace process could be exemplary for other war torn countries in the pursuit of peace.

Anne Christine Woehrl

MILENA

Milena, 29 years old, joined the FARC – the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – at the age of 15. The reasons were conflicts in her family and financial problems, which didn’t allow her to go to school. She could not stand it at home anymore and fled. After her recruitment she first encountered a weapon in her life and was brought to work with the Red Urbana Antonio Nariño. Tremendous efforts and tremendous sacrifices along her path, but she does not regret her as she calls it her most important own decision in her life, she ever took. Her life has changed drastically since the end of the war. She is together with Carlos Antonio Lozada, one of the main FARC commanders and leading figure in the peace talks and has become mother of her daughter Dalila. She is fulfilled with her new role, which she had to deny during the time in the FARC. She is about to catch up with her high school diploma and wants to study social sciences and communication, which the FARC taught her already. Her aim is to work for the women rights in society. ‘ We lay down our arms, but we continue to fight for our ideals with our words.’ For the first time in years, she has seen her mother, and feels guilty for what she has done to her.

SANDRA

Sandra, today 32 years old, joined the FARC at the age of 16. As a child she was obliged to work hard at home, while the mother was teaching in a school far away. Sandra got bored and saw no perspective for herself. She discovered a camp of the FARC nearby her home and felt intrigued by the rebels and sensed the wish to become like them. For the first six months she had to do physical training. Later she studied theory, learning rules and proper handling of the comrades. Further writing reports and reading about the Marxist ideology. One battle after the other followed and always with the inner fear: ‘ When is my turn? I have to endure, stay strong!’ Today she participates in communication courses, shoots videos with her own camera. ‘I want to give our insights a voice, to be part of the Colombian media!’ Her job will be cinematographer and to work for the media channel of the FARC. She feels guilty for having left her family for nearly 16 years. In the meantime Sandra has found her family again and communicates daily with them via whatsapp. She lives with her boyfriend and ex-comrade Felipe in her home in Icononzo. Her dream of becoming a journalist is put aside for now, she became mother and is raising her baby in the transition zone, whie her boyfriend works as bodyguard.

CAMILA

Camila, 42 years old, was 18 when she joined the FARC. The family was active in the party Unión Patriótica (UP), which emerged in 1985 from the political arm of the FARC and the Communist Party of Colombia. The armed government forces fought the UP, thousands were killed – also Camilas father and brother. It was then that Camila joined the FARC. As a combatant she took part in several battles. She studied the legal system of Colombia as an autodidact, gave birth to a daughter despite of the ‘child ban’ in the FARC. In 2008, she was lying in bed at night with her child in the hut of farm workers, who were sympathizers of the FARC when she was captured by the military. A deserter from the FARC had betrayed her. She was sent to the women‘s prison in Bogotá, ‘El Buen Pastor’. Since May of 2017 she lives in freedom. She wants to fight in the newly formed party FARC, wants to study law, also to fight for the release of detained guerrillas: ‘We are still stigmatized in our society as terrorists. That frightens me.’

JULIANA

Juliana a 46 ans aujourd’hui, elle avait 18 ans quand elle a rejoint les FARC. Elle était amoureuse d’un guérillero, alors que les FARC arrivaient dans son village pour recruter d’éventuels combattants. En tant que combattante, elle décrit l’exercice militaire extrêmement difficile, les marches de jour et de nuit dans les conditions les plus difficiles, l’horreur des batailles et des bombardements de l’armée colombienne . Même si elle avait constamment peur, ce qui comptait, c’était les idéaux des FARC, la camaraderie et la solidarité.
Aujourd’hui, elle rêve d’apprendre la médecine naturelle. Elle a vu sa famille pour la première fois depuis 26 ans. Elle est prête à tout pour assurer le succès du processus de paix et croit en la bonne volonté de Dieu.

NASLEY

Nasley, 38 ans, avait 18 ans quand elle a rejoint les FARC, parce que son père a été abattu par les paramilitaires, en plus du fait que sa famille vit dans une pauvreté extrême à la campagne, Nasley a dû travailler tous les jours comme nounou, pour pouvoir terminer son école. A la fin, les idéaux des FARC et l’égalité absolue des hommes et des femmes l’ont convaincue qu’elle aurait enfin la chance “d’être quelqu’un dans la vie”. En tant que combattante au cours de sa première année, elle a failli s’effondrer sous l’entraînement militaire acharné. Les attentats l’ont traumatisée. Mais en même temps, elle étudie l’ontologie dans les FARC – la profession dont elle a toujours rêvé. Gregory, son petit ami est le responsable de la communication dans la zone de transition, a participé aux négociations de paix à La Havane. Elle aussi, elle l’a fait. Elle veut continuer à vivre dans le camp, construire un village ouvrier ici, au milieu de la “grande famille des FARC”.

VIVIANA

Viviana, 37 ans, a rejoint les FARC à l’âge de 17 ans. La raison était qu’en tant que fille d’un agriculteur, elle n’avait pas accès à l’éducation scolaire et aux soins de santé. Sa famille a toujours appartenu au parti communiste et a toujours sympathisé avec les FARC. Sa motivation était de lutter contre l’inégalité en Colombie. Dans un combat contre l’armée, elle s’est fait tirer dessus et a été le seul combattant des FARC à survivre. Cherchant refuge et essayant de se cacher de l’armée, les paysans l’ont trouvée et l’ont hébergée jusqu’au moment où les militaires l’ont trouvée. Cinq ans d’emprisonnement et de privations ont suivi dans la prison El “El Buen Pastor”, la plus grande prison pour femmes de Colombie à Bogota. Aujourd’hui, elle vit à Icononzo, l’une des 26 zones de transition, où vivent les anciens combattants des FARC. Elle rêve de terminer ses études secondaires.
Après 20 ans, elle a revu sa famille pour la première fois pour son anniversaire. Sa conviction est enracinée dans ses paroles : “le nouveau parti fondé par les FARC se battra pour nos idéaux sociaux. Nous posons nos armes, mais nos mots et nos caméras sont nos nouvelles armes pour poursuivre notre combat”.