Comunidades de paz: expresiones de construcción de paz entre la guerra y la esperanza

Résumé 0

"Colombia is recognized in an international context as the most violent country in the world and the national environment provides one with the proof of the generalization of violence throughout the length and breadth of its territory. For more than forty years, the prolongation of the internal armed conflict and its gradual worsening and deterioration is in itself reflected in the increasing use of the civilian population as war tactics on the part of the armed actors.Nevertheless, Colombia has also represented a setting of peace evident in local initiatives that originate from the regions most affected by the violence.From the era of the eighties of the last decade, various scenes of peace have become evident; representatives in governmental policies were looking to negotiate a way out of this internal armed conflict, engaging in negotiation processes with insurgent movements and especially with the emergence of peace initiatives of diverse modes of expression from the civil society, and communities most affected by the impact of the armed confrontation.Within these peace initiatives the following groups can be identified: The Association of Rural Workers of Carare (ATCC) in the province of Velez, Department of Santander in 1987, The Active Neutrality of the Indigenous Association of Antioquia, (OIA), in 1984; The Peace Community of San Jose of Apartado in 1997; The Community of Peace of Saint Francisco of Assisi in 1997 and The Council Constituency Assembly of Mogotes in Santander, 1998.Also, one should take into account, within the peace scenery for peace in this country, the projects for the prevention of violence and the construction of peace impelled by the Catholic Church. Moreover, there are also the symbolic initiatives of the country?s territories and the different actions of the civil society that, amongst others, act as a warrant for peace together with the marches against the practice of kidnapping and forced disappearances, among others."