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COLOMBIA Colombian refugee, Venezuela Juan Manuel Bustillo Forced home but not protected When the local population is not being attacked by armed groups or by the army, it is being harmed by the government trying to spray the coca plants with poisonous acid. In response, many flee to what they consider safer areas. In the last three years alone, more than three million people, as much as 5 percent of Colombia’s population, have been forcibly displaced because of the country’s armed conflict. More than half of all displaced persons are children under the age of eighteen. While Colombia is among a handful of countries that has enacted legislation to protect internally displaced persons (IDPs); nonetheless, they are often not provided with food assistance. In 2003, nearly a quarter of displaced children were at risk of malnutrition, those between the ages of one and two years being the most affected. Governmental assistance, when granted, is limited and only granted to those officially registered as displaced. The process of registering and requesting humanitarian assistance takes many months. Assistance is normally provided for three months up to a maximum of six. After the three month period ends, most IDPs do not receive any further humanitarian assistance. Unable to get by, IDPs often feel forced to return home due to a lack of other options. The state assistance they receive when they return is better than what they receive as IDPs, but is still inadequate. Food support is only provided for a maximum of 60 days. Each family also receives approximately 157 USD per month, which is not sufficient to pay for food until the end of the harvesting season. Returning home also means returning to unsafe areas where daily life is threatened by fighting, and coca plant spraying. Because return is seen as the only valid option, integration into safer areas is effectively discouraged. Despite the danger, the Colombian government’s National Development Plan 2002-2006 seeks to persuade 30,000 displaced families to return to their home areas. Government guidelines indicate the social and economic costs of displacement are reduced the quicker the decision to return home is made. Once home, many people find their freedom of movement restricted. In effect, prevents them from accessing food and healthcare. It also jeopardises their safety. In 2004, at least 70 villages throughout the country were threatened by the practices of the paramilitary and insurgent groups. However, state 4
security forces have also been accused of restricting the movement of the inhabitants of towns and villages throughout Colombia, allegedly to prevent them from assisting paramilitary and insurgent groups. As a result of fighting between paramilitary, insurgent and military groups, on 1 May, 42 families from Cerro Azul in northern Colombia were forcibly displaced. An 18- month old baby girl was killed and her father wounded during the clash. Residents fled. Shortly afterwards they were encouraged to return to Cerro Azul with the promise of state support for three months, however, only one food assistance package was provided to each returnee family. On 20 August, the Colombian government decided to spray the coca fields with glyphosate, a poisonous acid. It burns and dries everything it comes in contact with. One coca field located near a school was sprayed by light aircraft. The wind carried the glyphosate towards the school, burning the skin of several children. The school’s garden plants were also burned. Since they are afraid of being attacked by paramilitary groups, the pilots are not careful about where they spray. At times, they do not even spray the coca plants. Instead, they spray houses, people and animals. Consequently, the subsistence crops in the area were badly damaged. Food shortages and economic hardship followed. Failure by the authorities to provide food and support to the local population caused further displacement. With this knowledge in hand, the Colombian government has repeatedly failed to take action. In 2004, UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, urged the Colombian government not to make humanitarian assistance subject to budgetary availability and to allocate the necessary resources to prevent forced displacement. In the same year, Colombia’s Constitutional Court held that the government’s system for assisting displaced persons was unconstitutional. It declared the state had an obligation to provide humanitarian assistance to those IDPs not in a position to sustain themselves. In September 2005, the Court found the steps taken by the government to comply with its ruling were insufficient in terms of both resources and institutional will. Nevertheless, the process of assisting IDPs continues to be overly bureaucratic, lack transparency and ignore persons awaiting official registration. It is evident that the decision to return is not voluntary. Displaced persons lack information regarding the security situation in their home areas. They presume the government will provide socio-economic support for their long-term security needs. Displaced persons are regularly faced with a choice between hunger and going home, even though return may mean living where there are minefields, a constant threat of armed attack, forced recruitment of children, and insufficient assistance from human rights organisations. Although they are not guaranteed any financial support at home, social and family ties, as well as organisations like <strong>JRS</strong> in Cerro Azul, make surviving from week to week somehow possible. Juan Manuel Bustillo, Advocacy Officer, <strong>JRS</strong> Colombia Maize, a staple part of the Colombian diet Returned IDP, Colombia SERVIR No. 37 – March 2006 5
Page 1 and 2: No. 37 - March 2006 Servir Food - f
Page 3: Hunger and homelessness regulated b
Page 7 and 8: THAILAND to get by in a big city wo
Page 9 and 10: TANZANIA some rations. Oil is the f
Page 11 and 12: NAMIBIA school Joanne Whitaker RSM

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