Membership in a Facebook group was the catalyst that brought more than 1,500 students, families and activists together to rally against a violent Colombian terrorist organization, in the District’s Freedom Plaza Monday as part of a worldwide day of protest.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, better known by the name’s Spanish-language equivalent, FARC, is a military wing of the Colombian Communist Party. Notorious for kidnapping, drug trafficking, ransom, and child labor, the organization has been recognized by the U.S. Department of State and the European Union as a terrorist organization. Though negotiations have been proposed over the last 10 years between the Colombian government and the terrorists, little has been done to abate the violence.
“Colombians wish for a country free from FARC, and we do not believe they represent us in any way or form,” said Laura Busche Ivan Gaviria, a leader of Colombia Soy Yo, a group that staunchly opposes FARC. “They have torn, and continue to tear apart, the peaceful dreams of our nation.”
Gariva said her organization created a Facebook group in early January to draw attention to FARC’s terrorist activities. Within a month, the group had amassed more than 300,000 members around the world.
Using the group’s Facebook page as a forum, members began discussing the possibility of organizing a “protest for peace,” Gaviria said. D.C. was one of 167 cities around the world to hold a rally.
Children dressed in yellow, blue and red apparel – the colors of the Colombian flag – held signs that read “Paz” and “Libertad,” words that mean “peace” and “liberty” in English. People chanted “Viva Colombia,” as music played through the plaza.
Erika Carmona, a member of GW’s PorColombia student group, came to the rally to “raise awareness about the tragic humanitarian problem that exists in (Colombia) due to the atrocities of the terrorist group the FARC.”
Many other local schools were also represented at Monday’s rally by concerned student activists.
“This is a call for the Colombian people to come together and protest for peace,” said Danny Esteban, a Johns Hopkins graduate student who was born in Colombia.
For some, the event was a way to stay connected to their homeland.
“We don’t always meet many Colombian people here, so this is an event to bring everyone together,” said Emanuel Guiterrez, a high school senior in the District who grew up in the South American nation. His sister, Karen, who is in asylum in the U.S. with her husband, explained that although “we cannot go back, this is one way to support our country.”
Ines Vega, a GW alumna, brought her 5-year-old daughter Amalia to the event to teach her about her ancestry. Vega, who moved to the U.S. nine years ago after the FARC made it difficult to find work in Colombia, has had a hard time explaining to her young child that “the country that I bring her to for vacation is at war.”
Despite some early morning rain showers, Gaviria said the day was a successful and historic one for the Colombian people.
“We are glad that people have abandoned their own political stances to unite to defend our country against FARC,” she said. “We are glad that the young people have come out, that the businessmen have left their work, that families have come together here to help our country.”
