http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3622-3428
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Abstract
In a grassroots effort to counter the institutional and state-centred narratives on disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration (DDR) processes conceptualised by the Integrated DDR Standards of the United Nations, the NGO Corporación Descontamina has organised local projects around what it has identified as significant problems in previous work carried out in a Bucaramanga men’s jail where ex-paramilitaries and ex-guerrilleros live together. In fact, two main problems have been observed: the socioeconomic and emotional situation of the ex-combatants, preventing their reintegration, and the social stigmatisation surrounding their return to civil society. As such, drawing upon decolonial theory, the objective of this article is to present the peacebuilding project ‘Toys for Reconciliation’ that was developed by Corporación Descontamina with the aim of advancing reconciliation in the context of the Colombian armed conflict.
Notes
1 The FARC-EP and the government engaged in peace talks in 2011 to end the protracted conflict. For further information see: http://www.altocomisionadoparalapaz.gov.co/Paginas/inicio.aspx, accessed 10 June 2017.
2 For further information see: https://descontamina.org/, accessed 10 June 2017.
3 Bucaramanga is located in the Department of Santander, in the northeastern part of the country. It has never been a zone of the armed conflict but, currently, it is a receiving community for demobilised people in reintegration given its proximity with other conflict zones such as north of Santander.
4 There are two ways of demobilising in Colombia. First, the collective demobilisation, characterised by the decision of a whole group to surrender weapons and return to civilian life, generally within a process of transitional justice. The second way is through individual will; any person who would like to quit the illegal armed group has been welcomed to do so since 1994, accepting the government conditions for reintegration. This latter form is understood as desertion (CONPES Citation2008; Villarraga Sarmiento Citation2015).
5 This and all the following quotes originally in Spanish have been translated into English by the authors.
6 See http://www.reintegracion.gov.co/en/reintegration/Pages/route.aspx, accessed 10 June 2017.
7 Law 975 of 2005 provides for alternative sanctions (e.g., 8 years of prison instead of 40 years under ordinary law) in exchange for telling the ‘truth’, behaving well, and not committing any other crimes (Office of the General Attorney Citation2007).
8 Observation notes taken by the authors while interacting with the demobilised people, producing the toys and recording the video.
9 The plebiscite held by the government aimed at surveying the population on the peace agreement achieved in La Havana. The overall participation was below 40%, rejecting the agreement and forcing a reconsideration of the final text (Registraduría del Estado Civil Citation2016).
10 The authors are two of the founding partners of Descontamina engaged in the consolidation of peacebuilding strategies and research.
11 The projects conducted were oriented towards ‘human rights’ approaches and funded by international and national organisations. For security and confidentiality reasons, we here draw on our personal observations about the problems we faced during these workshops, projects, and interviews.
12 Notes from informal conversations with prisoners.
13 The video was also a means of saying, ‘we are here, preparing ourselves for reintegration’; it served as a bridge between the demobilised people and civil society.
14 For citizens’ participation in La Havana peace talks, see the following: http://pensamiento.unal.edu.co/cp-paz/acompanamiento-dialogos-de-paz/foros-de-participacion-ciudadana-mesa-de-conversaciones-de-la-habana-cuba/, accessed 10 June 2017.
15 This initiative supported the peace talks in La Havana in involving civil society. It claims to have received more than 10,000 contributions for the negotiations (La conversación más grande del mundo Citation2017).
16 As defined by Quijano (Citation1992), coloniality has to do with power relations established through colonialism and it concerns three axes: power, self and knowledge.
17 The FARC-EP now has its own political party. Guerrilla members are allowed to run for political office.
18 Before considering the possibility of implementing this project, we participated in different national and international cooperation projects that demonstrated the weak understanding of the prison’s reality.
19 See: https://www.facebook.com/Corporacion.Descontamina/, accessed 10 June 2017.
20 See the video: https://www.facebook.com/Corporacion.Descontamina/videos/918761794846065/, accessed 10 June 2017.
21 Message received by Descontamina in December 2015. The person is referring to the FARC-EP peace process.
22 We understood from our observations that ‘peace’ was comprehended through the state frame, the absence of violence with armed groups. In Colombia, the word ‘peace’ tends to be perceived negatively for this reason (Anctil Avoine & Argüello Parra Citation2017).
23 Especially related to the peace talks where the communication strategy has failed to reach the population on the topic of reconciliation.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Priscyll Anctil Avoine
PRISCYLL ANCTIL AVOINE is a PhD student in Political Science and Feminist Studies at Université du Québec à Montréal (Canada) for which she received the Vanier Banting Scholarship. Her research interests are focused on women combatants, peacebuilding and decolonial theory. She is a gender consultant and a founding member of the Corporación Descontamina.
José Fabián Bolívar Durán
JOSÉ FABIÁN BOLÍVAR DURÁN is a lawyer and a consultant on landmines and human rights in Colombia. He holds a Master’s degree in Peace, Conflict and Development Studies at Universitat Jaume I (Spain). He has worked in Colombian and international organisations in peacebuilding. He is also a founding member of the Corporación Descontamina.