EN SILENCIO
IN SILENCE

In 1993 I made a trip that changed my life. No, there was no major event. Just a peek into the soul, a soul that is bleeding.

"Todo es violento y dulce, aqui; yo que
fui llama, te nombro simplemente
las cosas de la patria..."

Jorge Rojas

"Everything is violent and sweet, here; I, once
a flame, simply call you
part of the homeland..."

1 of 28

Colombia, 2001: 6,000 children involved in ilegal armed groups; 5,250 children dead by landmines in the last 8 years; 1.1 million child refugees in the last 15 years.

May 2, 2002: the FARC, Colombia's largest guerilla group, fire a mortar in a battle with paramilitaries in Bojaya (a small town on the Atrato river). The mortar hits a church killing 117 civilians. More than half of them were children. According to a UN report, the Colombian government ignored warnings of the imminent massacre and the army allowed paramilitaries to enter the area. The paramilitaries were executing civilians when the FARC attacked.

On average, 1,000 people are displaced every day in Colombia.

These photographs were made in those areas most affected by Colombia's four-decade old conflict. Along the Atrato between Quibdo and Turbo (where Bojaya lies), in the Darien Gap on the border with Panama (Embera-Katio tribe), in Mompox (Magdalena Medio), and in San Agustin.


© 1992-2001 Alejandro Jaimes-Larrarte - All Rights Reserved.
Please see copyright information about using these images