Carolina Peace - Human Rights speaker from Colombia, South America

Human Rights speaker from Colombia, South America

Written by Administrator

Tuesday, 23 September 2003

{IMAGE1}Friday October 3, 5:30pm, Room #151 Gambrell Hall, USC campus
Human Rights speaker from Colombia, South America

Luz Marina Becerra, a 29-year-old Afro-Colombian woman from the province of Chocó, was forced from her home by the war five years ago, and is now the Secretary General of one of the main organizations for displaced Afro-Colombians, AFRODES. She coordinates the organization's program for women and children, which includes dance, theater and other cultural activities to tell the story of Afro-Colombians, displacement and violence in their country. Some of you will remember the visits of Marino Cordoba to Chicago, who founded AFRODES, but was forced to flee to the U.S. after he was tracked down repeatedly by paramilitary death squads. Chocó is 90% Afro-Colombian.

For decades left-wing guerrillas and pro-government paramilitaries have assassinated, kidnapped, tortured and displaced civilians in Colombia. According to the State Department, the Colombian Armed Forces actively collaborate with these paramilitary groups. Yet the U.S. government has provided Colombia with over $2.5 billion in mostly military and police aid since 2000. During that time the violence has increased – with nearly one million more people displaced from their homes – and drug production in the region has remained steady. In July, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 226-195 against an amendment to cut $75 million dollars in military aid to Colombia.

Friday evening’s event opened with a 12-minute video on Coca-Cola’s violations against workers rights in Colombia. Coke specifically targets union organizers. Coca-Cola plant managers have been charged with using paramilitary groups to intimidate and kill eight union organizers at a bottling plant in Barrancabermeja, Colombia. According to William Mendoza, a union leader at the plant in Barrancabermeja, 65 union members (including him) are under the threat of assassination by gangs. A petition with more than 1 million signatures was presented to the Atlanta Coca-Cola headquarters board.

For more information, contact Amanda Martin at (803)446-2772.

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

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