Colombia without Guerrillas?
My dear friends. If you don't know much about the 50 year long armed conflict in Colombia, I recommend you either read this article or this one and then come back to this post.
A new month, a new hope ...
Only a few days ago (August 24, 2016) negotiators of the national government of Colombia and the top leadership of the FARC signed a historic peace agreement entitled "FINAL AGREEMENT TO END OF CONFLICT AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF A STABLE AND LASTING PEACE" the final document, consisting of 297 pages was the main text through which the Colombian congress officially convened a national referendum to either ratify or reject the agreement.
All Colombians know the magnitude of this decision. It is also clear that it is very likely that many people do not have access to text, can not read it, or simply do not have the desire or the time to read it. Only yesterday through Whatsapp one of my closest and dearest family members, one who strongly opposes the peace agreement stated that he did not need and would not read anything. But it is not enough just to be willing to read it. For those who wish to do so, there will always be many other urgent things: household chores, children care, work etc. In fact, each of the pages of the agreement has an average of 500 words. Conservative estimates indicate that it would take a slow reader a minute to read between 250-300 words. This means that to read the complete text, a person would need about 1,237 minutes (250 words per page x number of pages) or 20 hours of continuous reading without stopping to sleep or eat (no wonder my own dad recently told me that not even the president would read it!). In fact, this week the congressmen met in full to authorize the referendum and it was not required for congress members to read the whole text to vote!
Knowing that 1) many friends and family trust my judgment and I have been repeatedly asked for my opinion, and that many others are not interested in reading the agreement but nevertheless are quite active in social networks, and also that (2 my family was and forever will remain as direct victims of the armed conflict, I have created this small space to serve as a bridge, discuss important points of agreement and clarify a number of points that are circulated in the social networks without an analysis of its accuracy and scope .
What are the Points of Agreement?
The points of the agreement are five (5).
1. Comprehensive Agricultural Development Policy or Comprehensive Rural Reform (RRI Spanish). Page 8-29.
2. Political Participation. Page 30-49
3. End of Conflict. Page 50-87
4. Solution to the Problem of Illicit Drugs. Page 88-111
5. Victim Restoration. 112-170
The rest of the pages have to do with the implementation, verification and countersignature of the agreement and protocols and annexes.
Just by looking at the pages devoted to each point it is noted that the agreement gives a much larger prominence to point 5, Victim restoration. In fact, exactly 34.1% of the text or an equivalent to a little more than a third of the five points agreed. Without taking up the analysis of the contents of each of the points, my first reaction to this prioritization of victim restoration is encouraging. The fact that the two armed fronts of the conflict have given more importance to the victims than to their own agendas is a condition that accounts for why the agreement is not only called an agreement for the end of conflict, but more importantly, it refers to the construction of a stable and lasting peace.
Andrés Ramírez
Boca Ratón, FL
“ Trabajo para ver el día en que los logros de los Latinos y otras minorias linguísticas y culturales en los Estados Unidos sean tan vastas y cotidianas que celebrarlas parezca casi redundante e innecesario. Lo bueno que esta arraigado en el tejido diario de una sociedad justa no es frecuentemente celebrado estrepitosamente, solo se disfruta, se alimenta, y sirve como piedra angular para el beneficio de todas las generaciones futuras”
Andrés Ramírez
Andrés Ramírez
“ I work to see the day when the accomplishments of Latinos and other linguistic and cultural minorities in the United States are so vast and quotidian that celebrating them would almost seem redundant and unnecessary. The good that is intrinsic part of the ordinary fabric of an equitable society is not often celebrated boisterously, it is simply enjoyed, cherished, and built upon for the benefit of all future generations” Andrés Ramírez
