Colombia's Nasa People - Caught in the Crossfire

Ongoing warfare between the Colombian government and FARC forces places indigenous nations in a dangerous position. Both government and anti-government forces want the Nasa to aid them, but the indians have no desire to become involved in the 41 year-old conflict. Past reports have stated that the civil war endangers the very survival of some native groups, and recent events have shown little hope for the de-escalation of the conflict.

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TACUEYÓ, Colombia, April 28 – The Nasa Indians appear to live well on their lush reservation here in southern Colombia, a swath of mountains and valleys where sweet fruit grows, trout teem in fast-flowing creeks and colorful birds dart about.

They live in tidy, well-kept homes, growing coffee, bananas and beans. Emphasizing economic independence, they run a successful fish farm and are trying to strike up a marble mine.

The one major threat to their existence is Colombia’s unrelenting civil conflict, which has ground on for 41 years. But the Nasa, an Indian nation that numbers about 100,000 in this region, has used a pacific civil resistance campaign to stay out of the drug-fueled war, which pits the army and right-wing paramilitaries against Marxist rebels intent on toppling the state.

For four years, the Nasa’s stern-faced but unarmed Indigenous Guards – now a force of 7,000 men and women – have simply driven away the fighters who venture into these fog-shrouded mountains in Cauca Province. They confront rebel and soldier alike with ceremonial three-foot batons decorated with tassels in the colors of the Nasa flag, green and red, and persuade the outsiders to leave.

Their success has earned the acclaim of the United Nations…

Posted by sisyphus