On the road in Colombia - Day 2
Flying towards San Carlos
The town itself is a picture of tranquillity - yet less than a decade ago it was almost a ghost town, deserted by more than half of its 20,000 inhabitants, terrified by the brutal war between left-wing guerrillas and right-wing para-militaries.
Today, the provincial governor has lent us his helicopter so that we can see for ourselves what he regards as a shining example of what Colombia's counter-insurgency strategy has achieved.
The tree-shaded town square is bustling with shoppers, but in the middle of the square is a stark reminder of San Carlos's recent past. It's a simple wall, with a row of 30 glass discs nailed into the stones. Each disc contains a name, the word "asesinado" (murdered) or "desaparecido" (disappeared), and a date.
Pastora Mira Garcia at the San Carlos memorial wall
Pastora Mira Garcia points to two of the glass discs. "That name there is my son," she says. "And that one is my daughter." Both were killed during the years of violence, and now Pastora runs an organisation devoted to fostering reconciliation between former fighters and their victims.
It's run from the building that the para-militaries used to use as their headquarters, where they kept their victims prisoner, tortured them, killed them, and buried them in the yard at the back.
San Carlos mayor Francisco Alvaro Sanchez
The mayor of San Carlos, Francisco Alvaro Sanchez, says his town is a model for what can be achieved. First, the army moved in to clear out the armed gangs. Then the police and civil authorities came to re-establish an official State presence.
Now, with thousands of people at last returning to their homes, they need economic and social programmes to help them rebuild their lives. And when I ask local community leaders what would happen if the army pulled out, they say No, it will never happen.
"I never used to trust the army," says one man. "Now, I love them. They have given us back our town."
Comments