Medellín, Colombia (Antioquia)
Due to Medellín is in a valley it was left isolated for over 300 years, which I found to be crazy, but with the railroad they were able to connect people to each other. With the use of the mountains, trafficking became big and this was the start of gangs, who caused a lot of violence within the city and made it the most dangerous place in the world. This is interesting because even through the transformation of the city, people and the media still have a perception that Medellín is not safe and only bad things happen there. For example, before coming to Colombia people would tell me “be careful”, “is that a good idea”, “I heard people get kidnapped there”, but I knew a lot of this was due to a lack of knowledge of the country’s evolution. I understood that staying in a constant state of fear is bad especially without educating myself is foolish, which is why I choose to educate myself and learn about the Colombia ad travel there because I knew that it had a rich culture and it made me want to travel there even more and experiences the diversity and learning that it had to offer.
Meeting with Grey who works with ex-combatants was amazing. The fact that she was able to create this project that provided a space for ex-combatants to tell their stories and experiences with the conflict within Colombia was really important and impactful. This is important because people often forget that people who are in guerilla groups are people too and they have stories just like those who have fallen victim to the conflict. Just because they are in these groups does not me it was by choice and most of the time joining is the only way for them to survive. Projects like this are moving Colombia in the right direction to help ex-combatants re-entering society in a productive and informative way for the country to understand their point of views and hopefully give them space to be a part of society. With the use of textiles and weaving these ex-combatants are able to get a sense of hope for their futures and put their past behind them.
