Artist Unknown. Medellin, Colombia. (photo © Yoav Litvin)
Translated by Ruth Grant
Following decades of efforts towards reconciliation and reinvention, the Colombian city of Medellín gives the impression of having left behind its dark history to focus on the future, redefining itself as a place of inclusion and enterprise. Ambitious projects for social inclusion like integrated transport systems and “library parks” have transformed the city’s image in the eyes of the outside world.
But, while these innovations reap praise and prizes both in Colombia and beyond, their impact is not felt in many parts of the city, cut off by invisible walls built of fear, volatility and violence.
Situated on the far western edge of the city, Comuna 13 is one of Medellín’s most remote districts. Poverty, marginalisation, discrimination and instability are rife here. Violence — both seen and unseen, direct and indirect — remains a tangible presence in the daily lives of the people who live here. The so-called “Medellín Miracle” has passed them by, leaving a great deal of resentment in its wake.
This is the account given by “Kábala”, a community worker from Comuna 13 and a graffiti artist who works to engage local people through graffitours — a tour of urban art that narrates the community’s experiences. Speaking with the authors of the Spanish-language blog Bitácora, Urbanismo y Derecho (Urbanism and Rights), Kábala explained the exclusion felt in Comuna 13:
Comuna 13 in particular has been one of the areas of Medellín most severely affected by violent clashes between guerrilla forces, paramilitary groups and the National Army of Colombia, caught up in the wider internal armed conflict that has tainted the last 50 years of the country’s history. After decades of armed confrontation between the state and extreme left-wing guerrilla groups, it is the drug cartels, criminal gangs and extreme-right paramilitary groups that now dominate the hostilities. This conflict has a long history that has passed through several distinct phases, each more traumatic than the last. During one such phase, in the 1980s, certain aspects of the conflict were predominantly financed by the proceeds of drug trafficking.
Consequently, Comuna 13 became the scene of numerous military operations, which both exacerbated the conflict and left lasting scars on the community. In one of these operations, known as Operación Orión, armed forces and paramilitary groups joined together to attack guerrilla factions positioned in Comuna 13. According to investigations by digital magazine Los 2 Orillos:
Many people became the victims of forced disappearances and indiscriminate violence. Comuna 13 remained under paramilitary control for the next six years, between 1998 and 2004. The discovery of human remains has lent support to the conjecture that up to 300 young people were disappeared during the period of occupation. Witnesses claim that the bodies of these young men and women were dumped in Medellín’s landfill site, which overlooks Comuna 13. No formal investigation has ever been opened.
Graffitours: stories of community and violence for collective healing
As a response to its history and to the community’s sense of being invisible to and excluded from the Colombian state, community groups such as Casa Kolacho are taking it upon themselves to work together at the grassroots level. They’re turning to the internet to demand representation, bring about positive change and ensure that the voices of the people of Comuna 13 are finally heard.
Their initiatives bring together local women and young people, promoting social harmony in the hope of building a happier and safer future. In one of a number of projects, graffiti and murals are providing a medium for telling the story of Comuna 13. Graffitours, offered to both residents of Medellín and foreign visitors, allow the community’s stories to be narrated through the artistic appropriation of urban spaces; spaces which, both historically and politically, have come to symbolise its violent past. Some of the murals that feature in the tours can be seen in the video below:
Construyendo #CiudadaniaParaLaPaz desde la memoria, el arte y la resistencia @CasaKolacho@comunacuerdopic.twitter.com/Fho2nWyoOh
— CataCruzB (@catacruzb) April 15, 2016
For Kábala, the community worker and graffiti artist from Comuna 13, graffiti provides a means to contemplate the violence of the past and to preserve the community’s historical memory.
In this Spanish-language video, shared by Catherine Vieira, Kábala and El Perro, the co-creator of Casa Kolacho, give their account of Operación Orión, and speak of violence both past and present. Art plays a key role in collective recovery and in the different ways in which the community as a whole finds healing.
Even if, in spite of everything, the violence goes on: