Colombia's Indigenous Land Defenders Close Up

[Judi Lynn]

In Cauca, Colombia, Indigenous leaders continue to defend their land despite receiving death threats daily.
08 Apr 2020 08:38 GMT | Human Rights, Indigenous rights, Environment, Latin America, Women

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Celia Umenza is a high-ranking leader of the largest Indigenous group in Colombia, the Nasa.

The Nasa is an unarmed civilian defence force that has been standing up to armed groups to defend and preserve their land in war-torn Indigenous territories for generations.

The strategy of training unarmed activists has been so successful that leaders of the Indigenous guard have trained peasant and Afro communities to form their own defence forces.

Celia was one of the first women to participate and later became the coordinator of the guards. Today she is the leader of the women's association within the movement and lives with constant threats to her life.

"Just as I chose the organisation with my partner, I chose the organisation for my son. I said that I'll leave them a free world." said Celia.

Colombia is the deadliest place in the world for land and environmental defenders, and the Cauca region in the southwest parts of the country bears a disproportional share of the violence.

More:
https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/aj-close-up/2020/04/colombia-indigenous-land-defenders-close-200406074631683.html