Welcome to the Jungle

Even though I have lots of witty insights and hilarious thoughts to convey that would have you rolling on the floor (and those of you with weaker bladders peeing in your pants), Rebecca has had some "hello, this is real-life" experiences in her three weeks here that I think will really cause us all to reflect on how fortunate we are to be who we are and live where we do. So, please, tell the kids to keep it down as you read this second installment from my favorite guest blogger, Rebecca Eichler.

Since I'm not having all these cool adventures that Paul and the kids are having, all I can write about is work, which is rewarding, sad, and interesting all at the same time. I mentioned before that I'm working with refugees, and my eagle-eyed sister-in-law asked what I'm doing for them. Well, Asylum Access, the non-profit for which I am working, provides free legal services for refugees who are trying to get their legal status here in Ecuador. Interestingly, tiny little Ecuador, which many Americans would consider to be nearly Third World, is a desirable place to live for many, especially if you're from Colombia.

Colombia is in its 40th year or so of what some people call a low-intensity civil war. An excellent book to read on the system of corruption generally in Columbia is "Until Death do us Part: My Struggle to Reclaim Columbia" by Ingrid Betancourt. Ingrid Betancourt is a reform-minded Columbian politician who was kidnapped several years ago and is still being held in the jungles of Colombia. I could write an entire blog on her, but I won't. Though I will mention that our friend Vicky Bruce has made a documentary about her, which I encourage you to see, even though I haven't.

Based on what I've heard happens in Columbia, I'd like to know who is labeling this low intensity. Simply put, it's a mess and I'm not even sure I have a handle on the situation well enough to describe it. Basically the government is corrupt (cocaine, marijuana and the desire for power having lots to do with all of it), there's a left-wing armed guerrilla group known as the FARC who have been trying to overthrow the government for 40 years, and in response, there are various paramilitary groups who do things sort of on behalf of the government - things that the government wants to do, but would look too unsavory doing, such as assassinate FARC members or rival politicians. Caught up in the middle of this are civilians - mothers, fathers, children.

I've talked with several clients who describe friends and family members who have been killed, death threats that they've received, or incidents of forced recruitment into the guerrillas with the same matter-of-fact tone of voice that we talk about our weekend. I sit there behind my tiny little desk in a tiny little room listening to a mother mention that her son was killed and I can't even begin to imagine the excrutiating pain of losing my own son. I'm learning to hide the tears that want to flow.

People are caught in the middle of something that is bigger than them and they want nothing to do with. For example, FARC guerrillas come through the countryside where a small-time farmer lives and demands food from him. The paramilitaries, through informants, hear of his "assistance" and determine that he's supporting the FARC and threaten to kill him. But if he had refused the guerrillas, they would have said that he was supporting the paramilitaries and they would have possibly killed him. Colombians walk a fine line between two devils.

The family that I met with today moved to Putumayo, an area of Colombia where they knew guerrillas were operating. They couldn't find work where they were and heard that there was work in Putumayo, a southern state along the border with Ecuador, where the FARC operates with impunity. So in January, this family with 3 young children, starts a new life on a small parcel of land, growing food for their own consumption and selling the rest. Over the span of 3 months, FARC guerrillas visit them 4 times, asking about the woman's father who she hasn't seen since he abandoned her when she was four years old. The family guesses that the father has done something that rubs the FARC the wrong way but they don't know what it was. On the last visit, the guerrillas threaten to recruit their 9 year old son into their ranks and kill the rest of them. The following week, they're refugees in Ecuador and I'm trying to prepare them for their interview that will determine whether they get to stay in Ecuador or not.

The thing is, these are uneducated and unsophisticated country folk who have probably never sat in an interview before. I know they'd never ridden an elevator before they came to our office. The wife can't remember what month it was when guerrillas came into her house and interrogated her, even though this happened only in March, three months ago. I worked with her for a few hours today to help her get used to answering questions about what happened with sufficient details that will convince an asylum officer that she's telling the truth. She's supposed to come back tomorrow so we can work on her story more, but her interview is Friday morning and I'm afraid that that's just not enough time for her to get it.

I have a few other clients whose stories include kidnappings and death threats that have followed them to Ecuador, but I know there's only so much trauma we can handle at a time. So I'll save those stories for the next time I'm invited back.