The Colombian Studies Group

The Colombian Studies Group at the Graduate Center CUNY cordially invites you to:

An Interdisciplinary Dialogue with Iván Cepeda and Alfredo Molano on Forced Disappearance in the Colombian Conflict

Michael Taussig from Columbia University will be the respondent of Alfredo Molano.

FRIDAY

February 10th, 2012

2:00 – 8:00 pm

The Graduate Center, CUNY

Skylight Room (9100)

(Seating is limited. Please RSVP as soon as possible via E-mail to: apollonia2013@gmail.com)

 

365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY

10016-4309

SUBWAY: 34th Street – Herald

Square (B,D,F,M,N,Q ,R)

Talk will be conducted in Spanish (If you need

simultaneous interpretation, please let us know in

advance when you RSVP).

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afrocolombia NY and the colombian studies group (CUNY grad center) presents

A night of solidarity and music

Featuring

a documentary and conversation with
two afrocolombiana leaders
francia marquez and clemencia carabali
& performances by
gregorio uribe + diego obregon (grupo chonta)

monday, january 16
6:30 p.m.
terraza 7 cafe
4019 Gleane Street, Queens (Elmhurst), NY
take the 7 train to 82nd and roosevelt

for more information, contact yesenia@afrocolombiany.org

On January 16 and 17, WOLA will be taking two prominent Afro-Colombian women activists, Clemencia Carabali and Francia Marquez, from northern Cauca to NYC. Francia and Clemencia have defended the territorial rights of La Toma, an Afro-Colombian gold-mining community in southwestern Colombia. Home to 1,052 families, La Toma was founded by runaway slaves in 1636. Over the centuries, they have developed a culture and history that is tied to this land, carving out environmentally sustainable livelihoods through artisanal gold mining and basic agricultural projects, and grounding their traditions in this ancestral place. Despite a legal framework that protects the community’s rights to the land, private investors and right-wing paramilitaries have threatened, intimidated, and killed members of the community. In recent years, several massacres of miners by paramilitaries have taken place and leaders have received repeated death threats. Thanks to the strong organizational capacity of the community the people of La Toma and US solidarity, they have avoided several evictions and continue to live in their territory. The case of La Toma formed part of a hearing in the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, as an exemplary case on  abuse of Afro-Colombian and indigenous peoples’ right to previous consultation in 2009. The case also forms part of the discussion on human rights certification of US military assistance to Colombia. In November PBS released an episode of its Women, War and Peace featuring Francia and Clemencia. You can view the episode online at the following link:

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/women-war-and-peace/full-episodes/the-war-we-are-living/

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“The World Bank estimates that Bogota has “over 1400 informal settlements occupying 24% of its area and housing 22% of its population.” The development of informal settlements in the periphery of Bogota directly results from the influx of rural immigrants. Many Colombian come to the city to escape rural violence. Too poor to afford housing rents, they have to find alternative solutions, such as building their own houses. The percentage of people with unsatisfied basic needs in Ciudad Bolivar has decreased since 1993, but it still represented more that a quarter of residents in 2001. Violence too is high: Bolivar: assaults were the first cause of death for people aged between 15 and 44 and the second for people aged between 45 and 59″. (http://www.bogotalab.com/articles/bogota_edge.html)

Friday, December 2, 6:30 pm, 2011

Room 5409, The Graduate Center, CUNY

Talk will be conducted in Spanish and Spanish-English consecutive interpretation will be provided.

Soft drinks will be served.

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The Colombian Studies Group at the Graduate Center CUNY cordially invites you to: “La transmisión manuscrita de textos medievales”.

Professor DiCamillo will discuss the most important aspects of manuscript production and transmission, and why it still matters for the study of Hispanic culture in general.

Friday, November 18, 7:00 pm, 2011

Room 5409, The Graduate Center, CUNY

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Friday, October 14, 2011.  7:00pm. Room 5409

The CUNY Graduate Center 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY.

SUBWAY: trains B,D,F,M,N,Q or R to 34th Street – Herald Square

Light refreshments will be served.

La Toma documents the struggle of an Afro-Colombian gold-mining community in southwestern Colombia to remain on its territory. Home to 1,052 families, La Toma was founded by runaway slaves in 1636. Over the centuries, they have developed a culture and history that is tied to this land, carving out environmentally sustainable livelihoods through artisanal gold mining and basic agricultural projects, and grounding their traditions in this ancestral place.

Despite a legal framework that protects the community’s rights to the land, multinational investors and right-wing paramilitaries have threatened, intimidated, and killed members of the community. Thanks to the strong organizational capacity and the community’s will, in addition to transnational advocacy efforts that included PCN, WOLA, LAWG, and ACSN, the people of La Toma continue to live in the territory. However, private interests and armed militias continue to threaten La Toma in order to displace them and make way for large-scale mining operations.

The U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) poses a threat to the people of La Toma and other communities undergoing similar experiences. According to Colombian and international law, Afro-Colombian and indigenous peoples have the right to free, prior, and informed consultation and consent (FPIC) for any development project or public policy that will affect them; the FTA was not consulted with Afro-Colombian or indigenous peoples. Increased investment in controversial industries as a result of the FTA will undermine Afro-Colombian and indigenous peoples’ rights to self-determination and to the land. Join us on September 30 to view the film and discuss the current situation with Paola Mendoza, director of La Toma, and Gimena Sanchez of WOLA.

\”La toma\” TRAILER

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Friday, October 7, 2011. 7:00pm. Room 5409

The CUNY Graduate

Center 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY.

SUBWAY: trains B,D,F,M,N,Q or R to 34th Street – Herald Square

Light refreshements will be served.

Our speaker is Adil Melendez, a defender and promoter of human rights and fundamental constitutional rights of vulnerable communities. He is also a member of the National Movement of Victims of State Crimes (MOVICE). He previously served as coordinator for the National Movement for the Human Rights of Afro-Colombian Communities (CIMARRON) in Cartagena. He also worked with communities in Cartagena affected by the construction of large infrastructure projects.

Adil works in the Montes de Maria region, located in the departments of Bolivar and Sucre.  He is regularly threatened and harassed by right-wing paramilitary groups, who have attempted to assassinate him on two occasions, and has also been threatened by FARC guerillas.  Adil is currently a recipient of preventive security measures by the Inter-American Court on Human Rights.

During his stay in the United States, Adil will discuss the human rights situation and the displacement of communities in the departments of Bolivar and Sucre.  He will also speak about his personal experiences of harassment and threats, the effects of a potential free trade agreement between Colombia and the United States on the Afro-Colombian community, and the “other side” of Cartagena.

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The Colombian Studies Group

Cordially invites everyone to a poetry discussion and recital.

Contemporary Spanish Poetry Grupo Ánade will be presented by  Antonio César Morón Espinosa, Universidad de Granada.

Friday, May 27.  6:00pm. Room 4116

The CUNY Graduate Center 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY.SUBWAY: trains B,D,F,M,N,Q or R to 34th Street – Herald Square

Light refreshments will be served.

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May 9. 7:00pm. Room 5414

The CUNY Graduate

Center 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY.

SUBWAY: trains B,D,F,M,N,Q or R to 34th Street – Herald Square

Light refreshements will be served.

Until the final stone

In the region of Uraba in Columbia, the national army, paramilitary groups and guerrillas of the organisation FARC have been fighting each other since the mid-nineties. As it is mainly the civilian population that suffers from the conflict, farmers joined forces to form a neutral peace community. The warring parties however didn’t tolerate this: families were forced to settle elsewhere, crops were set on fire and innocent citizens were murdered. The government’s only reaction was to dispatch 150 police officers, whose presence only increased the belligerence of the guerrillas. The peace community was no longer prepared to live under such conditions and decided to create a neutral zone with no access granted to anyone armed. In HASTA LA ULTIMA PIEDRA Juan José Lozano portrays the community just as a village on safe ground is being built. The director follows the amazingly harmless activities of the inhabitants and brings several protagonists of the peace movement in front of the camera. Often the camera rests on playing children or adults carrying heavy building materials. Work and pleasure are shared as much as grief through painting the children in particular learn to deal creatively with their horrifying impressions. In addition, they erected a coloured stone memorial in remembrance of the victims. This solidarity strengthens the community’s belief in a better, peaceful world.

Christine Bloch Visions du Réel Nyon 2006

http://www.artfilm.ch/hastalaultimapiedra.php?lang=en
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3768358797247703781#

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Colombian peace community leader Jesús Emilio Tuberquia will be speaking about the experience of community and nonviolence in the midst of war.

Jesús Emilio has far too much first-hand knowledge of just how dangerous it is to work for peace in the middle of a war zone. He is a founding member of the San José de Apartadó Peace Community located in northwest Colombia.

In 1997, he and 800 other small farmers claimed their territory as a neutral civilian community, refusing to cooperate with any armed group. The community has survived threats, killings, massacres, disappearances and food blockades by armed groups, including the U.S.-funded Colombian army.

Earlier this month, a man entered the peace community, went to Jesús Emilio’s house and asked where he was, then walked around the settlement and asked others. On Wednesday, after threatening peace community members together with paramilitaries, the man was picked up by the army and taken to the nearby army base.

Despite the threats and violence, Jesús Emilio and the peace community have succeeded in building a nonviolent community in resistance as an alternative to the war around them. Come hear their story!

(Source: http://forusa.org/blogs/susana-pimiento/struggling-peace-war-zone-courageous-experiment-non-violent-resistance/8484)

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Time: 6:00-8:00pm

Date: 2011-04-06

Room: 5414

Location: The CUNY Graduate Center 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY.

SUBWAY: trains B,D,F,M,N,Q or R to 34th Street – Herald Square

Dagua, Valle del Cauca, Colombia

(Picture extracted from: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/35914355)

Colombia is the poster child for neoliberalism in Latin America. Since the 1970s the United States—and the international financial institutions that it plays a leading role in, like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund—have been pushing a development model on Latin America that calls, essentially, for governments to act in the interests of multinational capital. Governments are supposed to invite in foreign investment, and provide it with low taxes, low wages, and low regulation. They are supposed to cut back on social spending, and offer state enterprises up to the private sector. And, they’re supposed to quash any popular protest against these policies, using force if necessary. These policies have gone by names such as structural adjustment, the Washington Consensus, the Chicago Boys prescriptions (referring to the role of Milton Friedman and other economists from the University of Chicago), or neoliberalism. The United States has played a key role in the implementation of these policies—from working for the overthrow of elected socialist president Salvador Allende in Chile in 1973, and their implementation there, to Plan Colombia today, by which the United States provides military and economic aid that goes directly to implementing this economic model and crushing protest.

Union leaders have been some of the most visible victims. In the U.S.-owned Drummond mine in northern Colombia, three union leaders were assassinated in 2001. The company is currently facing a lawsuit in the United States for allegedly paying a paramilitary force to carry out the murders. Another U.S. company, Chiquita Brands, admitted to making payments for years to the paramilitaries. They claimed that they made the payments to protect their workers, but banana workers—and especially union activists—were the main victims among the hundreds murdered by paramilitaries during the 1990s and early 2000s.

Aviva Chomsky

(In an interview published at UpsideDownWorld.org on June 15, 2009).

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