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Medellin, Colombia: Past, Present and Future (By Terri Rutty, YMCA of Greater Toronto – 2014 Henry Labatte Scholarship)
23 June 2014 - by YMCA International
The History
In order to really understand the work that ACJ-YMCA Medellin (ACJ) is doing in Colombia I thought I would share some of the country’s history to set the context. Colombia is divided into 32 Departments (similar to the way Canada is divided into Provinces) and Antioquia is one of them. Within Antioquia there are 125 municipalities. Medellin is one municipalities and is the capital city of Antioquia consisting of 16 communities, known as comunas, and 5 surrounding rural areas. ACJ is located in San Javier which is in comuna 13.
As a result there are many youth groups in this area many of which were started by youth and are completely run by youth in the community. There are around 120 social organizations that include programs pertaining to recreation, the environment, culture, the arts and music. ACJ has been working for 22 years to support and strengthen these organizations. What really impressed me while visiting many of these groups is that not only is ACJ well known in the community and well respected, but many of these other organizations were started by youth that have been a part of ACJ and have moved on to become great leaders in the community.
In Colombia people are classified by their socioeconomic group which is mainly divided by income but also by the area in the city they are located in and their lifestyle: 0= no income (there are a lot of homeless people). Some choose to be on the street but many have been displaced (sometimes more than once) or cannot find work to support themselves), 1= ½ of the minimum salary (In Colombia everyone is paid monthly), 2= have 1 minimum salary per house hold, 3= between 1 and 2 salaries per household, 4= earn 2 minimum salaries or more per household, 5=more than 5 minimum salaries per household and 6= 10 or more salaries per household. In the San Javier community 96% of the population is at level 0-3 and 4% is at level 4. There is no one at a level 5 or 6 in San Javier.
One of the challenges ACJ has is that they work with youth in Comuna 11, 12 and 13 which are very diverse zones with some of the poorest youth in the countries and some of the wealthiest. These youth live very segregated lives and it is often challenging, to get them to work together and relate to one another. There are approximately 145,000 people in San Javier. 35,000-38,000 are youth. Comuna 13 is one of the poorest communities in Medellin and was once considered one of the most dangerous places in the world.
My first tour of the city was to Comuna 13.
The first thing I noticed was how brightly coloured the community is. Cesar, ACJ staff and Astrid, a volunteer at ACJ, took me up the mountain on the 1,260 foot long escalator that was built on December 26, 2011. Despite the history of violence, the community is covered in graffiti and wall art depicting love and hope.
The 1950s-1970s
From the 1950’s to the 1970’s, Medellin’s primary industry was textiles but the city saw a shift to other industries due to competition in the textile industry from other countries. The government thought to improve the city by moving from textiles to services. They began hosting international services and started urban development. One of the most major impacts from this was drug-trafficking. Drugs have always been in Medellin but this is when it started to become a bigger problem and well known around the world. It was no longer just a problem in Medellin but a problem in all of Colombia. In the big cities is where the trafficking would take place but the rural areas is where they are grown.
In the late 80’s the violence began to reach greater heights. The drug cartels were well established and guerilla groups started to protect the drugs. Many of these militia groups began as political groups but as the drugs and money began to flow they became entangled with drugs and trafficking. This is around the time when the violence became worse with kidnapping and when the drug traffickers began to gain political power and influence.
The 1990's
During the 90’s, new paramilitary groups started another chapter of violence in the city. As a result of all this violence communities started to organize themselves based on their own needs. With huge contrasts between communities as well as major conflicts, they were not working together. The government started to pay attention to the communities and as a result there has been a lot of social development in the city.
One common thread with many of these organizations is environmental sustainability with a focus on food security. Although Medellin is optimal for growing food all year and is known as the city of Eternal Spring (Primavera). Another challenge for many of the groups that are trying to promote agro-ecological farming, is that there is a law in the country that says farmers can only use certain seeds from certain companies, many of which are foreign companies and their seeds are genetically modified and not species that are found locally. Many of which require a great deal of herbicides and pesticides. There are even some fruits that no longer produce seeds forcing farmers to have to buy seeds on a regular basis.
One amazing group called “Vivero Pachamama” is working right in the middle of two opposing gangs and is trying to teach the community about food, food security and giving youth in the community something to do other than participate in the violence. I was lucky enough to spend a day with them and Cesar, hiking up into the mountains to learn about some of the species that can only be found in Medellin.
Many of the species of plants on their farm are species that are gathered from high in the mountains. Their goal is to protect local species and educate the community on why it is important to care for the land and the plants and animals that live on it. In order to send a message to the community that they are not a part of the conflict, they built a large carving into rock on the property depicting Mother earth and the 13 animals that the Mayans (indigenous peoples) consider sacred.
This group is doing some amazing work with a limited amount of staff and resources. ACJ has been connecting with groups like Vivero Pachamama to further support the work they are doing and to connect the leaders in the community. ACJ-Medellin is an outstanding YMCA. They are well respected and known in the community for being a leader in facilitating connections and they are able to further their reach by supporting young leaders in the community. Many of whom have started their own organizations such as this one. With the support from International partners like the YMCA of Greater Toronto we are able to help them to further their mission and share these amazing stories world-wide.
In order to really understand the work that ACJ-YMCA Medellin (ACJ) is doing in Colombia I thought I would share some of the country’s history to set the context. Colombia is divided into 32 Departments (similar to the way Canada is divided into Provinces) and Antioquia is one of them. Within Antioquia there are 125 municipalities. Medellin is one municipalities and is the capital city of Antioquia consisting of 16 communities, known as comunas, and 5 surrounding rural areas. ACJ is located in San Javier which is in comuna 13.
As a result there are many youth groups in this area many of which were started by youth and are completely run by youth in the community. There are around 120 social organizations that include programs pertaining to recreation, the environment, culture, the arts and music. ACJ has been working for 22 years to support and strengthen these organizations. What really impressed me while visiting many of these groups is that not only is ACJ well known in the community and well respected, but many of these other organizations were started by youth that have been a part of ACJ and have moved on to become great leaders in the community.
In Colombia people are classified by their socioeconomic group which is mainly divided by income but also by the area in the city they are located in and their lifestyle: 0= no income (there are a lot of homeless people). Some choose to be on the street but many have been displaced (sometimes more than once) or cannot find work to support themselves), 1= ½ of the minimum salary (In Colombia everyone is paid monthly), 2= have 1 minimum salary per house hold, 3= between 1 and 2 salaries per household, 4= earn 2 minimum salaries or more per household, 5=more than 5 minimum salaries per household and 6= 10 or more salaries per household. In the San Javier community 96% of the population is at level 0-3 and 4% is at level 4. There is no one at a level 5 or 6 in San Javier.
One of the challenges ACJ has is that they work with youth in Comuna 11, 12 and 13 which are very diverse zones with some of the poorest youth in the countries and some of the wealthiest. These youth live very segregated lives and it is often challenging, to get them to work together and relate to one another. There are approximately 145,000 people in San Javier. 35,000-38,000 are youth. Comuna 13 is one of the poorest communities in Medellin and was once considered one of the most dangerous places in the world.
My first tour of the city was to Comuna 13.
The first thing I noticed was how brightly coloured the community is. Cesar, ACJ staff and Astrid, a volunteer at ACJ, took me up the mountain on the 1,260 foot long escalator that was built on December 26, 2011. Despite the history of violence, the community is covered in graffiti and wall art depicting love and hope.
The 1950s-1970s
From the 1950’s to the 1970’s, Medellin’s primary industry was textiles but the city saw a shift to other industries due to competition in the textile industry from other countries. The government thought to improve the city by moving from textiles to services. They began hosting international services and started urban development. One of the most major impacts from this was drug-trafficking. Drugs have always been in Medellin but this is when it started to become a bigger problem and well known around the world. It was no longer just a problem in Medellin but a problem in all of Colombia. In the big cities is where the trafficking would take place but the rural areas is where they are grown.
In the late 80’s the violence began to reach greater heights. The drug cartels were well established and guerilla groups started to protect the drugs. Many of these militia groups began as political groups but as the drugs and money began to flow they became entangled with drugs and trafficking. This is around the time when the violence became worse with kidnapping and when the drug traffickers began to gain political power and influence.
The 1990's
During the 90’s, new paramilitary groups started another chapter of violence in the city. As a result of all this violence communities started to organize themselves based on their own needs. With huge contrasts between communities as well as major conflicts, they were not working together. The government started to pay attention to the communities and as a result there has been a lot of social development in the city.
One common thread with many of these organizations is environmental sustainability with a focus on food security. Although Medellin is optimal for growing food all year and is known as the city of Eternal Spring (Primavera). Another challenge for many of the groups that are trying to promote agro-ecological farming, is that there is a law in the country that says farmers can only use certain seeds from certain companies, many of which are foreign companies and their seeds are genetically modified and not species that are found locally. Many of which require a great deal of herbicides and pesticides. There are even some fruits that no longer produce seeds forcing farmers to have to buy seeds on a regular basis.
One amazing group called “Vivero Pachamama” is working right in the middle of two opposing gangs and is trying to teach the community about food, food security and giving youth in the community something to do other than participate in the violence. I was lucky enough to spend a day with them and Cesar, hiking up into the mountains to learn about some of the species that can only be found in Medellin.
Many of the species of plants on their farm are species that are gathered from high in the mountains. Their goal is to protect local species and educate the community on why it is important to care for the land and the plants and animals that live on it. In order to send a message to the community that they are not a part of the conflict, they built a large carving into rock on the property depicting Mother earth and the 13 animals that the Mayans (indigenous peoples) consider sacred.
This group is doing some amazing work with a limited amount of staff and resources. ACJ has been connecting with groups like Vivero Pachamama to further support the work they are doing and to connect the leaders in the community. ACJ-Medellin is an outstanding YMCA. They are well respected and known in the community for being a leader in facilitating connections and they are able to further their reach by supporting young leaders in the community. Many of whom have started their own organizations such as this one. With the support from International partners like the YMCA of Greater Toronto we are able to help them to further their mission and share these amazing stories world-wide.
