Colombia: Risking lives to report the truth
Many journalists in Colombia have been killed for speaking out. But one project – supported by our partner CINEP - protects reporters by allowing them to publish under the group’s name
Mary Luz Avendaño knows all too well the dangers of reporting in Colombia - in 1998 she was kidnapped by FARC guerrillas while reporting on the presidential elections.
She suffered first hand what thousands of Colombians undergo daily, being separated from her friends and family for a week until the FARC decided to release her.
But we feel less scared now with the network behind us. As more journalists join, we get stronger and people are less scared.
In the frontline
“It’s hard to predict where the danger will come from”, she says. “You can start out investigating something small and it can turn into something big.
“In 2007 I was covering a story about a paramilitary leader who was testifying at a public hearing in Medellin when the paramilitaries were being demobilised. We noticed that the demobilised paramilitaries were monitoring what we were doing and taking photos and filming us.
“I complained about this behaviour but then they threatened me and said that we don’t have to kill you to hurt you. We know where your live and with whom and what they do.”
The Association of Journalists in Antioquia helped us bring to light the threats that we were receiving. We also found solidarity in organisations outside Colombia. The saddest thing is that my bosses didn’t care about what was happening. They did nothing. They didn’t speak out, I didn’t get any protection. I just carried on with my work as if nothing had happened."
It may be hard to believe, but Mary Luz was lucky. Between 1991 and 2006, 98 journalists were killed - more than six each year. But just 20 of those cases were investigated by the Crown Prosecution.
Many reporters have been forced into exile, kidnapped or silenced due to threats and intimidation they received from guerrilla groups, drug traffickers and paramilitary groups.
And an increasing number are censoring their own work out of fear. The level of risk depends on the region where journalists live - it is safer in the city than rural areas.
Mary Luz is now a member of Reporteros de Colombia, a project supported by our partner CINEP, a specialist think tank on human rights and armed conflict in alliance with Medias for Peace and the Javeriana University.
Reporteros de Colombia supports journalists in their work to improve information available about the conflict in Colombia – but the name of the journalist is not published if the story is highly sensitive. The Reporteros name is given instead.
Reports have covered forced disappearances, women and armed conflict, children in war, landmines, indigenous land issues and extra-judicial executions.
Rocío Castañeda Cisneros, the 35-year-old coordinator of Reporteros, says: ““We put ourselves in the frontline so journalists are not at risk. We want to give a balanced view.
"All sides have their propaganda. It is the population, especially the most vulnerable, who suffer in all this as our country is torn apart. We are not on either side. Our work just helps people recognise the reality.
“The worst that can happen is that it goes quiet, that people think it doesn’t matter. That, after 50 years of conflict, the world doesn’t care. We want to bring these issues to life again so that people understand what is happening and want to change the situation.”
The project has enjoyed some notable success. One journalist in Sucre wrote an article about extra-judicial executions, which was published in the national news magazine Semana.
After the article appeared other journalists started to cover the story and, with pressure from Reporteros and more investigations, the full story came out. In the end it was not possible for the government to deny it.
Now the Reporteros work as a network, investigating a chosen theme in their given region and sharing information. They focus on demobilisation of paramilitaries, the Justice and Peace Law and the right of victims to know the truth, and obtain justice and reparations.
And they are trying to get their stories published not just in Colombia, but overseas too. In May 2009 they visited the UK to link up with journalists in the UK media.
Rocío “We can’t change things alone. There are too many interests within the country so, without international support, it is difficult to change things.”
Mary Luz once received a call from an organisation in Washington that works to protect journalists. “They called to see if I wanted help to get out of the country. I was shocked. How did they know about me?
"But, on the other hand I was relieved that someone outside cared and was looking out for me. They wanted to protect a journalist in Colombia that had nothing to do with them - this sort of help is very important for us.
“But we feel less scared now with the network behind us. As more journalists join, we get stronger and people are less scared. Any move to stop freedom of the press will come out in a Reporteros alert.”
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