The danger faced by those working for the communities and future of La Guajira

Osvaldo Enrique Hernández Zuñiga & Alexander Fonseca Peñaranda were murdered in La Guajira.

*Article written by Laury Cervantes, Yenifer Salgado & Laura Escorcia

In the Colombian context, a social leader is "a person who defends the rights of the community and develops an action for the common welfare recognized in its community, organization or territory. Every social leader is considered a human rights defender" (Indepaz, 2020). Even though they have a fundamental role withing the communities, their lives have been often threatened and, in many cases, taken. Osvaldo Enrique Hernández Zuñiga and Alexander Fonseca Peñaranda were both social leaders in their respective communities and both were murdered. Unfortunately, these murders have been near constant due to the existence of a wave of violence that is fueled by the absence of the state in certain territories, as in the case of the department of La Guajira. Therefore, many social leaders face the danger of receiving death threats, experiencing the attacks and murders of colleagues in similar positions and ultimately, for many, being assassinated for defending their community and territorial rights. This issue should not occur, as the state government should be responsible for establishing security and protecting the rights of the population, instead of leaving responsibility with the social leaders who risk their lives by making up for the inadequacies or limitations of the State. Fundamentally, social leaders in Colombia have a pivotal role in the defense of rights, especially in marginalized zones, where many indigenous communities are located, by trying to ensure their human rights and fighting against corruption and illegal activities that affect the development of their communities. Osvaldo Enrique Hernández Zúñiga and Alexander Fonseca Peñaranda faced such challenges and such corruption and, in their struggle, suffered great challenges that ultimately cost them their lives. That is why this text will address the cases of both social leaders in order to expose the challenges faced by human rights defenders in the department of La Guajira, and by extension throughout Colombia.

Osvaldo Enrique Hernández Zúñiga was one of the many social leaders who have been assassinated in Colombia throughout the last 7 years. He was a public worker in the Secretary of Education of the Mayor's Office of Maicao, a municipality in La Guajira. Besides this work, he was a delegate of the Junta de Acción Comunal (Community Action Board; the most local level of community representation being a civic corporation to manage community needs) of the Erika Beatriz neighbourhood, in this part of the department. Woefully, he was assassinated on October 5th, 2021, by two hitmen, who shot him dead, silencing his voice immediately and leaving many vulnerable people defenseless. The 33-year-old had been working as a school feeding contractor in Maicao, while also serving as a neighbourhood activist, being recognized as a community leader and an example to follow for his great work and for being a teacher with a high-ranking title, holding a master’s degree in education. Since his killing, there has been great consternation in that border town due to the death of this social leader, which makes apparent the security crisis that exists in La Guajira, and sadly throughout the country. When reviewing reports of this murder, it is perhaps worrying to see how the initial story gave an indication that this crime was an act of robbery, with Osvaldo’s motorbike being the target. Strangely enough, those same reports state that the perpetrators shot Osvaldo instantly and failed to take his motorbike after the crime. Unfortunately, Osvaldo has not been the only social leader murdered for defending the rights of his community, since a similar situation was presented with the case of Aura Esther Garcia Peñalver, who was a Wayúu (the Wayúu are an Amerindian ethnic community and the most populous indigenous group in Colombia; their homeland covers the Guajira Peninsula in the northernmost part of Colombia) social leader in the same department since she participated actively in different activities related to activism and the defence of indigenous rights. This work led her to denounce irregularities and mismanagement of children’s resources of the School Feeding Plan. Pithily, she was murdered by gunmen on a motorcycle, just like what happened with Osvaldo. This is evidence of the violence and difficulties that social leaders and activists have in fighting against corruption and defending their rights, and as El Espectador (2021) states, threats against journalists and social leaders have increased for reporting cases of corruption and mismanagement of resources, highlighting the misappropriation of funds in school feeding projects for the most vulnerable. This problem is so serious that there have been constant appeals for help from the Asociación de Periodistas Independientes de Colombia (APIC) and the social leaders of La Guajira on the security crisis and the spread of violence against leaders who protect their communities. Unfortunately, far from being isolated incidents, cases like those of Osvaldo and Aura before him occur with alarming regularity.

Another important case which demonstrates the widespread violence towards social leaders in the department is the assassination of Alexander Fonseca. Alexander was a Wayúu indigenous leader and a teacher in one of the educational institutions in Manaure —a municipality of La Guajira— who, after defending the rights and ensuring the well-being of his community through education, was killed in a shooting on April 2nd of 2022. This specific case acquires a high degree of importance because, within the extensive problem of political violence against social leaders, it represents an aspect that is not usually rigorously analyzed. Even though teachers are often victims of political violence, there is little documentation on the extent (Novelli, 2009). The murder of Alexander Fonseca represents the assassination of a social leader, but also represents the murder of an ethnoeducator. As it is widely known, teachers play an essential role in the social and political transformation of a system. Through these educators, indigenous communities can better understand the role of society and the position they have —and could have— within it. This case is also part of a very predominant pattern in La Guajira regarding this specific issue of ethnoeducation and social leaders. Alexander's case is not the first case of its kind to happen in the department. Three years earlier, on February 19th of 2019, the teacher and indigenous leader Jose Victor Ceballos Epinayu was murdered when he was leaving his home to fulfil his duty as an educator. In both cases, different NGOs and individuals —especially from the communities— urged the national and international control entities to act effectively in response to the steady murders of social leaders. However, as is far too common within the context of political and social violence, their demands were not attended by the Colombian government. Colombian educators have been subject to a widespread violation of their human rights through political violence for a long time. For example, a report from UNESCO in 2009 established that “Between 1991 and 2006, 808 Colombian educators were killed, 2015 received death threats, 21 were tortured, 59 were “disappeared”, and 1008 were forced to leave their homes and jobs for fear of violence” (Novelli, 2009). Violence against teachers may have reduced since those darkest days of the conflict, but it remains. More striking is the numbers regarding violence against social leaders since the signing of the peace agreement with the FARC in 2016. Sources such as Indepaz place the number of social leaders killed since then at higher than 1,400, with indigenous leaders representing a significant proportion of that figure. The question that must be asked is what the root causes of such violence are.

These cases demand an analysis of the increase of violence in La Guajira. Regardless of how kind or welcoming people from Colombia might be, there has been a history of violence dating back to the formation of the state and sadly, this violence has been hard to eliminate. As was mentioned above, since the signing of the peace agreement in 2016, the focus of much of this violence has fallen on social leaders and activists. If one looks at the situation in a department such as La Guajira, it is perhaps possible to identify some of the underlying factors which allow this violence to flourish. There is always violence surrounding an environment and this is the case of La Guajira, a department rich in culture, tradition and natural beauty, but with risky situations such as forced displacement, threats against those claiming land, forced disappearance and selective homicides, in addition to the recruitment of children, youth and adolescents by illegal organizations, and indeed, the very presence of those illegal actors (Conversatorio La Guajira: Dinámicas del Conflicto, Situación Humanitaria y Políticas Públicas, 2011). All of these dynamics generate an unsteady feeling and difficulties for the population of the zone in general because according to Guajira 360 (2017): “in the current phase of violence and insecurity, in La Guajira everything is related.” This highlights the relationship between these different types of insecurities and topics such as development of the region, economic activities, local and regional tourism and other topics like the high levels of poverty and social inequality in the department. These difficulties are reflected in violence in the region and throughout Colombia, which is so concerning to the point that the United Nations (2021) expressed “concern at the occurrence of massacres and the continuous killing of human rights defenders, social leaders, and former FARC-EP fighters”. Concern that not only the members of the United Nations have; others in the region have expressed concern about this situation and their concern grows more and more because, according to Hoz (2022), “...disadvantaged communities without these people (social leaders) who provide them with a valuable service” end up as even more marginalized and seeing a lot more violence. On the other hand, according to Salamanca (2014), La Guajira is also suffering from abandonment by the Colombian state, because all these things that are happening in this territory, like violence, famine, drought, and economic problems, are thanks to the lack of presence and attention from the State in order to sort these problems out. As a result of this situation, it is clear that the level of violence and insecurity are increasing, not only in La Guajira, but also the territory of Colombia in general.

In conclusion, social leaders have been strongly affected by the waves of political violence in the country. In the department of La Guajira, the murders of Osvaldo Enrique Hernandez Zuñiga and Alexander Fonseca represent the magnitude of the violence against social leaders in the territory. In both cases, it is possible to observe some distinctive characteristics since each of these cases was developed from a different perspective regarding the forms of political violence. On the one hand, through the case of Osvaldo, it was possible to analyze the role of the press in these types of issues. The national press, especially from important media outlets, tends to minimize the assassination of social leaders and does not give them the necessary recognition to address the problem in an effective way. Alexander's case, on the other hand, exposes the relationship that can develop between violence and education; giving a high degree of importance to the role of educators —especially ethnoeducators— as agents of social transformation. In both cases, it is possible to observe specific patterns concerning the situation of social leaders, so a comparative analysis was carried out between the cases of Osvaldo and Alexander and the cases of Aura Esher Garcia Peñalver and Jose Victor Ceballos Epinayu respectively in order to analyze these patterns in greater depth. This analysis shows that these are not isolated cases, but rather part of the increasing violence in La Guajira and throughout Colombia. In the same way, this analysis highlights how the lack of state presence in La Guajira (and other areas of the country) can completely change the course of a region that could become a tourist powerhouse for the country, but instead ends up trapped in the nightmare situation of violence against the citizens of the area and their defenders.

References

(2011). La Guajira: Dinámicas del Conflicto, Situación Humanitaria y Políticas Públicas. Riohacha, Colombia.

El Espectador. (2021, October 13). Periodistas y líderes de La Guajira son amenazados por denunciar corrupción. ELESPECTADOR.COM; El Espectador. https://www.elespectador.com/colombia/mas-regiones/un-grupo-de-periodistas-y-lideres-de-la-guajira-recibio-amenazas-de-muerte/

Guajira 360. (2017). La inseguridad en La Guajira, obstáculo para el desarrollo.

Hoz, F. (2022, 21 julio). Violentos amenazan de muerte a cuatro líderes sociales en La Guajira. EL HERALDO.

Indepaz. (2020). INFORME ESPECIAL: Registro de líderes y personas defensoras de DDHH asesinadas desde la firma del acuerdo de paz. https://www.indepaz.org.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Informe-Especial-Asesinato-lideres-sociales-Nov2016-Jul2020-Indepaz.pdf

Novelli, M. (2009). Political violence against teachers in Colombia: Opportunities for change in the midst of conflict?. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254914410_Political_violence_against_teachers_in_Colombia_opportunities_for_change_in_the_midst_of_conflict

Salamanca, L. (2014). La Guajira no muere de hambre, muere de abandono. El Tiempo.

United Nations, General Assembly “Situation of human rights in Colombia” (March 2021)