Despite successful government efforts to increase security in Colombia, the image of the country still is stained by reports of its violent past and many foreigners still have a distorted view about what the country is really like. For this reason I organized a trip to Colombia for ten foreigners from five nationalities in order to show them the real Colombia.
I asked these foreigners to document their experience so that rest of the world could see what Colombia really is like.
Don’t get me wrong; of course the country faces many serious problems such as human rights violations, inequality, and injustice, but sometimes foreigners can’t go beyond this picture and see that behind all of this, Colombia is comprised of a majority of well-intentioned hardworking individuals. In order to get a correct view of Colombia, it is important to learn what solutions worked and what didn't.
Consider for example a rare article published in Business 2.0 magazine about an ecovilllage called Gaviotas located in one of the globe's least hospitable climates: “built from scratch in a treeless corner of the country, this community of scientists, tinkerers, and refugees - now numbering more than 200 - has created a verdant rainforest where once there was nothing but scrub grass. It has also devised and deployed dozens of inventions with a frequency and success rate that puts some of America's most storied technology companies to shame.”
Seldom do Colombians and, to a greater extend, do foreigners learn about these inspiring stories: the stories that provide hope and allows us to glimpse into Colombia’s future, rather than its past.
Throughout the trip I was very fascinated to see how each participant would experience and perceive Colombia based on there own cultural ties. For example, the Brits, being proud of their history, were somewhat disappointed to see that in Cartagena Sir Francis Drake was not celebrated as a hero but rather was remembered as a pirate.
On the other hand, the participant from United Arabs Emirate was surprised to find that our family focus and hospitality was similar to her culture.
We also had a participant from the northeast of the United States who needed a lot of convincing to come on this trip due to security concerns. At the end of the journey he had this to say: “As far as safety goes, a person can get into trouble anywhere in the world. I found it ironic that after all the concern I received from my family and friends that after spending two” weeks in Colombia, the least safe I felt was at a gas station near the airport here in the U.S.
Since
our interest was to close the gap between perception and reality of
Colombia we took the foreigners to four different regions and
gave them the chance to meet with different charities, politicians,
academics and businessmen. We provided them a space to learn not only
about the good things about Colombia but also place a context around
our problems. In Bogota, for example, the foreigners met with former
Senator Luis Eladio Perez who was kidnapped for seven years. This
allowed them to hear from a direct source who are the guerrillas, what
their agenda is and why are they able to recruit teenagers.
During a visit to a shanty town, participants got to witness poverty firsthand but more importantly, and to their surprise, learned that wealth is by no means an indicator of happiness.
So
what did the foreigners learn after all this? Well they did confirm
we have a wide array of problems but beyond seeing Colombia as a failed
state they also found that Colombia is a country that has a great
potential and which future is being shaped by innovative Colombians
that are rebuilding our society one step at a time.
Alan Wagenberg is a sustainable consultant and will be releasing a documentary based on the trip described in this article. For additional information you can visit shootingcolombia.com
el zorro
said:
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... I really appreciate your efforts to export some truth about our country. My concern, however, is that views of Colombia abroad generally consist of one of two equally unhealthy extremes: that the country is a drug-ravaged war-torn failed state or that the country is safer than even the United States. The problem I have with the perception that Colombia is safe is that it tends to ignore the country's human tragedy. Colombia remains one of the most violent countries in the world by any measure and, while that violence may not affect tourists in 2 weeks, it is a daily reality for most Colombians. To that extent, it is very admirable that your initiative took people to poor areas of Colombia as well. I would love to see the American government and European leadership take more concrete steps to address the suffering of the Colombian people. Part of that challenge is exporting a view of Colombia as visitable, beautiful and diverse but still deeply troubled and in need of help. |
Jayson
said:
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... Although not Colombian I have travelled to the country twice in the last 6 months with my wife. I agree with you el zorro, yes there is much appreciation to such films as tourists for two weeks in the beautiful country, but issues need to be addressed. Issues on the displaced and the poverty in general. Colombia is a great country with great people, but you need to build the infrastructure to prosper. Yes there is tourism in colombia, but the country needs to find assistance to help its own. Than we all can truly enjoy what Colombia has to offer in its beauty! |
cococo
said:
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... Colombia is an amazing country in so many ways, but what she needs more than anything is peace. With peace more resources can be directed to alleviating poverty, investing in infratsructure and human capital. If messers Chavez and Correa could stop behaving like idiots and use their contacts with the FARC to persuade them to lay down their arms and enter the politcial arena we might then truly see the end of the violence in Colombia. I am British and inspite of all her problems I spend much time in Colombia and am planning to live there full time. The foreign viewpiont is something I work hard to change every day. |
gringo michae
said:
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... I look forward to see the films, having lived in Colombia , I found it to be the place I love most. some of Colombias problems are no different then here in the USA just on a larger scale, I am not sure what kind of help one poster thinks the USA and Europe should provided, I just hope it is not similar to the US welfare system which has pshown to breed genrations of poor. |
Alan W
said:
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... Thank you all for your comments. I agree with all comments. Again we are not trying to say that Colombia is perfect but we do feel that most of the media's attention (including the film industry) tends to focus on the bad stories. Rarely do you read positive stories of Colombia in Europe or in the US. As such we felt that we needed to provide a space to show a more positive side of Colombia and also to give voice to many Colombians that are working hard for the benefit of the country but that do not get the opportunity to communicate what they do. Again, the documentary is not propaganda. It was filmed by the foreigners and it provides a more authentic view |
