Journalism as a brave space to talk about race

A main premise of our podcast is that peace efforts are invisible in the mainstream media, or certainly not visible enough. But one place that has grabbed at least some of the world’s attention, is the peace process in Colombia. In 2016, after repeated failed negotiations, the FARC guerilla organization finally signed a peace deal with the government. After fifty years of war, militants turned in their weapons and they began a process of reintegration into society.

Our guest, filmmaker and Bogotá native Juan Carlos Borrero, used to run from the guerillas when filming in the Colombian countryside. Everyone he knew had a family member who had been kidnapped or killed. He never thought he’d see peace between the government and the FARC. Borrero’s documentary film “A Call for Peace” tells the story of the peace process in Colombia, through interviews with peace builders who played key roles behind the scenes. Skilled negotiators from places like Northern Ireland, Israel, and El Salvador shared their experience and counsel with then-President Juan Manuel Santos.

The implementation of the agreement has been rocky, with continuing violence surrounding the drug trade, and victims still waiting for reparations. In August 2022, newly elected President Gustavo Petro announced a campaign called “Total Peace.” He said he would work to follow through on the promises of the 2016 agreement, and to forge peace agreements with other militant groups. Just last week, leaders of the guerilla group ELN arrived in Bogotá, amidst negotiations – a historic show of cooperation with the government. But on the same day, President Petro’s son Nicolás confessed to receiving illicit donations to his fathers’ campaign.

Despite setbacks, there’s no doubt that the 2016 peace agreement was a significant achievement that offers hope and a new way forward for Colombians. This is the first episode in our Spotlight Colombia series, where we look at Colombia as a laboratory of peace, from the 2016 agreement to Petro's election, to today. We first recorded this interview with Juan Carlos Borrero in May 2022.

Watch "A Call for Peace."

Follow Juan Carlos Borrero on X (formerly Twitter) @juancborrero1

SHARE THIS EPISODE

Copy and paste this link: https://bit.ly/MPVcall

HOW TO RATE AND REVIEW MAKING PEACE VISIBLE

In Apple Podcasts on iPhone

Tap on the show name (Making Peace Visible) to navigate to the main podcast page

Scroll down to the "Ratings and Reviews" section

To leave a rating only, tap on the stars

To leave a review, tap "Write a Review"

In Spotify

(Note: Spotify ratings are currently only available on mobile.)

Tap on the show name (Making Peace Visible) to navigate to the main podcast page

Tap on the star icon under the podcast description to rate the show

In Podcast Addict

(Note: you may need to sign in before leaving a review.)

From the episode page: On the top left above the show description, click "Post review."

From the main podcast page

Tap "Reviews" on the top left.

On the Reviews page, tap the icon of a pen and paper in the top right corner of the screen.

ABOUT THE SHOW

Making Peace Visible is a project of War Stories Peace Stories. Our mission is to bring journalists and peacebuilders together to re-imagine the way the news media covers peace and conflict, and to facilitate expanded coverage of global peace and reconciliation efforts. Join the conversation on Twitter: @warstoriespeace. Write to us at [email protected].

Making Peace Visible is hosted by Jamil Simon, and produced by Andrea Muraskin, with help from Faith McClure.

Music in this episode by MARiAN.

ABOUT THE SHOW

The Making Peace Visible podcast is hosted by Jamil Simon and produced by Andrea Muraskin. Our associate producer is Faith McClure. Learn more at makingpeacevisible.org

Support our work

Connect on social:

Instagram @makingpeacevisible

LinkedIn @makingpeacevisible

Bluesky @makingpeacevisible.bsky.social

We want to learn more about our listene...