Spotlight Colombia: Behind the scenes of making peace
08/08/23 • 27 min
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.
Follow Juan Carlos Borrero on X (formerly Twitter) @juancborrero1
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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
Connect on social:
Instagram @makingpeacevisible
LinkedIn @makingpeacevisible
Bluesky @makingpeacevisible.bsky.social
We want to learn more about our listene...
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.
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
Connect on social:
Instagram @makingpeacevisible
LinkedIn @makingpeacevisible
Bluesky @makingpeacevisible.bsky.social
We want to learn more about our listene...
Previous Episode
Journalism as a brave space to talk about race
“The one embedded bias that we definitely have when we get up every day to cover the news anew is that we're biased for democracy. Let's just admit that. So if you're biased for democracy, then you have to be biased for racial justice, because racial justice is embedded in the democratic promise.” - Deborah Douglas
Some of the most polarized debates in the United States today stem from issues of race, from policing to how history should be taught in schools. Our guest this episode, award-winning American journalist Deborah Douglas, believes the answer to polarization isn’t to cloister ourselves in so-called “safe spaces.” Rather, she sees journalism as a “brave space” to excavate the impact of America’s racial history on the current moment. Like previous guests Amanda Ripley and David Bornstein, Douglas practices Solutions Journalism – which looks at how systems work to solve social problems – and how they could work better for more people.
Deborah Douglas is the Director of the Midell Midwest Solutions Journalism Hub at Northwestern University in Chicago. She’s also the author of US Civil Rights Trail: A Traveler’s Guide to the People, Places and Events that Made the Movement. In the past, she’s been co-editor In chief of The Emancipator, founding managing editor of MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, and much more.
Find Deborah Douglas on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @debofficialy. Learn more at debofficially.com.
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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 Xylo-Ziko, Doyeq, and Blue Dot Sessions
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
Connect on social:
Instagram @makingpeacevisible
LinkedIn @makingpeacevisible
Bluesky @makingpeacevisible.bsky.social
We want to learn more about our listeners. Take this 3-minute survey to help us improve the show!
Next Episode
Spotlight Colombia: After demilitarization, a new narrative
After the peace agreement their leaders signed with the Colombian government in September 2016, members of the FARC guerilla group began turning in their weapons to the UN. In exchange, rank-and-file members received amnesty for acts of violence they committed during the country’s long civil war. They could leave their jungle encampments and rejoin society – go to work or school like any other citizen. The FARC ceased to be a group of guerilla fighters and became a political party, with members even serving in congress.
But many Colombians saw the FARC as enemies, and were not ready to integrate them into society so quickly. Just over half of voters rejected the agreement in a referendum. Some ex-combatants were killed. And in 2018, the country elected Iván Duque, a vocal opponent of the peace accord.
But peace takes time. And our guest Daniel Salgar says that over time, more Colombians, including many journalists, have begun to accept former guerillas as members of society, rather than enemies. The election of President Gustavo Petro in 2022, who ran on the peace agreement, reflects that mindset shift.
Salgar counts himself among a generation of journalists who spent most of their careers covering peace efforts. When we spoke with him last year, he was wrapping up a job as an editor for the Colombia Truth Commission Report, which shed light on decades of atrocities and human rights violations that were committed during the civil war. Before working for the Truth Commission, he was a reporter and editor at the newspaper El Espectador, where he oversaw a project on peacebuilding called Colombia 2020. Salgar also served as editor and director of the Spanish news service for Anadalou, a Turkish international news agency.
Now working in communications for ACNUR Colombia/ UNHCR, Salgar says he continues to be optimistic about the implementation of the 2016 agreement and the possibility of peace with other guerilla groups in his country.
The original version of this episode was published in September 2022.
Follow Daniel Salgar on Twitter: @DanielSalgar1
View the Colombia Truth Commission Report (in Spanish)
Read Daniel Salgar’s interview with former FARC leader Timochenco (in English)
Read Daniel’s analysis piece on drug policy in Colombia (in Spanish)
Explore the peacebuilding journalism project Colombia 2020 (Now Colombia +20) (in Spanish)
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. Visit our website: warstoriespeacestories.org
Making Peace Visible is hosted by Jamil Simon, and produced by Andrea Muraskin.
Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions, Phil Larson, Meavy Boy, Podington Bear, Pianobook, and Kevin Mac Leod
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
Connect on social:
Instagram @makingpeacevisible
LinkedIn @makingpeacevisible
Bluesky @makingpeacevisible.bsky.social
We want to learn more about our listeners. Take this 3-minute survey to help us improve the show!
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