Spotlight Colombia: Moving forward with wounds still fresh
09/12/23 • 35 min
If you're interested in learning about how peace gets made and unmade and then remade, Colombia is an amazing laboratory. Guest Elizabeth Dickinson is a senior analyst with the Crisis Group in Colombia. Dickinson spends her days in discussion with communities most affected by the civil war, as well as former FARC members. She and her colleagues use information gathered in the field to make policy recommendations to the government and help facilitate dialogues. Before entering the conflict prevention field, Dickinson worked as a journalist, reporting for The Economist and Foreign Policy Magazine.
In this episode Dickinson paints a picture of a country in the midst of slow and difficult reforms. In the years since the FARC and the government signed a peace accord in 2016, putting an end to 50 years of violent conflict, breakthroughs in peace continue to happen. At the same time, armed groups who have taken the place of the FARC extort communities and fight each other. Violence between the military and guerrillas has decreased in the past year, but clashes between armed groups have increased since Gustavo Petro took the presidency in August 2022. According to one analysis, violence between these groups has risen 85% since Petro was inaugurated. However in August 2023, Petro’s government began a six-month ceasefire with the National Liberation Army, or ELN, an important armed group. Dickinson says the most important peacebuilding work is taking place at the community level, and she’s seen it with her own eyes.
For more on the evolution of peace in Colombia, check out our previous episodes:
Spotlight Colombia: After demilitarization, a new narrative with journalist Daniel Salgar
Spotlight Colombia: Behind the scenes of making peace with documentary filmmaker Juan Carlos Borrero
Learn more about Elizabeth Dickinson:
Twitter: @dickinsonbeth
Profile from Crisis Group: "I love understanding people. And I love listening to toads sing at night in the countryside"
Recent news and analysis on peace and conflict in Colombia:
Colombia's 'Total Peace' 1 Year On: Less State Violence, Stronger Criminal Groups from Insight Crime
Colombian gang leaders announce talks to address urban violence from Al Jazeera
The secret to Colombia’s drop in deforestation? Armed groups from Al Jazeera
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About us
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.
Making Peace Visible is hosted by Jamil Simon, and produced by Andrea Muraskin with help from Faith McClure. Special thanks to Samantha Schmidt.
Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions, Doyeq, Poddington Bear, One Man Book, and Kevin MacLeod.
ABOUT THE SHOW
The Making Peace Visible podcast is hosted by Jamil Simon and produced by Andrea Muraski...
If you're interested in learning about how peace gets made and unmade and then remade, Colombia is an amazing laboratory. Guest Elizabeth Dickinson is a senior analyst with the Crisis Group in Colombia. Dickinson spends her days in discussion with communities most affected by the civil war, as well as former FARC members. She and her colleagues use information gathered in the field to make policy recommendations to the government and help facilitate dialogues. Before entering the conflict prevention field, Dickinson worked as a journalist, reporting for The Economist and Foreign Policy Magazine.
In this episode Dickinson paints a picture of a country in the midst of slow and difficult reforms. In the years since the FARC and the government signed a peace accord in 2016, putting an end to 50 years of violent conflict, breakthroughs in peace continue to happen. At the same time, armed groups who have taken the place of the FARC extort communities and fight each other. Violence between the military and guerrillas has decreased in the past year, but clashes between armed groups have increased since Gustavo Petro took the presidency in August 2022. According to one analysis, violence between these groups has risen 85% since Petro was inaugurated. However in August 2023, Petro’s government began a six-month ceasefire with the National Liberation Army, or ELN, an important armed group. Dickinson says the most important peacebuilding work is taking place at the community level, and she’s seen it with her own eyes.
For more on the evolution of peace in Colombia, check out our previous episodes:
Spotlight Colombia: After demilitarization, a new narrative with journalist Daniel Salgar
Spotlight Colombia: Behind the scenes of making peace with documentary filmmaker Juan Carlos Borrero
Learn more about Elizabeth Dickinson:
Twitter: @dickinsonbeth
Profile from Crisis Group: "I love understanding people. And I love listening to toads sing at night in the countryside"
Recent news and analysis on peace and conflict in Colombia:
Colombia's 'Total Peace' 1 Year On: Less State Violence, Stronger Criminal Groups from Insight Crime
Colombian gang leaders announce talks to address urban violence from Al Jazeera
The secret to Colombia’s drop in deforestation? Armed groups from Al Jazeera
How to rate and review our show:
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 us
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.
Making Peace Visible is hosted by Jamil Simon, and produced by Andrea Muraskin with help from Faith McClure. Special thanks to Samantha Schmidt.
Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions, Doyeq, Poddington Bear, One Man Book, and Kevin MacLeod.
ABOUT THE SHOW
The Making Peace Visible podcast is hosted by Jamil Simon and produced by Andrea Muraski...
Previous 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!
Next Episode
Inside comms strategy at the world's largest peacebuilding NGO
We talk a lot on this show about the reasons why peace and conflict resolution aren’t more visible in the news media and our public conversation.
Our past guests have presented a variety of explanations: TV news segments are too short to talk about much beyond dramatic events, like battles and coups. For-profit media doesn't cover peace efforts because there's not enough interest in peace to attract advertisers. Conflict and divisiveness drive revenue on social media platforms. Professionals in the peacebuilding field speak in jargon that's not easily accessible to the average person. Or maybe, seeing so much violence in the news, has audiences thinking that peace isn't even possible, and therefore not worth working for.
Given all these challenges, we thought it was time to speak with someone whose job it is to make peace more visible.
Jack Farrell is Director of Communications for Search for Common Ground, the world's largest peacebuilding organization, with offices in 40 countries. Part of working in communications at an organization like Search is putting human lives before stories – Jack says many of the best stories about peacebuilding never reach the public to protect the safety of the people involved. Nevertheless, peacebuilding NGOs can and do play an important role in the media.
With over a decade of experience in nonprofit communications and politics and an eye towards the future, Jack has valuable advice for anyone looking to amplify their message, while exercising sensitivity and humility.
To get to know Jack a little better, sign up for our email newsletter, where we've got a more personal Q & A that you won't find on the podcast. Subscribe at warstoriespeacestories.org/contact.
Email Jack Farrell at [email protected] and find him on X (formerly Twitter) @JackWFarrell.
You can get in touch with us at [email protected], or on X @warstoriespeace. We’re also on LinkedIn.
How to rate and review our show:
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 us
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.
Making Peace Visible is hosted by Jamil Simon and produced by Andrea Muraskin with help from Faith McClure. Music in this episode by 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!
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