Trade unions in Britain and Ireland have funded a school bus that has allowed children of former FARC members in the peace process to attend classes, following a Justice for Colombia campaign. In the Tierra Grata community in northern Colombia, secondary school-aged students had faced major difficulties in going to school due to long distances, poor roads and transport costs. Now, thanks to the financial support of several trade unions, a school bus is transporting them to and from classes on a daily basis.
Trade unions that donated to the campaign include the EIS, NEU, INTO, ASLEF, FORSA, Unite Scotland, ASTI, IFUT and POA. Their logos now adorn the school bus, visible to local communities as it passes by each day. Watch a video of the difference the bus is making here.
Tierra Grata community leader and former FARC guerrilla Solis Almeida (aka Abelardo Caicedo) said ‘I’d like to thank Justice for Colombia and the trade union movement for the valuable contribution you have given our community with the school bus, which has been so important for the children of Tierra Grata to be able to attend classes’.
Education has a fundamental role in the construction of peace. It directly confronts the causes of conflict by reducing inequality, provides economic opportunities for young people who may otherwise be drawn towards conflict, strengthens the rights of communities and reduces violence. Colombia’s trade union movement has recognised this, with the FECODE teacher federation and others strong supporters of the 2016 peace agreement and the pursuit of new peace deals with active armed groups.
However, despite the need for educational provision, many communities still struggle to access essential services such as schooling, healthcare, markets and internet connectivity, a legacy of historic state neglect, underdevelopment and armed conflict. As such, inequality and violence remain alarmingly high in these zones.
The 2016 agreement recognises the need to improve social conditions and infrastructure in the countryside through major investment. For the 13,500 FARC guerrillas who entered the peace process and their families, education and employment opportunities are vital to build civilian lives away from conflict.
As elsewhere, this has been the case for the community of former FARC guerrillas at Tierra Grata, one of 24 special transitionary zones known as ETCRs created in the 2016 peace agreement. Residents at Tierra Grata have faced difficulties that are common throughout the peace process: a lack of services and resources provided under previous governments, obstacles to entering civil society and insecurity that, in March, saw authorities warn of increased risks due to violence in neighbouring regions.
Thanks to the support of the trade union movement and the spirit of international solidarity, the school bus is now making a material difference to the lives of people on the frontline of building peace and social justice in Colombia.