Pastor Daniel Vargas of the Protestant Peace Commission took me to visit with them. He had coordinated efforts to support these newly-displaced families, finding emergency, and then long-term housing for the families. Of the six families that initially displaced, three have decided to move to a town closer to the farm where they all used to live. “It’s still too dangerous for us to go back to our farm because the army has come in and are building a base near our farm, and the FARC are saying that we asked for the army’s presence... they could kill any of us for this,” stated Rosember, Joel’s brother. Those that have returned nearby have done so in the hopes of renting out the farmland to others and avoid losing the farm. They are afraid that it could be taken over by others, or expropriated by the state if it lies fallow for too long. Returning to the area with these tensions in the air is risky-business, but adapting to city life has been very hard on those who have stayed in Ibagué.
The three families lived in a cramped space in a peripheral neighborhood in Ibagué, the type of place where everyone is struggling just to get by. The women tried making and selling tamales for a while, but couldn’t sell enough most days to cover their costs. The men work sporadically as day laborers, usually in construction, sometimes they bring enough home to buy some groceries and pay a few bills, most days they don’t. Yuby’s sister in law is taking an industrial machinery technician course, and hopes to land a job in that area soon, if she can scrape together the 15 dollars she needs to buy the safety glasses that are required to finish the course. Yuby traveled to
It was clear that the family had rallied around Yuby and Lilly. Yuby’s brother spoke of their father's decision to leave the family farm he had lived on his whole life to make sure his daughter was safe. As he spoke, the father quietly wept in the corner. Yuby’s strength and determination, despite what she has lived through over the past year, was impressive. When I asked her about her desire to return to the countryside where her husband was killed she responded, “I don’t harbor any anger towards the men who killed Joel. I’d like to talk to them. I’m not afraid of them, because I haven’t done anything to them and I don’t owe them anything... Nor am I worried about people’s comments; I only worry about what God thinks of me.”
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My wife and I were in Colombia with Voice of the Martyrs in February 2008. Katherine also got to spend some time with Yuby and Lilly, she was so encouraged by Yuby's continued faith through everything she has been through. You can see the interview and some of Katherine's reflections here.
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