Childhood in the Cauca Mountains in Colombia

In Colombia's Cauca mountains, 20 percent of the population live in rural communities that have been affected by the conflict between armed groups and government forces for 50 years. Violence, insecurity, and constant fear have affected the daily lives of thousands of Colombians who live in this region. The armed conflict has left people psychologically scarred for years. However, access to government-provided mental healthcare in these isolated mountain villages is nonexistent.

In the Cauca mountains in Colombia, most of the population, indigenous and farmers, live in rural communities that are affected by the conflict between the armed groups and the government forces which has plagued the area for the past 50 years. En la cordillera del Cauca, Colombia, la mayoría de la población, indígenas y campesinos, viven en comunidades rurales afectadas por el conflicto entre los grupos armados y las fuerzas gubernamentales que asola la zona desde hace 50 años.

Anna Surinyach/MSF

Threats, harassment, targeted killings, arbitrary arrests, kidnappings, extortion, and a sense of fear and insecurity affect the daily lives of thousands of Colombians who are trapped in this area. Amenazas, acoso, asesinatos selectivos, detenciones arbitrarias, secuestros, extorsión y una sensación de miedo e inseguridad afecta la vida diaria de miles de colombianos que están atrapados en esta zona.

Anna Surinyach/MSF

Oscar Arenas Guzmán is the headmaster of the school in the village of Las Guacas in the Cauca mountains. "Children are affected psychologically. When there is violence, some children see the situation as normal, others are afraid and go into shock and start to cry." Óscar Arenas Guzmán es el director del colegio de la vereda de Las Guacas, en la cordillera del Cauca. “Los niños están afectados psicológicamente. Cuando hay violencia hay niños que ven la situación tan normal, otros sí tienen miedo y entran en estado de shock y se ponen a llorar”.

Anna Surinyach/MSF

The provision of mental health treatment in primary care is the only way to ensure that populations affected by violence have a greater chance of receiving the psychosocial support that they need to recover emotionally. La oferta de salud mental en el primer nivel de atención es la única forma de garantizar que las poblaciones afectadas por la violencia tengan una mayor posibilidad de recibir apoyo psicosocial que requieren para recuperarse emocionalmente.

Anna Surinyach/MSF

MSF psychologists are treating children who are suffering from post-traumatic stress, with night terrors, enuresis and even victims of sexual violence. They are among the most vulnerable populations. Los psicólogos de MSF se encuentran con niños que sufren estrés post traumático, con terrores nocturnos, enuresis e incluso víctimas de violencia sexual. Son de las poblaciones más vulnerables.

Anna Surinyach/MSF

The youngest son of Rosa Inés Pisso disappeared on September 7, 2008, when he went to take an exam to join the army. He was threatened. She hopes to see him again. "The silence is what kills. At night, when I lie down, I think: “Where could he be sleeping?” El hijo menor de Rosa Inés Pisso desapareció el 7 de septiembre del 2008 cuando iba a hacer un examen para ingresar en el ejército. Estaba amenazado. Tiene la esperanza de volver a verlo. “El silencio es lo que mata. Por la noche, cuando me acuesto, pienso ¿Dónde estará durmiendo?”

Anna Surinyach/MSF

One day both the brother and the first husband of Angela Patricia Serna were found murdered. "Both my children ask me ‘What happened to Daddy? Why did they do it?’ I tell them that in life you have to forgive in order to be at peace with yourself." El hermano y el primer marido de Ángela Patricia Serna aparecieron un día asesinados. “Mis dos hijos me preguntan ‘¿Qué pasó con papá? ¿Por qué le hicieron eso?’. Yo les digo que en la vida hay que perdonar para estar uno bien”.

Anna Surinyach/MSF

Carlos Héctor Zánchez was struck by a bullet in his face and he fell at the feet of his seven-year-old daughter. "Now, when the shooting starts the girl clings to his leg and starts screaming, and if a helicopter passes overhead, she goes straight to her room and tells me to hide." Carlos has a broken collarbone and a disabled arm. A Carlos Héctor Zánchez el impacto de una bala en la cara lo tumbó al suelo y cayó en los pies de su hija de siete años. “Ahora cuando empieza la balacera la niña se agarra a la pierna y empieza a gritar y si pasa un helicóptero se va directa a la pieza y me pide que me esconda.” Carlos tiene la clavícula partida y el brazo inhabilitado.

Anna Surinyach/MSF

For the population to receive the psychological care they so much need, it is crucial they can have access to a psychologist in their villages. Para que la población pueda recibir la asistencia psicológica que tanto necesita, es crucial que puedan tener acceso a un psicólogo en sus veredas.

Anna Surinyach/MSF

Childhood in the Cauca Mountains in Colombia

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