Colombia ceasefire throws displaced lives into focus

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Colombia ceasefire throws displaced lives into focus

A ceasefire between Colombia and FARC rebels provides a moment to reflect on the hopes and dreams of nearly seven million people displaced by five decades of war.

28 June 2016

Internally displaced Colombian Luis Antonio works on his smallholding in Nuevo Esperanza, Colombia.

BOGOTA, Colombia (UNHCR) – Colombian smallholder Luis Antonio ran for his life after his son was killed in the Andean country’s bitter civil war.

Starting over in an uncultivated area in the mountains, he began raising poultry. Now, 15 years later, as the country makes strides toward achieving a lasting peace to end more than five decades of bloody conflict, his hope is to stay put where he is.

“I learned poultry farming, and thanks to that, I have a livelihood to raise my children,” he says. “My dream is to carry on like I am right now, maybe even buying an electric mill” to grind feed corn, he adds.

Colombia’s civil war has driven almost 7 million people like Luis Antonio from their homes, although a ceasefire agreement reached last week by the government and the largest rebel group, the FARC, is a crucial step towards building a last peace.

You can find out more about the lives, hopes and dreams of Luis Antonio and others like him, in this video.