Life Stories

In my 6 or so weeks here in Colombia I've had the opportunity to hear some pretty incredible life stories. Hearing personal narrative is a fascinating way to get to know a country, so I've included here some short renderings of Colombian lived experience. I've tried to keep the stories as brief as possible. They're snapshots and nothing more. I've also changed the names of the those involved. Here's a look:

Doctor Silva: Dr. Silva graduated from medical school in the 1970's. He and his wife, another doctor who he met while in medical school, left for the Colombian department of Choco to do a year of medical work in the jungle. Rural access to health care in Colombia is extremely difficult, and thus all new doctors are required to do a year of medical service in a rural region of Colombia. While performing her service, Dr. Silva's wife had an allergic reaction to an anti-biotic and due to the remote location, wasn't able to reach adequate medical facilities in time. She passed away less than one year after having become a doctor.

Ellen Jones: Twelve years ago, Ellen fell in love with a Colombian man who was studying in England. Ellen decided to leave native England and follow her love back to Colombia. She's been working as an English teacher in Colombia ever since, and she and her husband have two children ages 6 and 3. Ellen's primary occupation at the moment is trying to save enough money to buy plane tickets for her family (and a visa for her husband) so that they can return to England to live. For her it's imperative that they leave Colombia before her son turns 16 and is obligated to serve in the armed services. In Colombia two years of military service is required for all young men, or at least the ones who can't afford to attend a university. While Ellen loves Colombia, her fear of losing her son in armed conflict is compelling her to return back to the country she hasn't seen in over a decade.

Maria E. : Maria met her first love when she was 15, and married him at 18. Her husband worked as a taxi-driver. He was murdered at age 23 by a drunk passenger who refused to pay the cab-fare. A few years later Maria remarried a professional soldier. This man was one month away from completing his military service, but was killed while fighting leftist guerrillas in Santander. He and Maria had been married for just a year. Maria's next husband left her when she was five months pregnant. "Love isn't for me," Maria told me after having related the story of her three husbands.

Alejandro: Alejandrom ,20, and his family left their hometown of Barranca ten years ago to come live in Bucaramanga. Alejandro's father's physical appearance so closely resembled that of an infamous leader of the FARC (Colombia's most powerful leftist-rebel group) that he received constant death threats. As such, he was forced to relocate his family and start a new life.

Adrianna S.: 15 years ago Adriana, a native of Bogotá, did some brief consulting work in New York City. She worked in the World Trade Center and there befriended several Latin American employees of the same company. On the 9th anniversary of 9/11, Adrianna and I recounted our memories of that day. She said she watched in horror, fearing for her friends who worked in the building. To this day, she doesn't know if they survived, although she suspects they didn't.

I know these are heavy stories and they highlight the some of the more difficult facets of Colombian life. Nonetheless, they are stories which have made an impression on me, and I know they will always be in my memories of Colombia.