by Sophie Williams
Colombia has faced a turbulent history since its founding, characterized by conflict and civil unrest. For the last fifty years, Colombia has been fighting an armed guerrilla insurgency. In 2016 the greatest hope for an end to the most recent half century of conflict came with a peace agreement, in which FARC – the most prominent guerrilla group – agreed to put down their arms and integrate into society. However, the progress Colombia has accomplished in the past decade is being threatened by the COVID-19 Pandemic. Both the pandemic itself and the response to it, have produced conditions that could lead to the end of Colombia’s peace process. To maintain and create a lasting peace, Colombia must socialize the next generation to ensure that they adopt the norms of a peaceful society and strive to make them a part of the country’s future. However, economic hardship, the unavailability of schooling, and a focused effort to recruit children into armed groups during the pandemic, have amplified existing impediments to peace and created a new one: the inability for children to participate in a healthy and functioning form of society. Understandably, Colombia’s greatest concern has been to manage the short term ramifications of COVID-19; however, if Colombia does not prioritize the civic education and safety of the next generation, the peace process is likely to revert to a state worse than when they began the fight for peace. The pandemic has created a world that separates the youth from society, which makes them vulnerable. It is critical that communities and the government adopt a focused effort to instill the importance of the peace process in the youth and create ways to keep them connected to society in the present.
Context
Colombia has survived 50 years of continuous armed conflict within its own borders. The majority of the fighting has taken place in rural areas between guerrilla groups, such as FARC and ELN, and paramilitary or government forces. However, this is only the most recent conflict the Colombian people and government have endured. Within the last century Colombia also survived La Violencia (1948-1958) a decades long civil war that saw military coups and attempted dictatorships.[i] In 1958 the Colombian government agreed to rotate the two main political parties until 2002 – Conservative and Liberal – for the presidency, with the intention of stabilizing and strengthening Colombia. Both Conservative and Liberal presidents have attempted to end the violence through different strategies. However, administrations have often been plagued with corruption, so their endeavors were fruitless. In addition, governments were confronted by the rise to prominence of powerful guerilla forces in the 1960s. Further, in the 1970s and 1980s organized drug cartels arose out of resentment over unequal income distribution and Mexico’s crackdown on illegal drug networks. Several presidents attempted to negotiate settlements and ceasefires to end the conflicts, but they failed to create any possibility for long lasting reconciliation or peace. For decades, civilians and government officials continued to be victims of organized crime and guerrilla warfare. In 2016 a historic Peace Agreement was signed between FARC, a prominent guerrilla group, and the Colombian government, under the Santos administration. In this deal, a large proportion of FARC combatants agreed to surrender their weapons and reintegrate into mainstream society, with a representative political party in the government.
In Colombia, status within society is largely based on a person’s geographic location. There is a large economic and educational gap between people living in rural and urban areas. Many armed groups, namely FARC, have taken advantage of this gap for recruitment in rural locations. During the pandemic, this divide has been amplified as guerrilla groups and drug traffickers impose their own lockdowns in rural areas when government forces pulled out. Studies show that Colombia is suffering a 55 percent increase in political violence, since the pandemic started, and more people have been restricted to the home. In addition, the majority of Colombia’s work force relies on informal labor, which has been made nearly impossible during the lockdown restrictions, as demonstrated by the rising unemployment levels.[ii] The Registry of victims, which counts the number of children forced into armed groups, estimates that 8,798 have been victims of child recruitment since lockdown began, due to the vulnerability of children during an economic crisis and their detachment from schools and communities.
The Impact of COVID-19 on Educating the Next Generation
Educating and socializing the next generation is crucial to the stability of Colombia's society in the long run, yet the pandemic and efforts to contain it have pushed education to the background. On March 15, the government took quick action to close borders, businesses, and schools, declaring it a “national coronavirus emergency;” the only component of this declaration yet to resume activities is schools. The policy response to COVID-19 will cause long lasting problems for children’s social and educational development and well-being. The short-term impact of children not attending school is already evident, with many stating that children have fallen behind in their schooling. A lack of access to adequate schooling does not just amount to a loss of education, but also the loss of a community that fosters child development and provides a “safe harbor.” A crucial component of socialization is an environment where children interact with others outside their nuclear family and come to learn social norms and proper behavior. Further, access to teachers and other students allows children to reach out to people they trust if they are suffering from domestic problems, especially for children in remote areas. Therefore, the greatest threat to the success of the peace process in Colombia is a lack of support for the next generation.
The effects of a lack of education are already beginning to show. Save the Children, an NGO conducting case studies on the impact of Covid-19, explains that “an entire generation's education has been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic … the impact of this will last longer than the duration of the pandemic; nearly 8 in 10 (77%) parents or caregivers responding to the survey believe that their children have learned little to nothing since school closed, and millions face never returning once they reopen.”[iii] Without a sufficient education it will be harder for the rising generation to enter professions, become financially secure, and provide for their families. Colombia could be facing a future with an increasingly stratified society, an inadequately educated middle and lower class, and a smaller centralized educated elite in the urban areas. The World Bank estimates that learning loss over time could translate into 10 trillion dollars of lost earnings for the global economy.[iv]
The lack of educational services during the pandemic will disproportionately affect poor and rural children, who would have fewer chances to continue their participation with the learning process.[v] The Colombian school system moved online to continue student’s education while lockdown persists; however, it is estimated that less than 10 percent of students in rural areas have access to a computer or stable internet access to attend school.[vi] Without in-person learning many students will face disadvantages in their capabilities and education levels in the future. Several NGOs and other foundations, including COALICO, are attempting to use radio programs and mobile phones to reach “isolated children” to provide minimal educational services.[vii] Without an education and proper childhood development, rural children especially will have difficulty finding formal employment and advancing in society.
To fully participate in society as adults, children do not just need to receive an academic education, but they also need the benefit of socialization. During times of severe economic stress, it is not sufficient to rely on the home to teach children the norms and values of their society. Children develop dispositions, habits, social skills, a sense of duty, how to act in society, and even a sense of right and wrong from school. They learn the formative skills that allow them to participate appropriately and successfully within their society, so they can become law-abiding citizens who ultimately find jobs, raise families, and contribute to the political processes of their cities and state. Without schools open, it is difficult for children to receive a civic education. Especially in rural areas children are strongly influenced by the ideology and values of the guerrilla groups that control their region. Without school providing an alternative set of norms and values, children will become increasingly susceptible to misinformation (spread by violent groups) and will not possess the skills to combat this information.
Another important role schools play in Colombia, and in every country, is that they provide students with a safe space and a support system outside of the home to protect them from violence. Several NGOs including InSight Crime, who fight for children's welfare and protection against armed groups, have emphasized the immediate and violent impact that not being able to attend school has had on children, in both rural and urban areas.[viii] In a virtual setting, students do not have the same protections they are afforded during in-person learning, including the ability to spend time out of the home and away from situations that may put them in danger. Further, many students do not have adequate technological capabilities to stay in contact with their teachers, and if they do, they cannot have the private conversation they would have in school. Many students face dangerous home situations that have only been intensified by the pandemic and additional economic burden. Many children rely on their teachers as confidants because teachers care about their students’ wellbeing. A teacher’s support is especially needed during the pandemic when social work activities have largely been suspended. Without this form of protection many children suffering from domestic violence or threats to their families are falling through the cracks.
In summary, it is paramount to the success of future peace agreements and the continuation of a functioning society that the next generation is educated, socialized, and protected. There is already evidence that many children will lose years of their education, leaving Colombia with a society more divided by wealth and geography than before the pandemic began. Further, when students are not attending school they are not effectively prepared to participate in society’s shared norms, values, and behaviors. In addition, children who live in dangerous home environments are also falling through the cracks because they do not have school to provide a safe space. Schools are the cornerstone for developing full members of society, which is required of the next generation for Colombia to have a peaceful and prosperous future.
Schools are also a critical line of defense against child recruitment because they offer children connections to others in and outside their community and a safe space to reach out for help. A researcher at Coalición contra la vinculación de niñas, niños y jóvenes al conflicto armado en Colombia (COALICO), explained that “some families ignore or legitimize the recruitment of their children out of financial desperation,” a common occurrence during desperate economic crises.[ix] As mentioned above, schools aid in protecting children from domestic violence and criminal violence by providing a support system and a physical location where they are safe. InSight Crime argues that “[they] have noticed many violent acts against children during the lockdown. From the start of the lockdown until mid-May [they] had seen 133 violent acts, which overall affected 7,142 children (recruited, displaced, injured, or killed).”[x] During the pandemic many militant groups have taken advantage of online school to recruit increasingly high numbers of children whose families are suffering from unemployment. The most common threats to a child's education are financially motivated or fear based, both of which have drastically increased by children's containment inside the home. Virtual learning has fostered an environment that separates children from society, has left many lower income or rural students incapable of attending school at all, and has sacrificed one of the country’s most promising ways to protect children from armed groups and drug traffickers.
The Impact of the Pandemic on Child Recruitment
Child recruitment is likely the most immediate threat to the next generation's involvement in and support for the peace process. The socio-economic fallout from the pandemic has provided the ideal conditions for recruiters during a resurgence of conflict and violence.[xi] Children are especially vulnerable to financial incentives and recruitment tactics when their families are struggling and they are isolated from friends and their communities. In addition, the government and other organizations that aid in stopping child recruitment have been largely suspended to observe lockdown requirements, which allows the armed groups to gain more control and territory. If the next generation largely falls to armed groups or their mentality then the future of Colombia's government, the peace process, and Colombia as a united nation itself will be at risk.
Colombia’s citizens and government have been fighting to end child recruitment for decades, but sadly it remains a lucrative business for many armed groups to gain new members and foot soldiers. The Coronavirus Pandemic and subsequent lockdown have amplified the problem.[xii] The United Nations, just before the pandemic, “denounced the trend as it reported 293 children had been forced to join armed groups in the previous year, 73 percent more than in 2017.[xiii] Although this number may seem miniscule in the larger context, it is important to remember all of the unreported cases that grow this number drastically. COALICO has estimated that recent figures show a further spike it recruitment activity and success, with 190 minors recruited up until June of this year.[xiv] This data demonstrates an additional concern: there is a direct correlation between the large scale and continued increase in the success of child recruitment and the restrictions imposed by the lockdown.
Armed groups have taken full advantage of schools’, the government’s, and NGOs’ inability to protect children during these hard times. Armed groups, both guerillas and cartels, have utilized the pandemic to impose their own “lockdown” and expand their control. The Humanitarian interviewed teachers and NGOs who explained that “some children are forced into armed gangs, but most are seduced by the prospect of regular food on the table or false promises like riches or women.”[xv] The pandemic has given armed groups a chance to impose a further fear on the Colombian people: “economic control.” Colombia’s Inspector General asserted that “during the pandemic these groups have made a big effort to show their power, not only armed but economic, and they are concerning us in the way they are recruiting.”[xvi] The increase in child recruitment has been made possible for the majority of armed groups because of the socioeconomic struggles of families, reliant on informal work, during the pandemic. Julius Castellanos, a researcher at COALICO, emphasized that armed groups have “seized” on the opportunity to co-opt or threaten these children, who are home with their parents, to provide food or money in return for “joining up.”[xvii] These practices are further reinforced if parents give their consent, which has become increasingly more common as adults grow to appreciate the security, food, and or money they receive from the criminal group that recruited their children.[xviii] The impact of these recruitment tactics are most forceful in rural or poorer neighborhoods, where families are going hungry, since they are out of work. Maria Paula Martinez, the director of Save the Children of Colombia, said “many armed groups are targeting the poorest villages to offer kids work picking coca leaves or participating in other illicit activities.”[xix] The economic hardships imposed on families during the pandemic has made child recruitment an increasingly lucrative tactic for armed groups and drug traffickers.
In addition to the financial incentives of joining an armed group, increased by shrinking economic opportunity from the pandemic, the greatest advantage recruiters now have is the change to children's social lives because it makes them more vulnerable to recruitment. An Indigenous Governor, Nora Elena Taquinas, has seen firsthand how the pandemic restrictions on activities such as “studying, sports, family, and social recreation,” have led to the increase in disappearances in their territory.[xx] Given the evidence that the pandemic has compounded the already tragic levels of child recruitment in Colombia, it is clear that the continuation of this trend will threaten the next generation’s will to fight for peace in their country.
Closing
Governments around the world are facing a rising generation that will be less educated and unequipped with the necessary understanding of social norms to participate in functioning society – Colombia is no different in this regard. However, Colombia faces a complicating concern: maintaining a fragile peace. The pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have enabled militant groups to take advantage of children because they have been left without the safety network and community provided by their schools. This is compounded by economic pressure imposed on their families due to the lockdowns and rise in violence from militant groups. Children need school to provide not only an academic education, but also a sense of community, purpose, connection to people outside their family, protection from violence, and civic education. During the Pandemic, children have been isolated from their communities and kept from acquiring the social norms they will need to become productive citizens who value peace in their country. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, it might also present an opportunity – a rare moment where opposing political parties can come together over their differences, not for reconciliation, but to cooperate towards a unified goal: the continuation of a free and peaceful Colombian society. Colombia’s leaders have saved their country from ruin before with monumental policies, for instance when they amended their constitution to alternate the presidency between the Conservative and Liberal parties. Conflict has always presented the chance for people to come together. People may be dying in hospitals instead of on the battlefield, but Colombia is still fighting a war for its future. Uniting to save the future generation is the best path to maintaining peace in the face of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
[i] “Colombia profile - Timeline,” BBC, August 8, 2018, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-19390164.
[ii] OECD, "Participation rates and unemployment rates by age and sex: Colombia", in Country tables, OECD Publishing, Paris, September 2, 2020. https://doi-org.proxygw.wrlc.org/10.1787/b3c0cd39-en.
[iii] Jess Edwards, “Protect a Generation: The impact of Covid-19 on children’s lives,” resourcecentre.savethechildren.net, Save the Children International, 2020. https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/node/18218/pdf/vr59-01_protect_a_generation_report_en_0.pdf.
[iv] World Bank, COVID-19 Could Lead to Permanent Loss in Learning and Trillions of Dollars in Lost Earnings (Washington, DC: World Bank, June 18, 2020), https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2020/06/18/covid-19-could-lead-to-permanent-loss-in-learning-and-trillions-of-dollars-in-lost-earnings.
[v] World Bank
[vi] Luke Taylor, “How Colombia’s armed groups are exploiting COVID-19 to recruit children,” thenewhumanatarian.org, September 10, 2020. https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news-feature/2020/09/10/Colombia-conflict-armed-groups-child-recruitment.
[vii] OECD, "Participation rates and unemployment rates by age and sex: Colombia."
[viii] Lara Loaiza, “How Colombia’s Lockdown Created Ideal Conditions for Child Recruitment,” InSight Crime, August 28, 2020, https://www.insightcrime.org/news/analysis/colombia-lockdown-child-recruitment/#.
[ix] Lara Loaiza, “How Colombia’s Lockdown Created Ideal Conditions for Child Recruitment.”
[x] Lara Loaiza, “How Colombia’s Lockdown Created Ideal Conditions for Child Recruitment.”
[xi] Luke Taylor, “How Colombia’s armed groups are exploiting COVID-19 to recruit children.”
[xii] Mauricio Galindo Caballero, “Si situación de salud se estabiliza, Colombia lideraría la región: FMI,” ElTiempo.com, April 17, 2020. https://www.eltiempo.com/economia/sectores/coronavirus-hoy-en-vivo-asi-ve-el-fmi-a-colombia-en-medio-de-pandemia-485494.
[xiii] Mauricio Galindo Caballero, “Si situación de salud se estabiliza, Colombia lideraría la región: FMI.”
[xiv] Luke Taylor, “How Colombia’s armed groups are exploiting COVID-19 to recruit children.”
[xv] Luke Taylor, “How Colombia’s armed groups are exploiting COVID-19 to recruit children.”
[xvi] Luke Taylor, “How Colombia’s armed groups are exploiting COVID-19 to recruit children.”
[xvii] Amnesty International. “COLOMBIA: WHY DO THEY WANT TO KILL US?: LACK OF SAFE SPACE TO DEFEND HUMAN RIGHTS IN COLOMBIA.” Amnesty International Publications. October 8, 2020. https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/amr23/3009/2020/en/.
[xviii] Lara Loaiza, “How Colombia’s Lockdown Created Ideal Conditions for Child Recruitment.”
[xix] Luke Taylor, “How Colombia’s armed groups are exploiting COVID-19 to recruit children.”
[xx] Luke Taylor, “How Colombia’s armed groups are exploiting COVID-19 to recruit children.”
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