Margarita Hilamo Mestizo
Testimonio de Margarita Hilamo Mestizo
A pesar de mi compromiso con la comunidad y el amor al movimiento indígena, esta situación de tensión y zozobra continua me está afectando mucho y no me deja descansar. También siento mucha desconfianza hacia otras personas, siento temor de expresarme y contar lo que estoy viviendo, y esto me pasa hasta con la propia gente, esto me pone triste. A menudo siento miedo, miedo en las noches, pero también miedo de andar sola.
Here in Colombia the land is in the hands of the few; not to produce food, but to produce biofuels
Margarita Hilamo Mestizo is an activist for indigenous and environmental rights in Cauca, Colombia, a region of Colombia that is currently embroiled in a conflict over 141,000 hectares of land that the indigenous people claim is owed to them by the government.
HRDs in Colombia work in a violent and unsafe environment. They are subjected to threats, intimidation, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, physical assaults, torture, killings, illegal searches of their homes and offices and stigmatisation as a result of their activities in defence of human rights. The perpetrators of these abuses are frequently paramilitary groups, many of whom have links to the government or security services, or armed opposition groups.
