Vicente (76) sits in the sun. He explains the merits of the handmade basket his people have made for generations. It’s his job to teach his great grandson Andreas to make traditional handicrafts. “All young people must learn,” he says. “They should all learn as I did before.” But many of the old handicrafts that are traditional to the Jiw are dying out. The community has been uprooted from its ancestral land time and again because of the conflict. With each displacement, a little of their unique culture and traditions are lost. In 2009, the Government classified the Jiw as one of the country’s 30 endangered tribes. Forty years displaced Some of the 17 families in this small community in El Salado have been displaced by violence since 1970. Vicente, his daughter Luzdary (66) and Andreas are three generations of Jiw that have finally returned to their ancestral lands. They are part of a group that the Norwegian Refugee Council has helped to return to a place they can finally call home. Traditionally a hunting tribe, Andreas proudly shows off a spear he uses for hunting. “There are fewer animals nowadays than before though, and the men in the community must walk up to 8 hours when they go to hunt meat to feed the community,” says Andreas. Andreas wants to work with computers when he finishes school. “People who work on computers make more money,” he laughs. Vicente recognizes that the numbers of their people are falling. “Some families were as big as 50 people before,” he recalls. “But now are as small as 30. They left for the towns.” Neglected communities A peace deal signed in Colombia in 2016 paved the way for the country to rebuild, after the decades-long war. International organizations are keen to support, and funding is coming in for development projects like strengthening peace. However, small communities like the Jiw who are in humanitarian need have been somewhat neglected. Building a future The Norwegian Refugee Council has been working with the Jiw Community in the Guaviare region since September 2015. We are helping to rebuild homes for hundreds of displaceden, women and children returning to their ancestral lands. We provide free legal counseling so that people know their rights on land issues. We also support children to return to school. Date: February 2017 Photo credit: NRC / Michelle Delaney Text: michelle.delaney@nrc.no
Colombia

Colombias  utdøende stamme

Jiw-stammen er en av de fattigste og mest sårbare urfolksgruppene i Colombia. Konflikt har drevet Jiw-folket på flukt flere ganger i løpet av landets 50 år lange krig.

Vicente sitter i solen sammen med oldebarnet, Andreas. Han forklarer hvor stor betydning folkets håndflettede kurver har hatt gjennom generasjoner. Det er jobben hans å lære Andreas det tradisjonelle håndverket.

– Alle de unge burde lære det slik jeg lærte det, sier han.

Men de gamle håndflettingstradisjonene til Jiw-folket er i ferd med å dø ut. Det lille samfunnet har flere ganger blitt tvunget til å forlate forfedrenes land på grunn av konflikt. For hver gang folket har blitt drevet på flukt, har en liten del av den unike kulturen deres gått tapt.

I 2009 kunngjorde regjeringen at Jiw-folket var én av landets 30 mest truede stammer. I dag består den av om lag 3.000 personer.

Vicente (76) sits in the sun. He explains the merits of the handmade basket his people have made for generations. It’s his job to teach his great grandson Andreas to make traditional handicrafts. “All young people must learn,” he says. “They should all learn as I did before.” But many of the old handicrafts that are traditional to the Jiw are dying out. The community has been uprooted from its ancestral land time and again because of the conflict. With each displacement, a little of their unique culture and traditions are lost. In 2009, the Government classified the Jiw as one of the country’s 30 endangered tribes. Forty years displaced Some of the 17 families in this small community in El Salado have been displaced by violence since 1970. Vicente, his daughter Luzdary (66) and Andreas are three generations of Jiw that have finally returned to their ancestral lands. They are part of a group that the Norwegian Refugee Council has helped to return to a place they can finally call home. Traditionally a hunting tribe, Andreas proudly shows off a spear he uses for hunting. “There are fewer animals nowadays than before though, and the men in the community must walk up to 8 hours when they go to hunt meat to feed the community,” says Andreas. Andreas wants to work with computers when he finishes school. “People who work on computers make more money,” he laughs. Vicente recognizes that the numbers of their people are falling. “Some families were as big as 50 people before,” he recalls. “But now are as small as 30. They left for the towns.” Neglected communities A peace deal signed in Colombia in 2016 paved the way for the country to rebuild, after the decades-long war. International organizations are keen to support, and funding is coming in for development projects like strengthening peace. However, small communities like the Jiw who are in humanitarian need have been somewhat neglected. Building a future The Norwegian Refugee Council has been working with the Jiw Community in the Guaviare region since September 2015. We are helping to rebuild homes for hundreds of displaceden, women and children returning to their ancestral lands. We provide free legal counseling so that people know their rights on land issues. We also support children to return to school. Date: February 2017 Photo credit: NRC / Michelle Delaney Text: michelle.delaney@nrc.no
Vicente (til høyre) viser frem en tradisjonell kurv laget av Jiw-folket til oldebarnet, Andreas (til venstre). Foto: Michelle Delaney/Flyktninghjelpen
Alle de unge burde lære det slik jeg lærte det.
Vincente (76)

Fordrevet i førti år

Enkelte av de 17 familiene i dette lille samfunnet i El Salado har levd på flukt fra vold siden 1970.

Vicente, datteren hans Luzdary og Andreas er tre generasjoner Jiw som endelig har fått returnere til forfedrenes land. Flyktninghjelpen har hjulpet dem og flere andre slik at de kan vende tilbake til et sted de kan kalle "hjem".

Jiw-folket er en tradisjonell jegerstamme, og Andreas viser stolt frem spydet han bruker når han er på jakt.

– Det er færre dyr nå enn det var før, og mennene i lokalsamfunnet må gå i opp til åtte timer når de skal jakte etter mat som skal mette familiene våre, sier Andreas.

L-R: David Garcia and Vicente (76) sit in the sun. Vicente explains the merits of the handmade basket his people have made for generations. It’s his job to teach his great grandson Andreas to make traditional handicrafts. “All young people must learn,” he says. “They should all learn as I did before.” But many of the old handicrafts that are traditional to the Jiw are dying out. The community has been uprooted from its ancestral land time and again because of the conflict. With each displacement, a little of their unique culture and traditions are lost. In 2009, the Government classified the Jiw as one of the country’s 30 endangered tribes. Forty years displaced Some of the 17 families in this small community in El Salado have been displaced by violence since 1970. Vicente, his daughter Luzdary (66) and Andreas are three generations of Jiw that have finally returned to their ancestral lands. They are part of a group that the Norwegian Refugee Council has helped to return to a place they can finally call home. Neglected communities A peace deal signed in Colombia in 2016 paved the way for the country to rebuild, after the decades-long war. International organizations are keen to support, and funding is coming in for development projects like strengthening peace. However, small communities like the Jiw who are in humanitarian need have been somewhat neglected. Building a future The Norwegian Refugee Council has been working with the Jiw Community in the Guaviare region since September 2015. We are helping to rebuild homes for hundreds of displaceden, women and children returning to their ancestral lands. We provide free legal counseling so that people know their rights on land issues. We also support children to return to school. Date: February 2017 Photo credit: NRC / Michelle Delaney Text: michelle.delaney@nrc.no
Flyktninghjelpens kommunikasjonsrådgiver i Colombia, David Garcia, i samtale med Vicente. Foto: Michelle Delaney/Flyktninghjelpen

Han ønsker å jobbe med datamaskiner når han er ferdig på skolen.

– Folk som jobber med data tjener mer penger, ler han.

Vincente merker at folketallet i stammen faller.

– Før i tiden hadde noen familier 50 medlemmer, husker han.

– Nå er de bare 30 medlemmer. De dro til byene.

Før i tiden hadde noen familier 50 medlemmer. Nå har de bare 30. De dro til byene.
Vicente

Forsømte samfunn

En fredsavtale som ble signert i Colombia i 2016 gjorde det mulig for landet å bygge seg opp igjen etter flere tiår med krig. Internasjonale organisasjoner ønsker å hjelpe, og finansieringen strømmer inn til bistandsprosjekter som jobber med å bygge freden. Likevel har mange colombianske samfunn som opplever humanitær nød, som Jiw, blitt glemt.

Til tross for fredsavtalen blir urbefolkningsgrupper fortsatt drevet på flukt. De 40 første dagene i 2017 ble det registrert seks store interne fordrivelser – over halvparten av de rammede var urfolk.

Flyktninghjelpen oppfordrer det internasjonale samfunnet til å jobbe kontinuerlig for å beskytte disse menneskene.
Selv om fredsforhandlingene har pågått i nærmere fem år, er flesteparten av Jiw-folket ikke engang klar over at de har funnet sted.

Vincente and his family stand in their garden. Vicente (left, red top), his daughter Luzdary (middle, beige top) and Andreas (right, blue top) are three generations of Jiw that have finally returned to their ancestral lands. They are part of a group that the Norwegian Refugee Council has helped to return to a place they can finally call home. Traditionally a hunting tribe, Andreas proudly shows off a spear he uses for hunting. “There are fewer animals nowadays than before though, and the men in the community must walk up to 8 hours when they go to hunt meat to feed the community,” says Andreas. Andreas wants to work with computers when he finishes school. “People who work on computers make more money,” he laughs. Vicente recognizes that the numbers of their people are falling. “Some families were as big as 50 people before,” he recalls. “But now are as small as 30. They left for the towns.” Neglected communities A peace deal signed in Colombia in 2016 paved the way for the country to rebuild, after the decades-long war. International organizations are keen to support, and funding is coming in for development projects like strengthening peace. However, small communities like the Jiw who are in humanitarian need have been somewhat neglected. Building a future The Norwegian Refugee Council has been working with the Jiw Community in the Guaviare region since September 2015. We are helping to rebuild homes for hundreds of displaceden, women and children returning to their ancestral lands. We provide free legal counseling so that people know their rights on land issues. We also support children to return to school. Date: February 2017 Photo credit: NRC / Michelle Delaney Text: michelle.delaney@nrc.no
Vicente og familien hans. Foto: Michelle Delaney/Flyktninghjelpen

Bygge en fremtid

Flyktninghjelpen har jobbet med Jiw-samfunnet i Guaviare-regionen siden september 2015. Vi har hjulpet til med å gjenoppbygge husene til hundrevis av mennesker og familier som vender tilbake til forfedrenes jord. Vi gir gratis juridisk hjelp til urbefolkningen for at de skal kjenne til eiendomsrettighetene de har. Vi hjelper også barn slik at de kan komme tilbake på skolebenken.

Les mer om Flyktninghjelpens arbeid i Colombia her.