This little girl is a member of the community La Esperanza in the municipality of Buenaventura. La Esperanza is a primarily Afro-Colombian community that was displaced due to the conflict between paramilitaries and guerrillas.

 

Some families have returned, but they say they are being victimized again as their land, which legally belongs to them, is being negotiated and sold to outsiders whom the community refers to as “invaders."

 

While few community members still live there, those who do often feel trapped on their land, unable to leave in fear that as soon as they do, the invaders will come and try to evict them. This impedes their ability to go to work, run basic errands, and lead a fulfilling life free of fear.

 

In the words of one community leader named Florenina: “True peace for me is defined as when people can return to their lands, when they are given reparations, beginning with the land because the territory is very damaged.”