Spotlight Colombia: Moving forward with wounds still fresh

If you're interested in learning about how peace gets made and unmade and then remade, Colombia is an amazing laboratory. Guest Elizabeth Dickinson is a senior analyst with the Crisis Group in Colombia. Dickinson spends her days in discussion with communities most affected by the civil war, as well as former FARC members. She and her colleagues use information gathered in the field to make policy recommendations to the government and help facilitate dialogues. Before entering the conflict prevention field, Dickinson worked as a journalist, reporting for The Economist and Foreign Policy Magazine. In this episode Dickinson paints a picture of a country in the midst of slow and difficult reforms. In the years since the FARC and the government signed a peace accord in 2016, putting an end to 50 years of violent conflict, breakthroughs in peace continue to happen. At the same time, armed groups who have taken the place of the FARC extort communities and fight each other. Violence between the military and guerrillas has decreased in the past year, but clashes between armed groups have increased since Gustavo Petro took the presidency in August 2022. According to one analysis, violence between these groups has risen 85% since Petro was inaugurated. However in August 2023, Petro’s government began a six-month ceasefire with the National Liberation Army, or ELN, an important armed group. Dickinson says the most important peacebuilding work is taking place at the community level, and she’s seen it with her own eyes. For more on the evolution of peace in Colombia, check out our previous episodes: Spotlight Colombia: After demilitarization, a new narrative with journalist Daniel SalgarSpotlight Colombia: Behind the scenes of making peace with documentary filmmaker Juan Carlos BorreroLearn more about Elizabeth Dickinson:Twitter: @dickinsonbethProfile from Crisis Group: "I love understanding people. And I love listening to toads sing at night in the countryside"Recent news and analysis on peace and conflict in Colombia:Colombia's 'Total Peace' 1 Year On: Less State Violence, Stronger Criminal Groups from Insight CrimeColombian gang leaders announce talks to address urban violence from Al JazeeraThe secret to Colombia’s drop in deforestation? Armed groups from Al JazeeraHow to rate and review our show:In Apple Podcasts on iPhone Tap on the show name (Making Peace Visible) to navigate to the main podcast pageScroll down to the "Ratings and Reviews" sectionTo leave a rating only, tap on the starsTo leave a review, tap "Write a Review"In Spotify(Note: Spotify ratings are currently only available on mobile.)Tap on the show name (Making Peace Visible) to navigate to the main podcast pageTap on the star icon under the podcast description to rate the showIn Podcast Addict(Note: you may need to sign in before leaving a review.)From the episode page: On the top left above the show description, click "Post review."From the main podcast pageTap "Reviews" on the top left.On the Reviews page,  tap the icon of a pen and paper in the top right corner of the screen.About usMaking Peace Visible is a project of War Stories Peace Stories. Our mission is to bring journalists and peacebuilders together to re-imagine the way the news media covers peace and conflict, and to facilitate expanded coverage of global peace and reconciliation efforts. Join the conversation on Twitter: @warstoriespeace. Making Peace Visible is hosted by Jamil Simon, and produced by Andrea Muraskin with help from Faith McClure. Special thanks to Samantha Schmidt. Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions, Doyeq, Poddington Bear, One Man Book, and Kevin MacLeod.
ABOUT THE SHOW Making Peace Visible is hosted by Jamil Simon and produced by Andrea Muraskin, with help from Faith McClure. Learn more at makingpeacevisible.org Support this podcast Connect on social:Instagram @makingpeacevisibleLinkedIn @makingpeacevisibleX (formerly Twitter) @makingpeaceviz We want to learn more about our listeners. Take this 3-minute survey to help us improve the show!