Reality doesn't exist for them. They categorize the displaced as beggars. Hundreds in Patio Bonito's displaced population were evicted from their squatter shacks last year when the city decreed that they had settled on municipal land. A spokesman for the mayor of Bogota declined to discuss the plight of the city's displaced, saying it was the central government's responsibility. Avila came to Patio Bonito eight years ago after her family was forced to flee a rebel stronghold in the coca-growing region of southern Colombia.
Every day brings more bad news.
May. The situation is worse still in the countryside, where guerrillas vie for control of the territory with paramilitary groups that work for wealthy landowners. Government troops are slow to intervene and rarely seem able to prevent the slaughter. Both sides strike almost at random, attacking hamlets suspected of harboring their enemies. In the northern province of Cordoba, home to one of the largest and most ruthless paramilitary groups, local peasants have found themselves sandwiched between the warring factions. A student finishes his assignment at a school in Patio Bonito during recess.