These people have come from all regions of Colombia in a desperate search for a new life, the majority having been forced from their homes as a result of threats by paramilitary and guerrilla groups. It is a crisis that has received little attention. These people, ranging in age from infants to the elderly, have spent their whole lives working the land in small rural villages. Throughout the interior of the Red Cross building are makeshift shelters that have been constructed in an attempt to create separate living quarters for individual families. The sound of young children coughing illustrates the health crisis that exists due to a lack of medicines.
Many children suffer from diarrhea, vomiting, skin rashes and relentless colds and flu.
There are small portable stoves throughout the building upon which the women cook what meager food supplies they have. The food storage room is almost bare, containing a bag of onions, a couple of small bags of potatoes and a few other vegetables. The room remains locked and the key is kept by the group's spokesperson, a slender black man named Falconeri Tori Balanta. The displaced depend on food donations from charity and student organizations, although they often fall short of demand. According to Falconeri, the government-run Social Solidarity Network promised them food packages several months ago, however, they have yet to receive a single one.