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It's been quite a terrible year. But also a year with many stories of resilience, endurance and creativity in tough times. Here's how the pandemic went down in #Colombia told through stories I covered....that I will not forget. (THREAD)
When the pandemic broke many migrant laborers & undocumented immigrants where left out of work around the world. In #Colombia thousands of Venezuelans walked back to their country in terrible conditions. I filmed this for Vice News w/Pedro Samper
But upon arriving in their country Venezuelan migrants where subjected to even worst treatment by their own government. And were quarantined in empty schools, sleeping on the floor and with almost no food. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/4/8/returning-venezuelans-face-nightmare-coronavirus-quarantine
Meanwhile in #Colombia the economy was on lockdown, schools as well. In rural areas & poor neighborhoods some teachers made amazing efforts to do their job despite the digital divide. One solution was to bring back technology from the 1950s! https://apnews.com/article/fc833b6482e8ecae52f0e253c046371e
Millions lost their jobs and inequality increased. In Bogota, beggars started walking through residential neighborhoods screaming for help in front of buildings . Musicians played for tips outside buildings too. Mariachi bands were first to try it.
The restaurant sector was crumbling too. But some found ways to stay alive: Like a "World's top 50" restaurant in #Bogota that went down-market to do deliveries. And a prize winning steak house in Buenos Aires that became a carniceria! https://apnews.com/article/01a55c1a274b3eb6c3e1b35b67fe2819
And meanwhile, some saw new business opportunities, even amid the pandemic. In #Medellin, a wheel-chair bound entrepreneur started a delivery service using electric wheelchairs he designed himself that can go at 30km per hour. https://www.businessinsider.com/matt-electric-wheelchair-motorbike-delivery-service-2020-8
In #Bogota an aeronautical engineer who used to work on drones for the police, started to make bubble-like helmets with their own ventilation system for workers on front-lines of COVID-19 response. They cost about two thirds less than helmets sold by 3M.
And sadly even funeral services had to innovate. This deacon who works for one of #Colombia's largest funeral companies had to do his services outside cemeteries, dousing funeral hearses with holy water while wearing PPE. https://www.catholicnews.com/traumatic-way-to-say-goodbye-roadside-funerals-in-colombia/
But COVID wasn't the only problem affecting #Colombia. The "plague" of violence in rural areas continued. One village of former FARC rebels in Antioquia had to be entirely re-located by the gov due to threats the former fighters faced from armed groups. https://apnews.com/article/3b751c931a91ef16154abcd8c9064c59
Community leaders continue to be targeted in remote rural areas and armed groups kept on fighting for territory -- and drug trafficking routes -- during the pandemic. Massacres of civilians went up significantly too. https://apnews.com/article/massacres-colombia-crime-6b86885819cfac6d8dd07b9aec6c94cb
But #Colombia has always been "two countries" in one. Rural areas with little rule of law & urban areas rapidly integrating into the global economy. Remember the wheelchair guy in #Medellin? When gov lifted restrictions on travel he launched a new business https://apnews.com/article/technology-medellin-colombia-84bcb373e1b56a23def87b08ae1be4d0
And as the economy got moving again, businesses that had been in hibernation started to slowly ramp up production. Like this factory in #Cali that makes disposable plates using pineapple scraps to avoid using plastic or chopping down trees. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1558823574303785
And the Venezuelan migrants? They began to return to #Colombia by the thousands as soon as economy started to show some signs of life. After all the minimum wage in #Venezuela is currently $1 a month about 250 times LOWER than in Colombia, Peru, Ecuador. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-54418542
It's been a challenging year to say the least. Let's hope we emerge from it stronger. I'm thankful to @AP @businessinsider @CatholicNewsSvc @trtworld @TRTMoneyTalks @BBCWorld @TheWorld for giving these stories space on their platforms & keeping me employed!
And also thankful to editors like @bfraze @vanessabusch @wbstorey @kjjozi @fgonzalezAP @APjoshgoodman for their support. As for #colombia what is the outlook?
Slow economy, growing inequality, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans arriving & requiring services. Gov struggling to control armed groups in rural areas & election coming up in 2022 where popular discontent gives leftist candidate Gustavo Petro good shot at winning. Veremos...
But whatever #Colombia throws our way we'll continue to enjoy life. Like "toothless cindy" who even makes it fun to commute Bogota's buses! https://twitter.com/ruedareport/status/1324074600662212609
