Colombia is among the ten most unequal countries in the world. Some of the most neglected people are the internally displaced - Los Desplazados - families who are fleeing land theft and violence in the countryside, only to end up in the large slums South of Bogota like here in Soacha. Like the places fled from, these neighborhoods are too dominated by various armed groups who often have some very blurred lines between their crime- and political related activities.
Didiller Angulo, 9, on the basketball court in Potrero Grande in Cali. The neighborhood suffered from extreme poverty, unemployment and lack of opportunities for especially the young people. A different gang controls almost every single street, making it difficult for residents to stay out of disputes and to move around safely because of the constantly shifting alliances.
A taxi driver was murdered in cold blood. The murder is assumed to be an act of "ajuste de cuentas" - a violent street justice - in this case a punishment to a young man by killing his father the taxi driver. The 2016-peace accord recognizes the social issues behind the conflict and tries to address some of them. In addition to the FARC putting down their weapons the clear aim is to be able to achieve security, justice and economic growth for the impoverished population. Only a solution to these issues can break the cycle of violence.
Charmuco, aged 23, and Reto, aged 16. People only moved to Potrero Grande about 10 years but the neighbourhood is already considered one of the most troubled in the country. Extreme poverty, unemployment and lack of opportunities have propelled the area into a downward spiral of widespread drugs abuse, deadly violence and deeply rooted social problems.
Cocaine. People only moved to Potrero Grande about 10 years but the neighbourhood is already considered one of the most troubled in the country. Extreme poverty, unemployment and lack of opportunities have propelled the area into a downward spiral of widespread drugs abuse, deadly violence and deeply rooted social problems.
Mauricio, 20, spent three and a half years in prison for possession of weapons, among other things, but was released the previous week. He was around 11 years old when his drug abuse of marijuana and cocaine began. Soon after he committed his first armed robberies. The tattoo of a tear under his right eye symbolises a murder he committed. People only moved to Potrero Grande about 10 years but the neighbourhood is already considered one of the most troubled in the country. Extreme poverty, unemployment and lack of opportunities have propelled the area into a downward spiral of widespread drugs abuse, deadly violence and deeply rooted social problems.
Violence feeds violence. Sharid Popayan, 1 year old, with her mother Nasly Martinez, 19, at the funeral of her father. On 4 November 2016 Alvaro Steven, 20, was shot four times at close range. The murder is assumed to be an act of "ajuste de cuentas" - street justice, in revenge for something he did in the past. The violence of a civil war is rarely contained between men in uniform. It tends to spread throughout society. From the political violence of “La Violencia” in the 1950s until today where human rights abuses have been committed by all sides in the conflict. In Colombia all this has created a culture of violence in the civilian society that is hard to get rid of.
In an obvious assassination attempt back in 1999, José Parra Zape, 47, exposes his shocking scar, remnant of being hit by eight bullets during a paramilitary swarm of his property while they were in the process of stealing his family's land. José’s mid-section bulges forward, keeping in the plethora of artificial organs that have replaced about 60 percent of his natural organs. No one has been, or is likely to be arrested in this brutal attack. José now lives in constant fear for his life.
A chair. The slum area Puente Nayero in Buenaventura is home to more than 1200 families of which an estimate of 95% have been forcibly displaced from their original homes due to the conflict. With nearly six million displaced people, Colombia is one of the countries with most displacements in the world. Due to it’s strategic location as a major port, few other places in Colombia has suffered more during the 52-years of conflict.
Landscape of the mountains near Villavicencio, Meta Department
General Maldonado briefs President Santos on the security situation on the ground during a flight to Norte Santander, one of the areas most affected by the armed conflict. The President is travelling the country to rally support for a new peace deal. On this trip he is encouraging farmers to change their crops from coca, which is used to make cocaine, to cacao.
Rodrigo Londoño (1959), most known under the nom de guerre Timoleón Jiménez and the nickname Timochenko or just Timo, is the former leader of the rebel group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and is now running for President for the newly formed political party FARC - "Fuerza Alternativa Revolucionaria del Común" or "Common Alternative Revolutionary Force". 'Timochenko' took over the FARC leadership in November 2011 from Alfonso Cano after the leader was killed by the Colombian army. Images taken in a local campaign office. The woman next to him is his girlfriend Johanna Castro and the name of their dog is Winny.
Culture of violence. A fashion shoot of a local brand 'Hunters Project Agency’ in one of the wealthier neighborhoods in the North of Bogota. -The model Astrid Sanchez Pinada is holding a plastic AK47 in her hand. "Fashion reflex what’s happening in the world, our country and in our streets." the fashion photographer explains upon questioning why they are using a gun.
The last military outpost of the national army before entering a "red-zone", an area out of government control where cannabis and especially coca leafs is grown extensively. Farming and refining of illegal crops are most likely the main source of income for this area. Drug cultivation, production and trafficking has been inextricably linked to the Colombian armed conflict for decades, having served as the main source of financing for most armed groups, including the FARC-guerilla.
After having lived their entire adult life in hiding, frequently in battle with government forces, Daniela, 32, Yuli, 26, and Nancy, 30, can finally replace their camouflage uniforms with vivid colors. Many FARC guerrillas are recruited at an early age and can loose the connection with their families. The comrades become their new family and often their lovers. Nearly half of the approximately 8,000 FARC guerrillas are women. Soon the structure of the FARC movement will change dramatically. Some will return to their villages while other will stay together in groups when they return to civilian life. At this moment the peace deal has not yet been approved and the guerillas must stay hiding.
Lying on a table, FARC-guerrilla Sebastian, 28, is biding his time in the company of his comrades during the ceasefire. The men have all been FARC soldiers for years and are used to a simple life in makeshift camps hidden in the jungle, constantly alert and ready for attacks by government troops. Since the ceasefire, things have become more relaxed and they can enjoy a taste of modern life like this makeshift cinema, complete with a set of speakers, a screen and a projector – all powered by a generator.
Inside the hidden FARC-guerilla camp of Frente 51. Lunch: cassava, rice, spaghetti and beef served with water from the river added strawberry flavour.
The Last Guerrilla. Inside the hidden FARC guerrilla camp of Frente 51. The group lines up in formation in the evening, lead by Esteban Pardo, 38, who have been with the FARC for the past 14 years. “Come and see the last guerrillas,” he said before the group gathered. Soon they will move into UN-controlled camps, turn in their weapons and start an enrolment program into civil life. At this moment the peace deal has not yet been approved and the guerillas must stay hiding.
Comrades. Inside the hidden FARC guerrilla camp of Frente 51. Andrí Rivera (31) with her lover David Espína (23). The two have only recently got together.
FARC guerilla Tatiaya Saens, 23, showing her AK47. She was born in the poor countryside where the guerilla had a strong presence, and joined the ranks as age 10. By joining the guerilla she eyed an opportunity for a better and more secure future, she says.
FARC-guerilla soldiers from Frente 51 are taking a bath in a river that runs through the dense jungle where the camp is secretly located. To the left: Danilo Varego, 32 years old and 17 of them in the ranks of FARC. He lost his arm in a combat in 2005 when it was hit by five bullets.
Material from photographer Mads Nissens book We are Indestructible (GOST Books, 2018). Botanical illustration by © Lisa Anzellini. The new species found in former conflict zones were discovered and biologically documented by the Instituto Alexander von Humboldt. Magnolia resupinatifolia Discovered August 2016, El Peñón, Province of Santander
Material from photographer Mads Nissens book We are Indestructible (GOST Books, 2018). Botanical illustration by © Lisa Anzellini. The new species found in former conflict zones were discovered and biologically documented by the Instituto Alexander von Humboldt. Ruprechtia sp. Nov. Discovered March 2015, Municipio de Chimichagua, Province of Cesar
Material from photographer Mads Nissens book We are Indestructible (GOST Books, 2018). Botanical illustration by © Lisa Anzellini. The new species found in former conflict zones were discovered and biologically documented by the Instituto Alexander von Humboldt. Elaeagia pacisnascis Discovered August 2016, Carmen de Viboral, Province of Antioquia
Coca-collectors posing for a portrait. From left: Yorley Muñoz, 16 years, Sebastian Moreno, 21, Adan Alberto Hernandez Moreno, 15, Ariel Albeiro Muñoz, 19 and Fray Muñoz Areiza, 16. The harvest of coca-leafs for cocaine-production. The work starts at 5am in the morning, and during a working day a person collects two sacks of approximately 70 kilos each for which he is paid 24.000 pesos – about twice as much as if he picks coffee or works in a farm. The actual owner of this land is leasing it out to another person who is again hiring these young men for the cultivation and havesting. Soon after the leafs are taking to a simple laboratorium where the first-phase of the cocaine production takes place. According to the people working in this laboratorium it will take 600 kilos of coca-leafs to produce 1 kilo of cocaine-base which is sold for 2.5 million pesos. The owner of this laboratorium says he actually knows how to turn the base into the much more valuable white cocaine - but that he does not currently have the permissions to do it. Who he deciding this, as well as who he is selling to, he will not tell to record. Daily life around remote mountain village of Pueblo Nuevo, an area that has been highly affected by the armed conflict and direct combat between the national army and the FARC-guerilla due to it's strategic location and the intensive production on coca-crops on the surrounding hillsides. The area is now dominated by FARC.
Hidden cocaine laboratory in the province of Antioquia. Cement is sprinkled onto the coca leaves as part of the cocaine production. Besides the cement toxics such as ammonium, sulphuric acid, sodium permanganate, caustic soda and vast amount of gasoline are being used in the making of the coca-base.
The Osorio's cocaine lab. Colombia has never produced as much cocaine right now, despite the peace agreement with the FARC guerilla. Large swathes of rural regions where the coca plant grows are beyond government control and the peasants here live in extreme poverty. 38-year-old Martín Osorio (in blue t-shirt) is one of them. He provides for his family through cocaine production. After a long day in the makeshift laboratory he mixes the last chemicals and gets about half a kilogram of cocaine base that he resells to intermediaries.
1 kilo of cocaine-base is being exhibited to the camera. According to the people working in this laboratory it will take 600 kilos of coca-leafs to produce 1 kilo of cocaine-base, which is sold for 2.5 million pesos. Currently the cocaine production in Colombia is at an all time high. The production mainly goes to the US and European market.
Fields of cannabis as far as the eye can see. To help stimulate the cannabis production artificial lighting is used during the night for the first two months of cultivation. In the background on this image light bulbs can be seen across the landscape, revealing the vast extent of cannabis production in the area. The coca leaves are still hidden in the dark. Poverty is widespread in this area, even among farmers who cultivate and produce the illegal crops, and since many - if not most – families rely on this income here, they feel they have no other choice but to keep growing the illicit crops - and if necessary defend them from any of official eradication program which would wipe out their livelihood.
The police have arrested two young men, heavily influenced by hard drugs, after they were fighting in the streets. The violence of a civil war is rarely contained between men in uniform. It tends to spread throughout society. From the political violence of “La Violencia” in the 1950s until today where human rights abuses have been committed by all sides in the conflict. In Colombia all this has created a culture of violence in the civilian society that is hard to get rid of.
Sara Manuela, 2,5 year old, is sleeping in a simple house of a FARC-commander surrounded by a FARC-uniform and a gun. Her mother and father are both holding high positions inside the FARC-guerilla and have only decided to have a child because they believe in the peace process and the prospect of returning to the civilian life. If the peace process fails and the conflict returns they will have to promptly hand over Sara Manuela to a grandmother, the mother explains.
With nearly six million displaced people, Colombia is one of the countries with most displacements in the world. Many of them end of here in Ciudad Bolivar, a neglected area South of Bogota. When Colombia received the 2016-Nobel Peace Prize it was especially dedicated to these victims of the conflict - the IDPs - Los Desplazados. Though the peace accord is in place and FARC has taken down their weapons at this time, areas like these are still suffering from what they have always suffered from: extreme poverty, criminality, drug-abuse and general lack of opportunities.
Birgitte Kjær anmelder Lille Bakery. Vi vil gerne bede om billeder af en orange shrub, chickpeas, salted cod, egg toast samt en berliner med lemon curd samt en række stemnings- og detaljebilleder. Birgitte siger også: "Få gerne fotos af liggestolene ude foran, så man fornemmer den rå refshaleø-stemning plus af langborde med blomster indenfor / hylder med bagerbrød".
Mads Nissen has documented the civil war in Colombia since 2010. More than 50 years of conflict between the government army, guerrilla rebels and paramilitary groups has led to the internal displacement of 7 million citizens, leaving visible scars on the landscape and people of Colombia.
“We are Indestructible” is the culmination of Nissen’s work, providing a portrait of a war-torn country navigating the complexities of newfound peace. A glimpse of the multi-layered seams of Colombia’s past, present and future.
From the offices of President Juan Manuel Santos to the forest encampments of the FARC guerrilla, from lush mountain ranges to slums on the outskirts of Colombia’s larger cities where 95% of the population are the displaced. Colombia is the main producer of cocaine in the world, fuelled by demand from the US and Europe. The economics of this drug trade, intertwined with poverty and inequality, in a country with an ingrained history and culture of violence, has fed the cycle of unrest.
