FARC fighters bid fond farewell to arms
SAN JOS DE ORIENTE, Colombia: For 17 years in the hot green jungles of Colombia, a gun has been Emiro Suarez’s constant companion.
It has made him feel safe. Now, like thousands of other FARC rebel fighters, he must learn to live without the reassuring feel of it in his hand.
After more than half a century of war, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia have come out of their jungle hideouts for the next step of their historic peace accord: disarmament.
“A weapon is a guarantee of a warrior’s life. It is like life insurance,” says Suarez, a 40-yearold man in an Arsenal football shirt and black combat trousers.
“After carrying it for so many years, laying it down makes you feel a bit insecure.” Nevertheless, Suarez has brought his nearly new AK- 47 to a demobilisation zone in the sweltering heat of northern Colombia.
Here, as in 25 other zones, the FARC is preparing the fi rst phase of disarmament: an inventory of all its weapons by United Nations ( UN) monitors before they are handed over.
No longer a warrior, Suarez says he is up for “any profession, as long as it is productive. I would like to teach agriculture.”
The FARC meanwhile is to transform into a political party. Under the controversial peace deal, some of its leaders will exchange their jungle dens for seats in the legislature.
“In this peace process, we are counting on a different weapon: words. We are creating another force — a political force,” Suarez says.
“That makes you feel strong because the people are happy that the violence is going to end. And it also makes you feel safe.” Born in an uprising for land rights in the 1960s, the FARC recruited generations of fighters from poor rural areas. — AFP