Growing up in Colombia, my childhood was filled with memories of bombings, violent attacks to rural communities, and the assassination of innocent people.
Living in Bogotá, I was distanced from this danger, experiencing conflict through the news, but a question always remained: Why? Why is it that as a society we need to withstand this degree of suffering? Why is this violence still ongoing after decades of warfare? And, most importantly, what can I do in the face of such a struggle and challenge? As a child, the answer was not clear, however as years went on, my compass sharpened and the direction where I needed to go became clearer.
One word kept emerging all the time as the hope that can configure a new kind of society: peace. Was this concept the secret ingredient to turn our country into a Utopia, to exchange the weapons of war for messages of mutual understanding and healing words? Still uncertain about the answer, I was willing to venture into uncharted territory and explore what might be found at the end of the road not yet taken.
My journey started with words, just like the ones you are reading. It might seem that a conversation is not that impactful. it is only when you look back and connect the dots that you realize all the power underneath an interaction. Mine was back in 2017 with the Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi, when he came to Bogotá. Randomly, we found ourselves talking. He mentioned that since Valentine’s Day was approaching, instead of sending letters to his loved ones, he was planning to do so with the refugees in Europe –they needed these messages of encouragement the most.
Together with some friends, we adapted this idea to the Colombian context, creating the campaign Letters for Reconciliation. The initiative uses handwritten messages to connect citizens and FARC ex-combatants, allowing them to get to know one another, beyond stereotypes, finding their shared humanity, that I am because you are, that to achieve peace, we are all in this together. I dream of a society where we learn to appreciate each human life and experience, where we do not get scared of conflict because we have peaceful means to solve it, where we can respond to the challenge that we are called by the Pachamama with innovation, co-developing creative solutions to build new kind of nations.