Alba Maria Cuesta Arias will discuss her displacement from her home in Colombia at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 12 in McCoy Commons 212 in The Oaks. This appearance is not listed on the cultural calendar.

Cuesta Arias is an Afro-Colombian community organizer and human rights worker. She was displaced from her home in the Chocó region of Colombia by violence from the right-wing paramilitaries and left-wing guerillas.

After losing her husband, Cuesta Arias became a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Displaced Afro-Colombians of the Chocó. She also works with Witness for Peace, an organization that monitors United States policy in Latin and Central America.

“She is an ordinary woman doing extraordinary things,” said Anne Cassebaum, associate professor of English and the organizer of this event.

Colombians are often displaced by aerial fumigations. In 2000, the U.S. government passed Plan Colombia, which put millions of dollars toward Colombia’s military and fumigations to reduce the number of coca crops, a plant used to make cocaine.

Though the intention of the plan was positive, results were unsuccessful. Inaccurate fumigations destroyed farmers’ crops, leaving them impoverished. The fumigations also caused illnesses and environmental damage.

“Life for them has been made a mess by this failed policy and we have to clean it up,” Cassebaum said.

Since 1985, 3 million Colombians have been displaced because of violence and fumigations. According to the U.S. Office on Colombia, women make up 20 percent of those people and 70 percent are children. In 2002, one-third of the people displaced were Afro-Colombians.

Prudence Layne, assistant professor of English and coordinator of African/African American studies, hopes that Cuesta Arias’ talk will educate students about this and other global issues.

“I hope they see that Africa is everywhere,” Layne said. “Black communities are quite diverse. I also hope that students take a more global view of the ripple effects of U.S. policy on the rest of the world.”

Recently, the U.S. Senate approved a bill that significantly cuts back on Colombian military aid and increases aid to investigate human rights violations. Funds for aerial fumigation will also be cut and aid will increase for victims of violence and displacement.

This is a huge step in the right direction, but there is still more to do. More than 400 people have been murdered since the current Uribe Administration came to office, but there were 12 convictions.

Though Cuesta Arias will give her speech through a translator, Cassebaum hopes that students will still learn a lot about an issue that she describes as “off the grid.” Many people don’t know about the current issues in Colombia, but communicating this information at colleges through organizations like Witness for Peace is a way to raise awareness.

Both Cassebaum and Layne said that they will learn more about Cuesta Arias and displacement in Colombia alongside students.

“This should get students to understand a very different world,” Cassebaum said.

The event is sponsored by African/African-American Studies, Non-Violence Studies, the Office of the Chaplain and Students for Peace and Justice.

Reporter: Alexa Milan - 10/03/07