Colombia: On February 4, the world shouted ¡Colombia is me!

By Rocio Arango Giraldo

COLOMBIA:Every one of the t-shirts worn by the people read, “Colombia is me.” February 4 will be forever remembered as a day that everybody in Colombia and around the World shouted: ¡Freedom, No More FARC!

A sea of marchers in Colombia take to the streets on February 4 to protest against FARC.
(Source: Rocío Arango Giraldo)
We, “The Generation of Fear,” Colombian youth who never have lived with peace; We, the daughters and sons of the 1960’s Hippies who fought for rights; We, our Colombian sons, came together and fought on Monday, February 4, in the name of peace. We took to the streets of every city and town in Colombia and every place of the world.

The organizing for the march started on Facebook when some guys without any political leanings and interested only in defeating the indifference of the Colombian people regarding the pain inflicted by the kidnappers, the blood of the dead victims and the suffering of every person at the hands of the FARC terrorists’ acts.
The invitation for the march said, “A million voices against FARC!”
Ten million voices in Colombia and around the world accepted the invitation, regardless of race, gender, religion, age, political affinity, economic situation or physical condition.
These people formed a river of peace, demonstrating that there are more good people than bad. Even people who had been kidnappers themselves participated in the march too and shouted, ¡No More FARC!

People gather under a noon-day sun to begin their march against FARC.
(Source:Carlos Sánchez)
Although the march didn’t have a political propose, the posters and turnout were evident support of the actual government, the humanitarian agreement and liberation of those kidnapped.
On the other hand, it was a rebuff to President Chávez and Piedad Códoba, a Colombian’s senator who supports Venezuela’s president and whom many Colombians see as a “Traitor of the Country.”
But to some people and members of the Left Party, they think that the march was supporting Uribe’s government or the narco-paramilitarists.
However, yesterday, all the world said to FARC, who have silenced us for too long with their weapons, that we want peace.
Our yell, the shout of ten million people, is proof of our trust, the Colombian people, in our institutions and our democracy.

(Source: Carlos Sánchez)
I say to FARC: If ten million shouted “¡No More FARC!” Which people are you defending? Because it’s obvious that it is not Colombians.
Learn more about Rocío:
Rocío Arango Giraldo is 21-years-old and lives in Medellín Colombia. She studied Political Science at the University of Colombia, as well as, Social Communication, Public Management, and Strategy and Public Knowledge at the Mexico City campus of the Technology Institute of Monterrey.
Rocío is a member of the Conservative
I am member of the Colombian Conservative Party (Partido Conservador Colombiano) where she works in political marketing, social and policy investigation and foreign affairs.
She also works as a young democratic participant with the Democratic Christian Organization of America and has written for such prestigious Colombian publications as El Colombiano, El Tiempo and others.
But something she is most proud of is her advocacy for people with disabilities.