Amnesty International Canada’s Colombia campaigner Kathy Price reports on the urgent crisis facing Indigenous Women in Colombia.
“Each sentence that you send to the government of Colombia, every letter that you send gives us strength and helps us to continue fighting for our lives. It’s like a kind of shield. The government knows you are watching what happens to us. That’s why today they are being a bit more careful. Because they know you are watching.”
This is the heartfelt, empowering message to Amnesty Canada activists from Dora Tavera, a Pijao Indigenous woman who works with the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia. She delivers it in a moving 5-minute video recorded by Amnesty International Canada during our recent observation mission to the South American country.
In the video, Dora speaks out courageously about the epidemic of conflict-related sexual violence against Indigenous women by all of the warring parties in Colombia, a reality that has been invisible for far too long. Given the traumatic impact on women and vulnerable Indigenous communities, this is a scourge that all who care about human rights must work to end.
Dora’s video testimony is an important means to inspire our activism. Please share it, along with our online action. Together we truly can make a difference!
