In this video you will hear Aida Quilcue, one of most prominent indigenous leaders in Colombia, talking about the situation facing indigenous peoples, the Social and Communitarian Minga, and what it means to be a victim in Colombia.
The Chief Counselor of the Cauca Regional Indigenous Council (CRIC), Aida is one of the key figures behind the Minga Popular, a national process of Mobilization and Conscience that aims for the total transformation of Colombia.
Last year the Minga brought forward an unprecedented mobilization that lasted for more than a month. It came to an end in Bogota, with 30,000 Indigenous People demanding the return of land, improved health care and education, and the end to the current regime of terror and greed under President Alvaro Ulribe.
Over the last six years more than 1,240 indigenous people have been murdered in Colombia and at least 53,885 have been displaced. State-sponsored assassinations, paramilitary violence, and forced disappearances are also frequent.
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