Global Voices

English

The world is talking, are you listening?

Colombia

“In early 2004, colleagues at the Colombian human-rights group MINGA gave us a very interesting, and potentially useful, CD. It contained several videos of interviews with peoplein the southern Colombian department of Putumayo - farmers, indigenous leaders, teachers, health workers, alternative-development workers, a mayor. MINGA gave us the CD three years ago with the intent that we distribute it far and wide, adding English subtitles to the footage. We made a few dozen copies and sent them to congressional staff, journalists and colleagues. It's not clear how many of these very busy people - if any - took the trouble of inserting that CD into their computers, installing the special software needed to read the video's unusual file format, and viewing their content. Judging from the lack of feedback, the number was small. But that was in 2004, a long-ago, pre-YouTube era. A couple of weeks ago, we unearthed the CD of MINGA's Putumayo testimonies, and found that they are still very much worth sharing and viewing. They are now available right here,” writes Adam Isacson of Plan Colombia and Beyond.