Lightening Kills 11 Wiwa People in Colombia

Pueblo Indígena en la Sierra Nevada por el Usuario  Sailing Nomad en FLickr bajo LIcencia CC by 2.0

Indigenous village in the Sierra Nevada, image on Flickr from user Sailing Nomad (CC by 2.0).

Nearly a dozen Wiwa people perished when a bolt of lightening struck the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta earlier this week, on October 6, 2014. More than a dozen more were injured. Twitter users have responded to the tragedy with a mix of solidarity and political commentary.

Karina Beatriz remembered it had been raining copiously there on the night of Sunday, October 5, and expressed her condolences for the loss:

On the other hand, SuperGirlDidi took the opportunity to satirize critics of former-President Álvaro Uribe Vélez, whose detractors, she implies, blamed him for problems beyond his control:

Paisaje tradicional de la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta por el usuario  Sailing Nomad en Flickr bajo licencia CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Traditional landscape of the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta, photo on Flickr from user Sailing Nomad (BY-NC-ND 2.0).

Colores Mari questioned the media's coverage of the tragedy:

Diana Montoya, meanwhile, honored the wisdom of the Wiwa community:

Situated on the Caribbean Sea, the Wiwa community inhabits the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta, known locally as the “Heart of the World.” There are another four neighboring villages according to the Pueblo Wiwa (Wiwa People) blog, which publishes articles about the community, whose human rights have reportedly come under pressure during the Colombian conflict.

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