Image: Colombia, Villa de Leyva courtesy of momentcaptured1
It has been over 15 years since I left Colombia, and I have often been asked what was it really like living there. My answer always tried to balance the amazing beauty of the place with the very real and significant risks that come with being in my native country.
Recently I found a fascinating book by Australian writer Matthew Thompson. In My Colombian Death, Matthew describes the adventures he had while in Colombia. What I found fascinating about his book was that he showed a raw, and (in my opinion) much more real picture of Colombia than what you will often get when asking about my country.
If you’ve read the book, I’d love to hear what you thought about it. If you haven’t read it, I will leave you with two excerpts from his book that resonated with me. In both excerpts, he relates a conversation he had with a local girl who was serving as his guide while in Bogota.
“The thieves are very good here. Still, to be robbed is better than what else happens all the time — they decide to shoot or stab you. Or they think you are worth money and they kidnap you. You can be stupid in Australia, but you can’t be stupid here. But, like I said, sometimes it is just up to God, and if He decides it is time for you to die, then smart or stupid makes no difference and you will die.
’ Sounds like He decides a lot in Colombia.’
’ Yah, well, that’s because we live closer to God up here’. ”
(Note: Bogota, Colombia’s capital, is 2,640 meters above sea level)
” You think you have the same view of life as these people?’ she said while gesturing with a cigarette towards a very dark, short, and poor-looking family packed tightly together in front of us in the cable-car queue.
‘Well, I guess I have a better idea of how they see life than I do of how a Muslim or Buddhist does’.
‘Sorry sweetie, but I don’t think so. I am Colombian, and I was Catholic, but I still cannot understand these people. This is a complicated country. Those people are Indians. Maybe they were displaced by the war. They probably have indigenous beliefs that mix with Catholic beliefs. They probably see life and death in ways you can never comprehend. For them, death might be a door to another world which is neither heaven nor hell.”
‘That’s an extreme example’
‘This is an extreme country. If you come here and think you know what other people believe, you are a stupid gringo, and it is my job to see you are not. Your God is a philosophy book or old churches or art. That is not how God speaks in Colombia. You have seen a little of Bogota, enough to see donkeys on the street next to expensive cars. You have seen soldiers and beggars and students and whores. We have a war but you can live here without noticing it. Everything is here at the same time. I was bored when I visited my brother Eduardo in Australia. I am sorry but it is the truth. My sister is in America. Everyone expects me to leave, but I won’t. I love it here. I feel alive here. It is my country, and maybe it is crazy, but so am I”
What do you think? Share your views on the comments section below.
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