Around 300 indigenous members of the Embera Katio tribe will be relocated to a town, just outside of their native territory in western Colombia.
The High Councilor from the Rights of Victims, Peace and Reconciliation has promised that 148 displaced families from the native Colombian Embera tribe will be relocated to Ciudad Bolivar and “receive special attention for their condition as victims of armed conflict,” reported newspaper El Espectador.
The 148 families are part of a group of 558 displaced indigenous families from the Choco department, located on the west coast of Colombia. This group, like many displaced indigenous are suffering from extreme poverty and are at high risk due to their insecure living situation.
The 300 indigenous from the 148 families will allegedly receive new homes in Ciudad Bolivar as of April 2013, just to the east of their native Choco department.
The Councilor claims that up to this point none of the families have clearly expressed a desire to return to their homelands in Choco, thus justifying the move to Ciudad Bolivar. The counselor further stated that if the indigenous families chose to do so, they would be supported in moving back to their native lands.
The Councilor further assured that, “the victim population will receive all measures of care, assistance and integral reparation through the Ciudad Bolívar Center.”
The indigenous population of Colombia has accutely suffered from ongoing conflict within the country.
There is also currently an internally displaced population of at least 3.8 million people in Colombia as a result of conflict and violence.
