In honor of the International Day of Non-Violence on Tuesday, Colombia held a “24-0” event to promote 24 hours of 0 violent deaths, during which time there were 28 reported violent deaths in the country, still reflecting a significant decrease from the average 45 violent deaths daily.
The event was headed by musician Cesar Lopez who began the 24 hours at noon on Tuesday in Bogota. Festivities included cultural events and concerts by musicians of all genres who were there to advocate “the importance of promoting life,” reported Caracol Radio.
Lopez was quoted saying, “What would happen if for 24 hours people didn’t kill and no one died violently? With the day of 24 hours with 0 violent deaths, it calls to society to change the mentality of resolving interpersonal conflict.”
The National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Science, commonly known as Legal Medicine, funded the event and posted Wednesday that there were 28 violent deaths during the designated 24-hour period. This is a noteworthy number compared to the daily average of 45, when there are almost 2 violent deaths occurring per hour in Colombia.
Legal Medicine also reported that last year there were 28,996 violent deaths in Colombia, which they classified as homicides, suicides, accidental deaths and car accidents. The figure from 2011 is 926 less cases than the previous year. Homicides currently constitute 57% of these violent deaths.
Other countries such as Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Argentina y Venezuela also participated in the event, an international day that Legal Medicine is proposing to hold every year, according to newspaper El Colombiano.
“We will try this [day of 24-0] how ever many times is necessary. We want 24 hours where nobody kills anybody,” said Lopez.
