Professor Lerber Dimas in debate about violence in the Colombian Caribbean

Professor Lerber Dimas in debate about violence in the Colombian Caribbean

Foto: Website ABI

In response to the question about the causes of the resurgence of violence in the Colombian Caribbean, an expert group of researchers will discuss this and other issues in the online debate: “The persistence of violence in the Colombian Caribbean”, which will take place on Wednesday, November 4, 2020 at 10:00 am (Colombian time).

The event is part of the Lerber Dimas Vásquez’ academic agenda. Professor Dimas teaches at Universidad d la Guajira and is one of the researchers of the Oraloteca group at Universidad del Magdalena. The discussion will also include, Dr. Lina Britto, associate professor of the history department (Northwestern University); Dr. Francisco Gutiérrez Sanín, professor of the Institute of Political Studies and International Relations (IEPRI) and director of the Observatory for the Restitution and Regulation of Agrarian Property Rights (Universidad Nacional de Colombia); and Dr. Fabio Silva Vallejo, director of the Oraloteca research group and professor of anthropology (Universidad del Magdalena). Dr. Alke Jenss, researcher and head of the area of Contested Governance (Arnold Bergstraesser Institute and University of Freiburg) will moderate the event.

The event will be coordinated by the Arnold Bergstraesser Institute (ABI), supported by CAPAZ. Professor Dimas’ academic stay in Germany was made possible by both institutions, together with other German universities, the German Embassy in Colombia, and the German Academic Exchange Service – DAAD.

The context of the debate

The discussion will focus on the subject of the paramilitary in Colombia, from its origins during the 1990s. It will focus on analysing paramilitary activity in Colombia’s Caribbean, specifically in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta area. The analysis will also address the context of the marimba and cocalero bonanza in this region. As described by the ABI Institute: “The violence (paramilitary and guerrilla) in the context of the armed conflict, in the Colombian Caribbean and in Colombia, is generally measured on the basis of the inductive; that is, the way in which memory, the collective imagination and corporality were also used when transmitting a message. This becomes a definitive element for the victims: they will invariably live with that image or the message they received through a violent action.”

Click here for more information and registration (Those registered will receive a link to the Zoom platform via email before the start of the event).

(NW Text: Claudia Maya. English: Tiziana Laudato)