A couple of years it might have been a city not many had heard of, in fact it was one of the most dangerous cities of Latin America, but a lot has changed. And since the massive popularity of the Netflix series of Narcos, this city also internationally is more famous than ever. By the way, the Colombians tend to not like this series, first of all because it doesn´t really follow the real story (for those interested in a bit more of the real deal they recommend ´El Patron del Mal´, also on Netflix). Secondly, because they are trying so hard to get out of their drugs stigma, and it just seems like Hollywood loves to put them back in there.
However, Medellin nowadays is all about innovation, optimism and looking toward the future. And the city even got named the ´most innovative city of Latin America´ in 2012. Last time I was in Medellin was about 3.5 years ago, and the notorious Comuna 13 neighbourhood was still quite a no-go. This time I knew I definitely wanted to visit it though.
What is Comuna 13?
A Comuna is like a neighbourhood, basically like the arrondissements in Paris. However, the Comuna 13 has very bad fame for the severe situation of violence and had the label of being the most dangerous community of Medellin, with very high homicide rates and the forced displacement of many of its residents.
With the drug and guerrilla war roaming in the coastal and rural areas around Medellin, many fled to the city. There they ended up in the outskirts, creating over-populated and low socio-economic zones with thousands of brick and cement homes stacked close to one another, such as Comuna 13. This area was great for the guerrilla, the paramilitaries and general gangs because of its location close to the San Juan Highway making it a great spot for easy transportation of guns, drugs and money. All in all, not a fantastic place to be.
In the 80´s and 90´s the Comuna was mostly controlled by different groups that were all loyal to the big drug lord, Pablo Escobar. After his death in 1993, all these different groups fought for their control of the area.
This went on until October 16th 2002, where the Colombian military carried out the controversial Operation Orión. As one of the guys told me when I visited Comuna 13, they military took advantage of the night, cut the electricity and light cables and with policemen, soldiers and helicopters they attacked the area, with around a 1000 people.The official numbers are that 9 people were killed, the unofficial number is much, much higher, due to the many ´missing people´, up until today. Though the paramilitary was pretty successful in removing the left-wing guerillas, their presence was almost immediately replaced by a paramilitary group lead by “Don Berna,” an heir of Pablo Escobar. In 2010, more than 10 percent of the city’s 2,019 homicides occurred there.
Nowadays there are still 3000 people missing, not only due to this one paramilitary attack, but in the many attacks afterwards that happened, as well as in any other fight that happened in the neighbourhood.
Change through art
However, in recent years, the community started organizing community events and expressed their anger with the violence through street art, many of which show the white rags raised for for peace and solidarity. Hip-hop music became a way to further express peaceful views, not completely at the grace of the gangs though, which benefited from a violent environment. A local guy told me that for him, art really has been a way to express theirselves politically, and as a way to make the area look more beautiful and positive, but also that, especially around 2012, various hiphop artists had been killed or forced to fled.
Change comes at a price, he told me, but we should not be afraid to pay the price, because sometimes it is the only way.
What I can see though is that now the kids are riding bikes, are playing on the streets, are walking around, people selling juices and empanadas, chatting and visiting other neighbours, and no ones worries about the invisible borders anymore.
As I said, some parts of the Comuna 13 are now very safe for visitors, to listen to stories and admire the street art have they made up for one of the favorite tourist tours in Medellin.
So, how do get around this? Best is to join a tour. Not because I am so fond of tours, but because first of all, this way you get to hear the actual stories and you can ask questions, secondly, because all profits go to the local graffiti artists, supporting them in their work and their living. Examples are the free walking tour (they guides live on the tips you give them afterwards) or the Medellín graffiti tour. There are tours in English and in Spanish, and most include transport from your hostel.
However, most of these tours you have to book minimum one day in advance, and in case you are not so prepared, like I was, you can also just show up and join a group. Or just walk around yourself of course, but you would really miss out on the stories!
San Javier
First we took the metro to San Javier. From there we changed to the metro cable all the way up. We got out and walked a bit around and enjoyed the amazing views over the city.
From there on, we went down again and I found a bus which took me to the ´escaleras eléctricas´ (ask for this when you look for the bus, it means ´escalator´. I got off, walked a bit and then found myself in the company of more groups. Here I just asked a guide if I could join them, and of course I could. I was a bit lucky that my tour was in English, but this basically meant that the local guy only spoke Spanish and there was a translator. This meant that most of the time the local guy had nothing to do, so I could chat away with him.
Of course most of the stories they tell are based on violence. On the existence of ´fronteras invisbles´ (invisible borders), which might just exist of a lantern post number 22, but which meant that all of a sudden you were in the area of the other gang, and the only reason you were there must mean that you were giving a message or had bad intentions, and most likely you would be shot right there. A lot of people were also killed by ´accident´, just by bullets flying around; because they looked ´suspicious´; because they were friends or the girlfriend of the wrong guy; because someone else had done to someone else´s family member and therefore your family member had to pay; the false positives that the Uribe government used to give false information about the amount of guerrilla members they had killed; stories like these.
They also tell about the night(s) the paramilitary attacked the neighbourhood and the many disappeared after that. And how two years ago they started digging in a sand hole in front of the Comuna and they already found hundreds of bodies there. When I asked him why they stopped searching he told me that the ´official reason´ is that it was too much work to dig up all the people and identify them. I know too little about the situation to give my opinion, but I have some question marks whether that was the real reason that they did not continue searching for all the bodies.
He also told me that he has good hopes for Comuna 13, but sometimes he is also scared that everything can just quickly change back again. The fact that life got a little better for some of course created friction and jealousy. Many have gotten used to ´fast and easy money´, and the step back to violence and crime is sometimes still to close, he tells me. He has high hopes, and says that as long as the community stays together, things will change. But there is always this little percentage of doubt.
(in)securities
However, they also point out that in general Colombia has become a lot more secure. Which is absolutely true and having lived in Colombia for five years now I have felt it myself. However, this ís Comuna 13 we are talking about. And yes, the parts around the murals and the escalators are very fine and safe, with lots of security around. I would not recommend venturing off further away yourself too much, especially not after sunset. Not yet, that is… who knows in another 20 years.
About that, if you would like to know more about Comuna 13, read this article on InsightCrime
