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Bogota Colombia – “Mothers” arrive before the evening arrives.
Wearing construction helmets and bandanas on their faces, and holding tight plywood shields, they join the bustling crowd of protesters at the Portal de Las Americas, a bus stop southwest of Bogota and one of the epicenters of Colombia’s national strike.
The women, who have been named Madres de Primera Linea, are here to place their bodies among the police and protesters and prevent further escalation of violence.
“We came together as neighbors and friends because they (the riot police) were fighting hard against our youth, including young children,” said Alias La Flaca, a 23-year-old mother and 23-year-old who refused to use her real name for fear of retribution. , he told Al Jazeera.
“We’re all single mothers, heads of our own homes. If we don’t stand up for them, who will?”
Protest movement
National strikes they have been stopping Colombia since April 28, against one of the protesters who initially took to the streets he proposed tax reform.
While the tax plan was later the government withdrew, are demonstrators now demanding health, education and police reforms. Protests have shown no sign of stopping, and police and the armed forces continue to respond with deadly violence.
A group of 10 mothers from a nearby neighborhood in southern Bogota marched in mid-May to protect protesters who expressed their disapproval of the Colombian riot police in front of ESMAD.
Women are not biologically related to young people on the front line. Rather, they see themselves in a symbolic role: “We all feel like family,” said La Flaca, who was recently fired due to layoffs in the context of a national strike.
Every day, the mothers go to the Portal de Las Americas, where the demonstrators have changed their name to the Resistance Portal, where they have established what they call a humanitarian zone.
In the early afternoon the space has a festive feel; demonstrators organize games and activities for children, perform and prepare giant soup pots.
“We are part of the first line of defense,” La Flaca said, his face covered in a white bandana and dark glasses to protect his identity. “We never attack; we wait until they attack us. We are by the side of the demonstrators to make sure that nothing happens to them, that they are not removed and disappear. ”
Police violence
They have rights groups and the United Nations it created concern On the use of force to quell constant protests throughout Colombia.
Many have died in unrest. The human rights organization Temblores said at least 43 people have been killed so far, and a total of 2,905 police violence cases have been registered.
In an interview with The New York Times, Colombian President Ivan Duque said he did not believe police violence was “systemic,” even admitting abuse of force by some officers. Duque also said he does not see the need to make “significant” police reforms in Colombia.
Joanna, a 36-year-old member of the Madres de Primera Linea, who only gave her name, said she was gassed in tears during the protests. “The gas sensation in my eyes is unbearable,” he said. “It makes you feel like you’re drowning in gas.”
Mothers have very few resources and rely on donations to keep themselves safe. Their shields, helmets and glasses were donated by a feminist human rights group and they also received water, vinegar and bicarbonate to offset the impact of the tear gas.
Rights groups and the United Nations have expressed concern about the use of force to quell ongoing protests across Colombia [Kiran Stallone/Al Jazeera]
Young protesters like Alias El Pantera said they appreciate their mothers ’presence in clashes with police. “Every night around 8pm, they attack us, and the mamitas are always with us,” the 17-year-old said, adding that he left Al Jazeera school because the rates were too high.
He has been at the forefront of protests since they started every day, along with other protesters and mothers. “We protect mothers and they protect us. We are all united here, ”El Pantera said.
Political motherhood
Leading the strike, Madres de Primera Linea has joined the tradition of Latin American women in social movements that question the image of the passive mother.
Plaza Madres in Argentina, for example, is another group of mothers who have come out against state repression.
The leaders of the Argentine military government, which was in power from 1976 to 1983, linked motherhood to political passivity, and as a result, women were able to protest for information about their missing children for many weeks before the state erupted. A few decades later, there are mothers still marching for the return of children.
Returning to Bogota, Natalia Torres, a 26-year-old human rights activist stationed at the Portal de las Americas, who has watched her mother in protests, said their activism means being a mother is “part of a bigger conflict.” [in Colombia]”.
“In addition to giving birth and sustaining life through the kitchen and through love and affection,” Torres said women support life with young protesters – their symbolic children – actively standing in the front line.
Joanna agreed. “We come out in defense of life,” he said. “We’ve always said that even if there’s a defenseless cop, we’ll put up our coats of arms to protect him.”
National strikes since April 28 have halted Colombia as protesters take to the streets over a tax reform proposal [Kiran Stallone/Al Jazeera]‘We know the risks’
In addition to the physical violence that mothers experience on the front lines, they have additional security concerns at home.
La Flaca was concerned about talking to Al Jazeera about maintaining his anonymous identity, saying he had received a threatening phone call around 3:00 last night.
“They told me they knew where I lived, they knew my name, they knew I had two children. They said that if they ever saw me here on the Portal, there would be consequences. We registered the number, but we don’t know whose it is,” he said.
Despite these risks, La Flaca and Joanna did not say they intended to stop supporting the protests soon.
“We know the dangers we face,” Joanna said. “When we hug our children, we don’t know if it’s the last hug we’re going to give them. But if changing this country would cost me my life, I would happily give it to them. “
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