Q.- Tell me something good about the people of the Vicariate of Trinidad.
A.- What is best about the people? I would say: the people. Most of them are peasants, people known as “criollos”. They are born there and have a very cheerful way of life; they are very festive, hardworking… a bit short of education. They have not been very regular in studies, but I believe they are a noble people. If you gain their trust you have a friend for life. They are loyal to their friends. Our people are very good people, I enjoy exceedingly when I am in the field because the people love you; the people, you could almost say, give their life for their priests, for their bishop… they are very good people.
Q.- Anything that you would like to improve?
A.- We are witnessing change because oil, which started to be a productive force in that region 18 or 20 years ago, has brought people from very many places, and though it is true that cultural interchange is good, nevertheless since it has taken away the virginity of those good people, I have noticed that they have become somewhat ambitious, fond of many other things. At any rate, oil has been a form of development in the region. If not for these oil wells we would still be very behind in roads, in the advancement of people.
Bad management
Q.- Is it worth it?
A.- Yes, I believe it is worth it. I would accuse the leaders of my people for not knowing how to invest the revenues coming from oil. There were some juicy petroleum royalties, but nobody knows where these money have gone to. If only our leaders would have more social consciousness, everything that the earth is producing there, the black gold, would suffice for all. I think better years are still to come for Casanare because they are already beginning to understand that they cannot remain at the fringes of education. Governments are making enormous efforts at trying to provide education to the farthest corners; and here the whole credit belongs to the Church, although at the moment they are not recognized. We are referring to all my predecessors, especially Msgr Olavio, Msgr Salazar… and the earlier bishops.
Education
Q.- The role of Church in education has been that important?
A.- They were the creators of the school, the first ones to pay teachers who would educate the children. And if there is some level of education today it is exclusively due to the Church. Of course, later on, these others come who think that they found something worthwhile and do not give any credit to the Church. But we have accomplished a very important mission. Today the situation is changing and the State is more aware that it is responsible for the education of its citizens and for the establishment of very numerous educational centers, for the materialization of the first universities… this is giving a lot of hope to Casanare. The future is promising and, counting on the good will of these people in our land, I believe we have it guaranteed.
The “vacuna”
Q.- How is the situation of the Vicariate of Trinidad?
A.- I have been living there for eight years and we are experiencing at the moment a fairly good situation as compared to the time I arrived. When I arrived the Vicariate was in the hands of paramilitary men. They were putting pressure, not against the Church, but against the people in the field which, somehow, affects you because all the comments that the peasants tell you are directed against them, against the institutions, against the people who work in the Administration… and there is a word being used there at that time, that was, “vacuna”.
I always spoke of the need to meet each other in reconciliation and peace.
Q.- What is that “vacuna” all about?
A.- The vacuna was a kind of tax which you had to pay for the mere fact of living, of having some animal, having some property, of having something. This situation, for me as bishop, is very painful. Nevertheless, in my preaching to the public, I always spoke of the need to meet each other in reconciliation and peace. But I think this was not very effective because this people have a purpose and a totally brainwashed mind, since they saw a common enemy in the guerilla. And yet, in the Vicariate, there wasn’t a guerilla. But then the Vicariate has a very particular feature and that is it can be a strategic corridor through which they can operate, for the troops of these armed groups, and it could also be a place of mobilization for drug trafficking. They were, then, a bit complicated three years. I met them in the field, they never opposed the pastoral work, but when the people you work with are oppressed, paying those vacunas, then you feel the pain of the people.
Peace and reconciliation
Q.- What event brought it to an end?
A.- There was a circumstance, I would say, almost a divine blessing: some projects of the Government extended a hand of reconciliation to these armed groups. They responded to this initiative and we had, exactly three years ago, around this time, the demobilization of 1,200 armed men, with a charge: that they would not again move about militarily in this region. Peace arrived! Thus, overnight, we found ourselves in a new situation. The people unperturbed, tranquil, the people able to work in the field, did not have to harvest anymore in order to pay the “vacunas” but could now harvest to feed their families and progress a bit more.
Q.- How is reconciliation going?
A.- That earlier situation experienced for 15 years has left some tremendous trail of vengeance and hate among some families because various persons know who were militant in those groups and how they assassinated their relatives. This will be somewhat difficult to compensate for: the mending of the social fabric will not be so easy. I look forward to no less than ten years before this situation may start improving. But in general we could say that the situation is quite calm.
Bishop abducted
Q.- What role has the Church played in the demilitarization and disarmament of 1,200 men?
A.- The bishop of Yopal, who like me is in Casanare – Msgr Misael Vaca Ramírez – was part of the group formed by the Colombian episcopate and, though he was not the director, he was a very earnest person in this work of making contacts in the effort to attain pacification. This team is still at work. In the zone of Yopal, unfortunately, there are still considerable guerilla armed groups left. He was a victim of the guerilla. He was abducted but, fortunately, his captivity lasted only two days because the guerilla could not move him from a mountainous part to entrust him to a bigger group that will take charge of his security. Otherwise, as we know in Colombia, his captivity could have dragged on for six, seven or ten years.
Schools of Peace and Coexistence
Q.- Right now, in the Vicariate of Trinidad, what is the role of the Church towards healing these wounds without offence to the victims?
A.- The role is not easy, but I think it is still what we need at the moment. A movement called “Schools of Peace and Coexistence” (EPC) was started at the level of the Colombian Episcopal Conference and we are promoting them throughout the country. In my Vicariate this program arrived two years ago. We have tapped a lot of people to become leaders. We are forming them. They are charged to reach out to their residential places, their sidewalk communities and to train, in turn, the people so that the process goes on slowly but surely, above all in the way of RECONCILIATION. We have not taken yet the step being pursued on the national level, which is to compensate the victims. But I believe that what we are doing in the EPC is a process that will make for peace in their hearts, which is the most important. When the hearts of people are pacified, we could believe that in the near future, people then could learn to forgive, learn to live together and believe that together they can rebuild a society so affected by the problem.