Colombia Indians Face Down Violence

Photo: Jambalo guards Eber Fernandez, left, and Fermin Jembuel and tribal leader Rodrigo Dagua hold ceremonial staffs. “We forbid violence. All we have is the power to convene. It’s what keeps us alive,” Dagua says. (Chris Kraul / Los Angeles Times)

From The L.A. Times:

Rebels, drug traffickers and soldiers may battle around them and encroach on their lands, but tribes hold on to their peaceful ways to resolve conflicts.

Reporting from Jambalo, Colombia -- After word spread across this Indian reservation that seven people had been kidnapped by leftist rebels, the community's unarmed "indigenous guard" sprang into action.

Within minutes, hundreds of men, women and children were out on roads and pathways searching for the hostages, communicating by radio, cellphone and shouts. Many held lanterns that, as the search continued after nightfall, made the rescue party seem an eerily glowing centipede snaking up and down hillsides.

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