Breaking Borders – Bogotá, Colombia
Again here you will find the Spanish version first and the English version afterwards. This post has a video – you can also visit the Facebook page that I mention below if you want to know more about this initiative. If you have any questions on the way I have used a Spanish word or how I have constructed a sentence get in touch.
I will work on the subtitles of the video as I need to learn how to do it.
Spanish version:
Hace dos semanas mi familia y yo visitamos el barrio Egipto en Bogotá. Egipto es un barrio muy pobre en el centro de de la ciudad. Hasta hace muy poco era imposible entrar al barrio debido a la violencia y al nivel de crimen. Es un lugar con una historia muy triste que afortunadamente está cambiando gracias a una iniciativa que se llama Breaking Borders, en la cual algunas de las personas del barrio,que antes eran pandilleros, hacen tures del barrio para contar la historia de balas y muerte que vivieron por 50 años.
La historia de este lugar es la misma que aún viven muchos barrios de la capital Colombiana. Esta iniciativa demuestra que siempre hay alternativas a la violencia y que vale la pena trabajar por la paz.
Para los habitantes de este barrio no es fácil este cambio. Viven en condiciones muy difíciles. Sin embargo, quieren cambiar su historia a como de lugar, por eso es necesario apoyarlos.
Si visitas Bogotá te recomiendo visitar esta parte de la ciudad (necesitas reservar el tour) donde verás otra cara de Colombia, la cara de la paz, la cara de las personas que quieren salir adelante.
Mira este video donde nos invitan a visitar su barrio.
Puedes visitar su página de Facebook aquí
English version:
Two weeks ago my family and I visited the Egipto neighborhood in Bogotá. Egipto is a poor neighborhood in the centre of Bogotá. Not so long ago it was impossible to visit this place due to the high degree of violence and crime. It has a very sad story that fortunately is changing thanks to an initiative called Breaking Borders, in which some of the people who live there, who use to be gang members, do tours of the neighborhood telling their story, a story of bullets and death which they lived for 50 years.
The tale of this place is a story that it’s still lived by many other neighborhoods in the capital city of Colombia. This initiative demonstrates that there are always alternatives to violence and that it’s worth working towards peace. For the people who live there this is not an easy change. They live in difficult conditions. Nevertheless, they want to change their story, that’s why it’s necessary to support them.
If you visit Bogotá, I recommend you visit this part of the city (book the tour) where you will see a different side of Colombia, a side where peace is possible, a side where people want to get ahead in life.