Aura López García (37 years old) is an indigenous Awá woman from Nariño Department (Colombia) and current Economics and Manufacturing Adviser to the Awá People’s Indigenous Unit (UNIPA). She is the first woman to hold office. He visits Madrid during the early stages of the European tour of a delegation of three members of his people to denounce the annihilation of their communities. “We strive to come to Europe and leave our loved ones behind because our people are struggling to survive, don’t forget us,” he said at the headquarters of the Movement for Peace, Disarmament and Freedom (MDPL) to an organization that announced his stop in the promoted Spanish capital.
Born in the heart of the jungle, López has become an example of resilience and life for other women in the community. “I grew up playing in the jungle and walking barefoot; I didn’t know what shoes were until I was 10 years old,” she says, recalling the happy moments of her childhood when she could live fully on her territory, work with her parents and listen to the stories of her people from her grandparents.
The territory of the Awá covers just over 600,000 hectares and is divided between Ecuador and Colombia, where it extends between the departments of Nariño and Putumayo. In these jungles, the katsa su of this city takes form and life, a term that can be translated as “great territory.” This is the basic concept of his cosmogony. “In our language, Awapit, the katsa su represents the four worlds (humans, animals, spirits, and ancestors); it is our mother earth,” explains López.
We believed that with this new government of change we would find a solution, but the massacres continue, as do the confrontations between armed groups
Aura López, leader of the Awá
During López’s childhood, this area became a focus of violence and conflict. “Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve had to endure the rigors of battle to defend the country. Many white people came, spoke other languages and tried to drive us away with the promise of having houses in big cities,” he recalls. For decades, this city has been the protagonist in endless conflicts that have plagued southern Colombia without asking. The jungle, an integral part of the Awá identity, was destroyed to encourage monoculture, cattle ranching, the establishment of new colonies outside the communities, and the timber trade.
“The jungle is under constant attack and we also have the problem of hydrocarbon pollution of water resources, a massive environmental damage that affects our entire territory,” he points out. This is in addition to illegal mining, glyphosate use, coca cultivation and violent actions by legal and illegal armed groups, which are causes of forced evictions, killings, arbitrary arrests, forced recruitment, detention, harassment and massacres. “Since the 1990s, the situation of violence we suffered as a result of the armed conflict has not stopped,” comments the indigenous leader.
In this context of uncertainty, she decided to take a step forward and became governor of her reserve, the Nunalbí Alto Ulbí, in the municipality of Barbacoas (Nariño), for seven years (2013-2019). However, because of her actions in defense of the Territorio Grande and her fight against the forced recruitment of minors by armed groups, for the autonomy and economic rights of women, she has seen threats and forced evictions firsthand.
These are not mere denunciations by those who, like López, are putting their lives first to ensure the survival of their people. The Constitutional Court of Colombia and the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) have confirmed the massive violations of the law. This was done by Auto 004 of the rapporteur of the Constitutional Court of Colombia, which recognizes the Awá as a people in danger of being culturally and physically exterminated by the internal armed conflict. In order to survive, the communities organized themselves and created the Awá Ethnic Security Plan.
I’ve been playing and running barefoot in the jungle; I didn’t know what a shoe was until I was 10 years old
Aura López, leader of the Awá
The extensive 220-page document is both a powerful indictment of the mistreatment suffered and a hope for the beginning of a new phase of reparation and autonomy. “We women who weave life fight to secure the territory, our katsa su and to defend our right to wat uzan (beautiful life or good life for other indigenous peoples),” explains López. Among cultural survival activities, he explains, there are initiatives aimed at keeping young people away from violence while also passing on Awá wisdom to the new generations.
Leftist Gustavo Petro took over the presidency of the South American country last June, but López regrets that his grievances have been “neglected for the time being”. He says: “We thought we would find a solution with this new government of change, but the massacres continue, as do clashes between armed groups.”
The importance of her trip to Madrid as part of the AECID project Indigenous and Afro-descendant Women in Nariño: Guardians of Life, Territory and Peace in Colombia lies in the impact that international institutions can have on policy makers in Colombia. “MPDL and UNIPA began to forge their alliances in 2017 and since then both organizations have collaborated on various projects and initiatives related to the defense of women’s right to live peacefully,” explains Vicente Baeza, Coordinator of Social Mobilization and Communications of the Spanish NGO. “For us as Awá peoples, there was no peace after the 2016 Accords, and we are here on this international journey to denounce the situation we are witnessing every day in our territory,” denounces López.
This tour, which even had the hashtag #GiraUnipa2023 on the networks, tries to publicize the critical situation but to convey the Awás’ proposals for their physical and cultural survival. Most of the solutions are linked to three axes: defending Katsa Su, defending life against murders, threats, enforced disappearances and forced conscription caused by the conflict, and defending the women’s Wat Uzan. So that they can “live nicely” in their “large territory”.
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