Elderly and forced displacement in Colombia

Abstract

Objective: To describe the experiences of older adults around forced displacement due to the Colombian armed conflict. Methods: Interpretive-comprehensive study, with a hermeneutical approach; several types of sampling were carried out. The participants were 12 people aged over 60 years, who reported having being displaced and who participated in the SABE Colombia Survey. The data were encoded using the Atlas.ti software. A process of condensation of central analytical, support and emerging categories was made. Results: The displacement generated by the armed conflict has been decisive in the current life conditions of the participants. They know that they are survivors of someone else's violence; there is dislocation, loss of territory, de-anchoring, lack of protection and insecurity. To the stigma of old age, it is added being displaced and being strangers in a place where they don’t belong. They live the violent uprooting of their lands and the confusion of their identity; they found themselves in a foreign scene where they were the unusual and the strangers; from receiving threats, they passed to be labeled as ‘threatening’. This forced displacement stems from violence, but also from fear, and it marks the trajectory of life for older people who experience a prolonged struggle for survival in often hostile environments, living "permanently" displaced. Conclusion: When there is displacement, older people are not only shed of their land and their home, but also from their cosmos and their vital referents; in addition, it changes their life trajectory and their place in the world. Interventions should be designed based on specific particular and contextual analyses.

Nowcasting Daily Population Displacement in Ukraine through Social Media Advertising Data

“…Our results highlighted different displacement patterns that varied geographically for women and children, elderly, and men, likely dependent on different risk assessments and migration options (Sánchez‐Céspedes 2017; Curcio et al. 2019).…”

“…These were the only data-driven population estimates available at the time and continued to be the only estimates at the Oblast level with age-sex disaggregation for some time to follow, strengthening the capacity of the humanitarian response to target assistance for vulnerable groups such as children, elderly, and people trapped in active conflict areas. Our results highlighted different displacement patterns that varied geographically for women and children, elderly, and men, likely dependent on different risk assessments and migration options (Sánchez-Céspedes 2017; Curcio et al 2019).…”

Health-related quality of life of a conflict-affected population in Colombia

“…For over five decades, Colombia endured a civil conflict that killed more than 220,000 people and displaced more than 7 million (13% of the population) [18], before a peace accord between FARC (the main rebel group) and the Colombian government was signed in December 2016. Although we could expect the peace accord to have had a positive impact on population health, empirical evidence about the HRQoL of conflict-affected people in Colombia, either before or after the peace accord, is completely absent [19]. Filling the knowledge gaps about the consequences of the long-term conflict for people's HRQoL, and how HRQoL changed after the peace accord, can provide valuable insights for the development of effective post-conflict health policies in Colombia and other countries affected by protracted violence.…”

Future public policy guidelines for the sustainable development of Guaviare, Colombia for the year 2035

“…The main environmental consequences are the exploitation of the Amazon rainforest, the decrease in biodiversity and pollution (Clerici et al, 2020;Rodrı ´guez-de-Francisco et al, 2021); the Guaviare Department lost 6,892 hectares of jungle in 2014; 9,634 hectares in 2015; 11,456 hectares in 2016; and 38,221 hectares in 2017. According to the Report of Figure 1 Problem tree of regional sustainable development in Guaviare, Colombia Surface Covered by Natural Forests of the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies' monitoring system of forests and carbon (IDEAM, 2019); the main social consequences are the forced displacement of people (Curcio et al, 2019) and conflicts because of the acculturation of the indigenous population (Del Cairo, 2011) and stagnation in education. As for the economic consequences, the unproductivity of the primary sector and the decreased export capacities limited to products of low added value hinder the region's participation in global value chains (Garcı ´a-Mun ˜oz, 2019).…”