Arriving at the first ''backpacker hostel'' I've stayed at in months, and my first in Colombia, I finally realized why I haven't met many backpackers during my stay in Colombia so far. It's because they stay in the hostel all day long, eating, drinking, watching episodes of "Two and a Half Men," and waiting for the sun to go down so they can get the party started with Colombia's most famous export. I hoped it was just a rumor that I had been hearing along the way, but indeed many of the 20-something backpackers in Colombia are here for only one reason. It's sad, considering the fact that they are in one of the most beautiful countries in the world (as I was told by a slightly intoxicated Colombian young man last night "Colooombia es paaaaaradise!") and they never see it in the light of day.
Here's an article about backpacking, cocaine-seeking tourists that sums it up well. http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/apr/01/colombia.southamerica
Being here, I have also learned first-hand about what the cocaine industry has done to this country. The amount of money that is made from exporting cocaine is extraordinary. A lot of which goes to para-military groups and the FARC (made by implementing ''taxes'' on drug trafficking organizations). I met a friend of Linnea's last night whose mother had been kidnapped and killed in the 90's by those groups. 3 million Colombians have fled the country as refugees and 40,000 have been killed since the early 90's. Being here really makes it sink in that making the decision to use cocaine isn't just affecting yourself, but an entire country.
No comments:
Post a Comment