Colombia 1 Colombia: The devil in the shadows by Damian Bird The atmosphere in Colombia resulting from the exceptionally high crime and murder rate along with the corruption was summed up perfectly in these rather menacing eyes I saw watching me from this wall. Drug taking in the streets of Bogota is rife and many half dead addicts can be seen lying in the streets.  This addict was infact very close to death and was taken away to the Bogota city mortuary an hour after I took this photo. Lawyers in Bogota acting on behalf of farmers whose land has been stolen after they were driven off it by paramilitary forces. Bogota. Street performer in Bogota. Friends chatting at the bus station. Graffiti that explores Colombia’s corruption and injustices. Peaceful street scenes. Friends, Bogota. Enjoying the breeze, Bogota. Preparing to board public transport, Bogata. Cafe break, Bogota. Lovers at the bus station, perhaps preparing to part company, Bogota. Military in Colombia is ever present. Buying fish, Bogota. Flying out to the country to meet the Colombian farmers who are risking their lives to take back ownership of their land that was taken from them by paramilitary forces which have historically operated in Colombian rural areas with impunity.   If only the peace to be seen in this sky was a mirror of the life on offer to Colombian citizens. Sky over Bogota. Colombian farmer. Rural Colombia. Sign outside a farming comunity explaining that the inhabitants are the lawful owners of the land and that aggression is unwanted. The colour of life, lived at a rural pace. Some of these children’s parents were murdered by paramilitaries who tried to steal and then profit from their land. These children are sitting on painted stones. Each painted stone is a memorial to a murdered farmer or farm worker who stood up to paramilitary forces to protect their land from theft and was murdered in return. This little girl’s father was murdered in front of her by paramilitaries. The names of murdered farmers can be seen painted onto these memorial stones scattered on the land where they fell. This little boy is pointing to a photo of his murdered father who was murdered by paramilitary forces. Lunch in the front room. The father of this household was murdered by paramilitaries and now life goes on without him. Rural life. The local bar has a parrot. Eggs and poultry are naturally very important to Colombian farmers. The para-militaries are guilty of having decapitated farmers and members of their families to terrorize them into leaving their land. This is obviously not a human head but offers a lead to the imagination. Colombian army making a presence in a ghost village, where all the inhabitants have been driven off by para- military murders. The same ghost village, emptied by para-military terrorist activities. This farmer witnessed the paramilitaries murdering his son, whose memorial stone sits here amongst the others in his village. He is a broken man. I was invited to Colombia to record the plight of the farming communities who are being terrorised off their land by paramilitary organizations who are operating with impunity and murdering at will to show they mean business. I also took the opportunity to photograph Bogota and some of its surrounding shanty towns to capture images of the fall out from the corruption that exists in a country where paramilitaries can operate with impunity. Images from a shanty town outside Bogota Images from a shanty town outside Bogota