Colombia part 2 . Colombia: The devil in the shadows by Damian Bird Contd These men have just been murdered by paramilitaries. I took the photograph of this photograph (owned by the farmers’ families who can be seen wandering in shock in the background) on the soil upon which they bled to death.  The image painted on this classroom wall describes the reason it is now deserted and the reality that we can see in the previous image. Farmers trying to live in peace, working their land and providing for their families, being murdered by paramilitaries with impunity. The village in which this class room resides is also completely deserted, a ghost village, a comunity lost in its entirity due to the murdering, terrorist activities of the paramilitaries in Colombia.   The beautiful daughter of a murdered farmer. A home at risk. A b rave farming household standing firm hoping that “the devil” will not visit them in the night in the form of murdering paramilitaries. A farmer can be seen here taking care of his hard working horse. These farmers have no tractors or cars and therefore have a unique bond with their hard working animals.  Horses being loaded with goods to be sold at market twenty five miles away. This farmer’s physique shows how his body has become a machine, where as a western farmer would own a machine. This teenage boy witnessed his father being murdered. Supplies shop owner. A lean and well worked horse is being prepared for a journey to market by its lean and well worked master. A boy eats a snack in front of his home. Perhaps the slogan painted on the front of this house says something about the family’s feelings towards the USA? Girl relaxing at the back of her home whilst sheltering from the midday sun. Youthful fun. Two toddlers playing just out of sight of mother. Young and having fun. Skillful use of a bike. Farmer’s son having a breather from working in the fields. Valuable palm oil being grown. Much blood has been shed over the theft of land to grow this lucrative crop for which the rich Colombian soil is very giving and the climate ideal. Brave Colombian farmers working on land from which they  were once driven off by paramilitaries. They told me that they are prepared to risk death for their land because without their land they are dead anyway. Home for this Colombian farmer whose real home was burned to the ground by paramilitaries. Hard working farmer’s sons having a break from working in the fields. These two fragile looking children witnessed the murder of their father by paramilitaries and are now cared for by their extended family. They hope to keep the family they have and hope “the devil” will not return to take them as well. Young farmer with his wife to be. Mother of murdered farmer. The paramilitaries came to the home in the background of this shot and killed these boys’ father as he slept. They are now cared for in the same home by their grand father. Farmers taking a very needed rest and relaxation break. There are very few televisions in rural areas in Colombia. Children enjoying home life. This poster shows the face of a young man who is missing and thought to have been murdered. Off duty manual labourers in a bar. A typical rural Colombian home. The daughter of a murdered Colombian farmer. This elderly man stands infront of the home of his murdered son. His son was killed by the paramilitaries as he slept.  His crime? To resist giving up his land to the paramilitaries. The children of a murdered Colombian farmer. They are now looked after by their uncle, another farmer who has taken over his brother’s land in defiance of the paramilitaries. The evening sun hits the home of a Colombian farming family who have lost all of their land to the paramilitaries and have now sought alternative employment. They say they were all much happier when they could farm their own land.