Patascoy: Civil and military victims of the Colombian armed conflict and injustice

Abstract

The illegal armed groups in Colombia (guerrilla, paramilitary, others) with their violent actions against the civil population, the Military forces, and the Public force, led to the expedition of an internal legislation in concordance with the International Humanitarian Law. In the face of such situation, all directly and indirectly involved parties in this domestic armed conflict must be protected by law in a way that their constitutional rights are backed up, in an effort to grant equally distributed justice for all. Such an intention has not been easily achieved when looking back to the historical experience of the last 50 years of national violence, where the struggle for power and the clash for interests have been strengthened both in the light of the law and in reality, a reality marked by social economic and political inequality. In qualitative research, reflection is a key element for the researcher, something to resort to at any conscious moment. Reflection allows the researcher to be in contact with the analyzed subjects, with the informants, and with the surrounding social world which limits the specificity of the research. From a hermeneutical reflection, this is an attempt to contribute with the debate that may critically and humanly allow the overcoming of the conflict afflicting Colombia. The article closes with a reference to the atrocity and horror of the facts, illustrated by the Patascoy case, and with a claim for a substantial change for the benefit of the entire Colombian people, where the conflict could accept the coexistence of differences.