My name is Gloria* and I’m from Cartagena, although I lived in Guaitarilla since I was a little girl.
I was living in a village with my two oldest daughters -one was four and the other fifteen- when the paramilitaries arrived and told us we had twenty-four hours to get out. People were running all over the place, I had to make my way through with my children. We left our house, our chickens and our pigs; everything was left behind. Lost. It was very sad. I held on to God and Psalm 91. I don’t even remember the moment I managed to escape the gunfire.
My dream is to be able to have my whole family living at home. I’d also like to have a grocery shop or a restaurant. I want to continue working and pushing ahead in Cali and see what happens.
*Names and places have been altered upon the request of the narrators.
*Excerpts from the book “Voices, Stories of Violence and hope in Colombia” 2009
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