Speakers: Stephen Ferry ,author of Violentology: A Manual of the Colombian Conflict; Sibylla Brodzinsky and Max Schoening, editors of Throwing Stones at the Moon: Narratives from Colombians Displaced by Violence.
This event is free and open to the public. A reception will follow the event
Violentology: A Manual of the Colombian Conflict documents Colombia’s internal armed conflict. This visual monograph focuses on human rights and on the struggle of Colombian civilians to resist the violence, often at great risk to their own lives. With almost 4 million people forced from the land by violence, Colombia has the second largest population of internally displaced persons in the world, after Sudan. Yet, few people outside the country have any idea about the scale of the atrocities committed, nor about the reasons and interests that lie behind the fighting. The Colombian Conflict is usually portrayed as a “drug war,” a protracted battle between narcotics traffickers and the law. Violentology contests this official version, revealing a far more complex and disturbing reality. This work exposes the role of all parties to the conflict – Marxist guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries, and state security forces – in committing atrocities against the civilian population. More information at: http://violentology.com/blog
Throwing Stones at the Moon: Narratives from Colombians displaced by Violence, Compiled and edited by Sibylla Brodzinsky and Max Schoening. For nearly five decades, Colombia has been embroiled in internal armed conflict among guerrilla groups, paramilitary militias, and the country’s own armed forces. Civilians in Colombia face a range of abuses from all sides, including killings, disappearances and rape—and more than four million have been forced to flee their homes. The oral histories in Throwing Stones at the Moon describe the most widespread consequence of Colombia’s human rights crisis: forced displacement. Narrators recount life before displacement, the reasons for their flight, and their struggle to rebuild their lives.
Stephen Ferry, author of Violentology: A Manual of the Colombian Conflict; his work has received numerous prizes and honors in the World Press, Picture of the Year and Best of Photojournalism contests. Stephen teaches documentary practice at the Fundación para un Nuevo Periodismo Iberoamericano (FNPI), in Cartagena, Colombia, and at the International Center of Photography in NYC.
Sibylla Brodzinsky is a journalist who has spent more than twenty years writing about Latin American politics, human rights, and social issues in publications including The Economist, The Christian Science Monitor, and The Guardian.
Max Schoening is a researcher in the Americas division of Human Rights Watch. He contributed research to Violentology: A Manual of the Colombian Conflict.