Friday, September 6, 2019
The Cyclical Nature of History
According to Aljazeera, many ex-leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia have rearmed themselves to begin a new armed struggle against the government of Colombia. This means the peace of Havana that was negotiated in 2016 is effectively over and Colombia will be thrust back into civil war.
In 100 years of Solitude, the near constant civil strife that the citizens of Macondo face during the Civil War was caused by a an armed rebel group, the Liberal Party. While the Liberal Party may have some legitimate grievances with the Conservative Party were these disagreements worth a bloody civil war? The same question now faces the ex-FARC leaders. Are their disagreements with the Government worth a bloody civil war?
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/colombia-duque-seeks-arrest-rearmed-farc-leaders-190829200112859.html
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4 comments:
For the liberals in the novel I felt that the civil war was inevitable as many people on the liberal side were described as extreme and violent i.e. Dr. Noguera. Col. Aurielano also had a legitimate reason to start the war as it was shown how the Conservatives rigged the election. This rigging shows how the liberals couldn't take power peacefully and democratic through elections for seats in the government. However as the war dragged on his reasons to continue the war was only out of pride which only leads to pointless bloodshed. For the ex-FARC leader there reasons are illegitimate as they would only cause more instability in the region and ruin the steps actual FARC members are taking to become a legitimate organization
Personally, I feel as if there is really no reason to fight another bloody civil war in Colombia. There have been countless civil wars and many many innocent people have died as a result. As the book conveys the cyclical nature time, but at one point it specially goes into the cyclical nature of war. We can look at a quote on page 167 where someone informs the Colonel that, " 'everything normal, colonel.'" Marquez points out that, "And normality was precisely the most fearful part of that infinite war: nothing ever happened." It has been proven time and time again, like in Colombia or Syria, that civil war rarely solves the main civil or political issues in a country.
During the civil war described in One Hundred Years of Solitude, characters such as Colonel Gerineldo, state that their reason to fight was for the Conservative Party to be diminished and for the Liberal Party to take control over Colombia. However, we as readers can see that the war is very bloody and has caused the death and displacement of thousands of Colombian citizens. Further, this war originated from moderate differences between the two major parties in Colombia and can be solved under forums of diplomatic discussion and debate, such as a legislative assembly, which the nation has.
The current situation in Colombia, as I perceive, is very similar to that of the past, as described both historically and in the book. The ex-FARC leaders, who want for Colombia to become a communist nation, wish to revolt and stage a coup on the government. In my opinion, though, staging a coup always results in the deaths of innocent citizens, and doing so would just be repeating the tragedies that occurred in Colombia just over a century ago. Thus, these leaders should express their opinions diplomatically so that change can be brought out in a peaceful manner.
With the situation currently in Colombia and with that which was displayed in the book we can find a similar sentiment of hopelessness and seemingly inevitable conflict. Much like Aureliano chose to join the Liberal front simply because the conservatives seemed "shifty," it would seem drastic to begin another massive conflict instead of negotiating with the apparently small percentage of the whole of the FARC which wants to begin another civil war. The war in the novel goes on with no noticeable change occurring, an idea which here is displayed again with the possibility of reneweed conflict between the Colombian government and the FARC. A quote from the article reads: "'The Colombian government must take bold steps to guarantee that FARC ex-combatants do not rearm. It should do so by bolstering the peace effort and implementing all the security measures found in the accord,' said Gimena Sanchez, Director of the Andes for WOLA. 'Colombians need the government to take leadership in advancing the accord. These are dissidents of the FARC and do not reflect the majority of whom have demobilised.'" To attempt to stop the cycle of violence which Marquez displays in the novel, fire can't be put out with fire. The Colombian government should make efforts to resolve the conflict diplomatically.
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