Colombia, La Paz Makes A Difference

Colombia, La Paz makes a difference

Colombia has been a country marked significantly by violence, mainly derived from the armed conflict. The National Historical Memory Center reported that for 60 years “the war in Colombia has left 262.197 dead ”(2018), where more than 80% towards the civilian population, despite these great losses generated by the armed conflict, violent behaviors in Colombian society continue to be presented. The purpose of this text is to understand the role of individuals in the construction of peace in Colombia, particularly as a professional and citizen of this country, the role in peace construction is to be a change generator, making a difference andfighting for the common good.

As discussed in the class of peace builders, the Colombian population has become an apathetic and insensitive society, in which it is common not to act in the face of others’ suffering. To use my role as a peace builder, I consider it essential to start by generating a change in me, making a self-knowledge of my attitudes, my principles and values, with the purpose of generating a self-transformation, enriching my empathic behavior in the face of certain circumstances circumstances in certain circumstances circumstances.

From the text of Enrique Chaux, it is known that there is a close relationship between political violence and common violence, where this first enriches the second, this is evidenced from the impunity allowed by the Colombian judicial system, which leads to theUse of "Private Justice" for conflict resolution.

For this reason, as a peace -builder citizen, I must raise awareness in the population to demand the State of strengthening of the judicial system, so as not to have to resort to self-justice and thus reduce common violence.

As studied, it is known that there are two kinds of aggression: reactive aggression and instrumental aggression, Chaux defines this first as “response to a real or perceived offense” (2003), where this type of reaction is associated with this type of reactionOf emotions control, on the other hand, describes proactive (instrumental) aggression as “an instrument to achieve an objective, be it resources, domination, social status or something else” (Chaux, 2003), where the lack ofempathy and understanding towards the attacked. In the case of the armed conflict in Colombia, both definitions can be applied above, since armed groups apply instrumental aggression to obtain a benefit, such as the guerrillas to obtain political recognition and in the case of the army to maintain order and control;Reactive aggression is also applied by paramilitaries in response to the attacks generated by the guerrillas to the population. From the aforementioned and of what was discussed in class, it should be taken into account that, by controlling aggressive behaviors in society, conflicts could be solved peacefully. As a peace builder I must fight to try to maintain a peaceful environment, where no violence occurs. On the other hand, it is vitally important to show citizens that policies are needed to reduce political and common violence.

It is known that violence is learned and adopted by the type of environment in which it is inhabited and interact, Chaux specifies that children and adolescents living in violent environments will tend to be aggressive people in the future. In order to make a difference in this aspect, I consider it important.

To be a peace builder I must start with self-transformation, searching for empathy, an attitude that is needed in Colombian society. As a peace builder I must fight for the creation and maintenance of peace environments, where no violence occurs. In addition, it is necessary to raise awareness that all Colombians have the social responsibility to seek peace, in this way political ones can be required to effectively help the decrease in violence of any kind.

Bibliography

1. National Historical Memory Center (2018). 262.197 dead left the armed conflict. Recovered from http: // www.Centrodememoriahistorica.GOV.CO/News/News-CMH/262-197-Muertos-Dejo-El-Conflicto-Armmed
2. Chaus, e. (June 2003). Reactive aggression, instrumental aggression and the cycle of violence. Social Studies Magazine, (15), 47-58.