The Hard Reality

     Colombia reminds me of the opera in which a jester is forced to joke even though his heart is breaking. Today, TV news from Colombia was devoted almost entirely to the soccer match with Brazil. Fans began lining up outside El Campín stadium the night before the game. Military police were everywhere, searching them for weapons. One simple young mulatto said he had traveled 19 hours by bus from Barranquilla. Young people squatted on the ground playing games. The Brazilian team stayed in the Hotel Tequendama, protected by soldiers from a possible terrorist attack. Newsmen interviewed the driver of the bus which had brought the Brazilian team to the hotel in the hope that he could give some inside information on it. The Brazilian coach complained about the altitude and the drizzle. Colombian fans prayed for victory.
     In the middle of the newscast there was a short return to reality. The game coincided with the funeral service in which the military conducted a solemn burial ceremony for thirty of their ranks killed by FARC, which continued its terrorist activities. Participants in the funeral complained bitterly at the attention paid to the soccer match rather than to the dead. It was all very sad. Religion may be the opium of the people, but soccer is its crack.
     I talked with some Colombians at Stanford. It is tragic to see these attractive young men, the hope of Colombia, caught in this impossible situation. Many think that the army is the only institution which can solve the problem. They are angry with doctrinaire Americans who stress "human rights" in Colombia without any reference to the people's right to a peaceful life. On C-SPAN a caller ranted about Colombia, saying that all the talk about terrorism in Colombia was simply a trick to allow Occidental Petroleum to exploit Colombian oil. The Congressman--I forget his name--kept his cool and replied with a well-balanced statement about the reality of Colombia. We complain about Congressmen, but they have to put up with some intolerable fools.

Ronald Hilton - 3/30/00