Barrancabermeja from the Magdalena River

Barrancabermeja is a city in Santander, Colombia, on the Magdalena River with 214,192[1] inhabitants. It is known as the "petroleum capital" of Colombia and is home to the largest oil refinery in the country. It has also seen extensive fighting between the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN), one of two main guerrilla groups and the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC), the main paramilitary groups in Colombia, who currently control the city. Looking up towards Barrancabermeja, Colombia from the Magdalena River. ... Looking up towards Barrancabermeja, Colombia from the Magdalena River. ... Magdalena River - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... For alternate uses, see Santander. ... Magdalena River - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Nodding donkey pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario, 2001 Petroleum (from Latin petra – rock and oleum – oil), crude oil, sometimes colloquially called black gold, is a thick, dark brown or greenish flammable liquid, which exists in the upper strata of some areas of the Earths crust. ... Ejército de Liberación Nacional (usually abbreviated to ELN), or National Liberation Army, is a revolutionary, Marxist, insurgent guerrilla group that has been operating in several regions of Colombia since 1964. ... Distinguish from the type of ape called a gorilla. ... Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia) or AUC is a terrorist umbrella organization formed in April 1997 to consolidate most local and regional Colombia, each with the mission to protect economic interests and combat insurgents locally. ... A paramilitary is a group of civilians trained and organized in a military fashion. ...

History

Due to its strong industrial base, Barrancabermeja has a long history of labour activism and leftist organisations. The ELN began moving into Barranca in the late 70's and early 80's. The guerilla controlled areas of Barranca were essentially warzones. The military would only cross the bridge over the railroad into South east area of the city in armored personnel carriers. In time the guerillas became the status quo in many of the neighborhoods of the city. Until the late 1990s the city was a base for the ELN. // Events and trends The 1990s are generally classified as having moved slightly away from the more conservative 1980s, but otherwise retaining the same mindset. ...

Then on May 16, 1998 a large group of paramilitaries swept through the city killing seven people and kidnapping a further 25 who were later killed (Amnesty International, 1999). This massacre signaled the beginning of the AUC take over of the city. By 2001 they had taken over all of the city's neighborhoods. May 16 is the 136th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (137th in leap years). ... 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...

Since 2001, human rights organizations have documented wide spread killings of activists and intimidation by paramilitaries. Those human rights groups that continue to operate have done so partly with support from Peace Brigades International who provide international volunteers who accompany human rights workers in their work (Center for International Policy Studies, 2001). In the rural regions surrounding the city, a number of the small river communities were displaced by these paramilitary groups. beginning in 2001, Christian Peacemaker Teams has maintained a group of Colombian and international violence reduction workers in the region. With their presence the communities have returned home and remain there in the face of threats and assassinations of community leaders by both the Paramilitaries and the FARC Guerrillas. Christian Peacemaker Teams is an international organization set up to support teams of peace workers in conflict areas around the world. ...

Because of its relative size and location on the Magdalena river, Barrancabermeja has also been the destination for many internally displaced refugees from the region.

Culture

Partly due to its history as an oil boom town, Barrancabermeja has a reputation as an open and vibrant city. The drink of choice is Aguila, a Colombian beer whose yellow logo is painted on walls and bill boards throughout the town. In economics, the term boom and bust refers to the movement of an economy through economic cycles due to changes in aggregate demand. ... A typical mug of lager beer, showing the golden colour of the beer and the foamy head floating on top. ...

The commercial area of the city is adjacent to the river ports, where motor canoes constantly arrive with fish and agricultural products from farmers along the river including maize, Cassava (or yuca in Spanish), plantain, and cacao. Binomial name Zea mays L. Maize (Zea mays ssp. ... Binomial name Manihot esculenta Crantz Cassava or manioc (Manihot esculenta; also yuca in Spanish, and mandioca, aipim, or macaxeira in Portuguese) is a woody perennial shrub of the spurge family, that is extensively cultivated as an annual crop for its edible starchy tuberous root. ... Plantain Plantain chips Plantains are hard, starchy bananas used for cooking, as contrasted with the soft, sweet dessert varieties. ... Binomial name Theobroma cacao L. Cacao (Theobroma cacao) is a small (4-8 m tall) evergreen tree in the family Malvaceae (formerly Sterculiaceae), native to tropical South America, but now cultivated throughout the tropics. ...

Sources

• "Barrancabermeja: A City Under Siege" - Report from Amnesty International on the 1998 massacre published in May 1999
• "The New Masters of Barranca" - An extensive report from Center for International Policy study on Barrancabermeja, Colombia based on a trip in March 6-8, 2001

Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization with the stated purpose of promoting all the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international standards. ...

External links

• Ecopetrol - the city's main petroleum company
• Vanguardia Liberal - the city's main newspaper
• El Periódico - another city news source
• Corporación Regional para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos - human rights organisation operating in Barrancajabermeja and the surrounding Magdalena Medio region
• Organización Femenina Popular - the main women's rights and development organisations in the city
• Christian Peacemaker Teams - International violence reduction work.