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Case study: Preventing recruitment into illegal armed groups and protecting participants

In a schoolroom in a rural village in Cordoba thirty-three former Autodefensas, all now participants in Colombiaʼs reintegration programme, are sitting where normally children would learn arithmetic. Outside in the searing heat, pigs scratch around in the grass and turkeys protect their territory noisily. In the relative cool of the schoolroom the men have come to take part in a workshop on personal security given by the ACRʼs Unit for the Prevention and Attention of Risks (UPAR). The programme is designed to help participants manage the dangers connected with having been in an illegal armed group, and to avoid the threat posed by criminals hoping to recruit them into new gangs.

Violent crime is often automatically attributed to demobilised men and women by communities and the media, yet official figures note that only 15% of participants rejoin an illegal group or commit violent crime. In order to reduce that figure further, UPAR has a two-pronged strategy. Firstly, participants who are threatened by gangs pressuring them to join an illegal group can secure financial support to enable them to relocate. Secondly, security workshops are being given throughout Colombia to those participants who are in the most vulnerable situations whether geographically, financially or due to dependencies on drugs or alcohol.

In the schoolroom, one of the men grasps the microphone and takes the floor. “My name is Juan Carlos and on my good side Iʼm hardworking, and I look after my family. However, on my bad side, when I lose my temper I kick the furniture,” he says grinning, taking a swipe at his chair. His classmates laugh and slap their desks, recognising a common failing amongst them. The workshop leader from UPAR, Juan Camilo, thanks him and passes the microphone to the next participant who introduces himself in the same way, recounting one personal quality and one defect. It is a way for the group to overcome initial reservations and start everyone group talking.

The workshops are participatory and designed to stimulate thought and discussion. The participants break into groups, and each one is given a different but realistic scenario featuring ʻPedroʼ, an ex-combatant who is in the reintegration programme and trying to build a life inside the law. Pedro is approached by an individual from a gang who offers him some ʻworkʼ. In each story, different themes are tackled - putting family before the temptation of easy money; dealing with threats and mistrust of authorities; avoiding risky environments; and having rights but also responsibilities to respect those of others. The participants have to decide what choices Pedro makes and discuss the different consequences they might bring.

Participants in Colombiaʼs reintegration programme face real and significant challenges both from stigmatisation and from the potential threat of re-recruitment, but for the majority, the benefits of reintegration are too valuable to risk losing. “What does legality signify?” asks the workshop leader. The participants are quiet while they think about it. “It means being free,” answers one of them finally. “I didnʼt demobilise just to return to all that later on. I did it so I could move on with my life.”  With the support of both the reintegration programme and their families, increasing numbers of former combatants are being able to realise that plan and build a secure life inside the law.