2019 Photo Contest, Contemporary Issues, 2nd Prize

Colombia, (Re)Birth

Photographer

Catalina Martin-Chico

Panos

21 February, 2018

Dayana (33; right) and Jairo, both previously with FARC, lie on a bed with Rebecca, the daughter born to them since the peace process, and Jairo’s sister Liliana, who is on a visit, in Rio Guayabero, Colombia. Dayana joined the FARC guerrilla forces at the age of 15, leaving a four-month-old baby with her parents. She didn’t see him again until he was 17.

Since the signing of a peace agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC rebel movement in 2016, there has been a baby boom among former female guerrillas, many living in the demobilization camps set up to help FARC members in the transition back to everyday life. Pregnancy was thought incompatible with guerrilla life. Women were obliged to put war before children, leaving babies with relatives or, some say, undergoing forced abortions—a charge FARC denies. 

About the photographer

Catalina Martin-Chico

Catalina Martin-Chico, a franco-spanish photographer, lives in Paris. She trained at the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York, where she lived for many years. ...

Technical information

Shutter Speed
1/160
Focal length
24 mm
F-Stop
f/2.5
ISO
640
Camera
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV

This image is collected in