Mothers Of Soacha: An Example Of Courage

Soacha is a municipality near Bogota, the capital of Colombia. This place has been the scene of complex difficulties of all kinds. One of the most serious events that occurred in this place is the one known by the name of “false positives”. It is a crime that occurs when troops kill civilians as criminals and earn profits from this. As a result of these unpleasant events, soacha mothers have become famous.

Nine confirmed cases of false positives were presented in Soacha. Even though the total number of victims of this crime amounts to more than 3,000, the impact in Soacha has been much higher. This is because the mothers of the victims organized themselves taking the “Mothers of Plaza de Mayo” in Argentina as a model, starting a struggle that is not yet over.

These women have been renamed in the press as Mothers of Soacha. They are also called “October Mothers”, because it is in that month that they began to form the group and to take their first steps. Their struggle sparked a worldwide crusade of denunciation. Their work has been recognized with several international awards.

One of Soacha’s impressive cases

One of the most significant cases of false positives in Soacha is that of Fair Leonardo Porras. He was a 25-year-old young man who had a cognitive disability of over 53%. He lived in a humble house, like most people in Soacha. He did simple piecework jobs, especially in the construction sector. He was also known for being a supportive person who collaborated with everyone in exchange for some money.

One day he never came home. His family began a frantic search among hospitals, prisons, nursing homes and even mortuaries. Despite this, they could not find him. Months later, his body was found in Ocaña, a town more than 600 kilometers away. The family was told that he had died in combat, as he operated illegally as the leader of an armed guerrilla.

When relatives went to take his body they found great inconsistencies. For example, it appeared that the body was found brandishing a gun in his right hand. The young man had no mobility in that hand and this was evidenced in several of the young man’s medical certificates. Furthermore, of course, it was not logical for a person with cognitive disabilities to command an armed group.

Mothers of soacha: the mothers who became heroines

It was Luz Marina Bernal, Fair Leonardo’s mother, who decisively embarked on a struggle to clarify the facts. The president of Colombia at the time, Álvaro Uribe, insinuated that the woman’s son and eight other young men from Soacha found in the same circumstances were criminals. For this reason, the mothers of Soacha wanted to reclaim the good name of their deceased children.

Thanks to the collaboration of Soacha’s delegated officials and prosecutors, they were able to bring to trial those materially responsible for the crimes. Thus it was that Mrs. Luz Marina learned that her son had been “sold” for less than 100 dollars to some members of the army. They cheated him and thus managed to get him away from Soacha. Then they killed him by hitting him in the back and making it all pass for a “death in combat”. They obtained permits and money for their “good performance”.

With great courage, Luz Marina Bernal and other mothers of Soacha received several death threats, demanding that they withdraw their complaints and stop their pressure for justice. After more than five years, the murder of Fair Leonardo Porras was declared a “crime against humanity”, that is, it damages the whole of humanity. The material authors were sentenced to 50 years in prison. The principals are still unknown.

The Mothers of Soacha have transformed their tragedy into a play and into different artistic expressions. They call them “Le Antigoni” and have become an example of courage and endurance. As well as their counterparts in Argentina, they have decided not to remain silent in the face of abuse. They have shown that the strength of women is able to overcome even the most difficult and heinous scenarios.