Paula Galeano, Colombian Conscientious Objector
Paula Andrea Galeano Bermúdez is a 28 year-old conscientious
objector from Colombia. She is an activist with the Red Juvenil
(Medellin Youth Network), an organization that was started in 1990 by
young people who had lost loved ones to the armed conflict. The heart
of the Network’s mission is to encourage young people’s belief in the
value of all human life, to work together to overcome fear, and to
become empowered to live and espouse these values. The group trains
youth in nonviolence and cooperative play, supports young men who
refuse to serve with the police, military or illegal armed groups, and
promotes respect for human rights and young people’s ideas in Colombian society.
Paula was born and has lived her entire life in Medellín, Colombia’s second largest city. She is the older of two daughters — her sister has two children and another baby on the way and she likes to spend time with her family. She first became involved with the Red Juvenil through her neighborhood youth group. Later she graduated from university with a major in business administration and an emphasis in the economics of solidarity. She has worked with the Red Juvenil since 1999 as an administrator and is currently the legal representative, as well as being a member of a group that focuses on women’s issues, including legalizing abortion in Colombia.
Paula encourages people in Colombia and the United States to take a
bigger view when it comes to defining conscientious objection. She
says, "A basic definition of conscientious objection is that which
questions the involvement of young people in official military forces,
but this definition does not question young people’s involvement in
insurgent or para-state armies (paramilitaries). An antimilitarist
definition of ‘Objection for Conscience’ questions the role of any army
in a society, rejects youth recruitment no matter where it comes from,
rejects militarism, the use of violence and armed confrontation as a
tool which is used to impose social projects and to defend certain
ideas or elite interests."
Paula is very excited to come to the United States and talk about the situation in Colombia from the Red Juvenil’s perspective and to network and a build a collective definition of conscientious objection with other youth activists who are working on similar issues.
Red Juvenil is one of FOR’s partner organizations in Colombia. Learn more about their work — in Spanish — at http://www2.redjuvenil.org
