A Manual of the Colombian Conflict (7 Photos)

© Stephen Ferry.
For a decade Stephen Ferry has documented the armed internal conflict in Colombia, a complex, violent, and frequently misunderstood struggle that receives little press abroad. The widespread murder, disappearances, and displacement– a result of power struggles among paramilitary, guerrilla, and government groups– has terrorized civilians for decades. But Ferry’s focus is on those who, at great personal risk, resist the violence and struggle for peace through nonviolent means. His subjects include trade unionists, human rights defenders, journalists, peasant leaders, and community members showing strength and courage in the face of enormous injustice.
Included below are a several layouts from Ferry’s book, Violentology published by Umbrage. Visit Time’s LightBox for a video tour of the book with a guided narration by Ferry.
Ferry will also be presenting and discussing the work at The Photographers Lecture Series at ICP tonight at 7pm.
Above image: Soldiers guard the perimeter as Colombian Army helicopters ferry in equipment and technicians to repair a length of the Caño Limón-Coveñas pipeline destroyed by guerrilla sabotage. The Caño-Limón oil field is shared between the Colombian state oil company Ecopetrol and the Occidental Petroleum Corporation based in the United States. In 2002, the US Congress approved a special package of 98 million dollars in military aid directed to the XVIII Brigade in Arauca to defend the pipeline. Arauquita, Arauca. March 4, 2002.
WARNING: there are graphic depictions of violence in this gallery.



