Miguel Ángel López, the director of a funeral home in Tibú, used to recover bodies that appeared along the roads of one of Colombia’s most violent regions, Catatumbo. On 15 January, he was murdered along with his wife and their 10-month-old baby while driving a hearse toward Cúcuta, according to local media reports. Only their 10-year-old son survived.
UNHCR staff at the General Santander Stadium, Cúcuta, where thousands of displaced people from Catatumbo have arrived.
From books to shelter
For now, UN agencies and partners are striving to deliver essential goods and services to those in need, including educational kits and mental health support for thousands of displaced children forced out of school and shelter for those who fled the violence.
“We need to understand that this could be a prolonged emergency,” UNHCR’s Mr. García warned.
Echoing the wishes of many of the displaced people around him, Santiago* said he simply wants to go home.
“All we want is to return,” he said, “but we can’t.”
*Names have been changed to protect identities