30 years of conflict in 52 images: AFP at the Centre for Memory, Peace and Reconciliation

The photographic exhibition Colombia: War and Peace of the Agence France-Presse – AFP was inaugurated at the Center for Memory, Peace and Reconciliation in Bogotá earlier this week.

A woman holds a placard that reads “Yes to peace” during a march in Cali, on October 12, 2016, ten days after the victory of the “No” vote in the referendum on the deal with the FARC. (AFP / Luis Robayo)

From thousands of photographs captured by reporters from the French agency, organizers chose the 52 most significant images that portray historical moments of the conflict with the FARC, and the current period after the Peace Agreement between the government and the former armed group.

In a mountain jungle camp, FARC member Tomas teaches fellow guerrillas about the peace negotiations with the government during a “class” on February 18, 2016. (AFP / Luis Acosta)

This fratricidal and complex conflict, forgotten or unknown in other latitudes, perhaps because of its long duration, has left at least 260,000 dead and more than 60,000 disappeared. After Syria, Colombia has the highest number of people displaced by violence: 7.1 million victims, of which 4.9 million still depend on humanitarian aid.

FARC member Manuela shaves her eyebrows at a camp in the mountains of Magdaleno Medio region, Antioquia department, on February 18, 2016. (AFP / Luis Acosta)

The retrospective, after more than 50 years of struggle between leftist guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries and armed forces, also portrays the incredible hope that has arisen from the signing of an agreement with the Marxist rebellion of the FARC, arising from an uprising peasant in 1964.

A solider stands guard outside a polling station in Toribio, Cauca department, during parliamentary elections on March 9, 2014. The vote was seen as a test for Juan Manuel Santos’s peace talks with the FARC. (AFP / Luis Robayo)

The Mayor of Bogotá, through the High Council for Victims, and in partnership with AFP, inaugurated the exhibition that narrates the complex transition from war to peace, where the lens of Colombian reporters captured experiences, feelings and realities of rural territories, as well as the urban center of the country.

Accompanying the exhibition will be two talks that address issues such as “The war after peace” and “Who is narrating the war,” allowing for dialogue and reflection between different actors in society.

A woman glues a poster reading “8 million victims but flowers are still growing” during a march for peace through the streets of Cali, on October 9, 2016, just days after voters rejected the peace accord with the FARC in a referendum. (AFP / Luis Robayo)

“Journalism has been a fundamental actor in the history of the conflict in our country, which has evidenced all its facets telling the stories of pain and despair, as well as those of overcoming and resilience, essential for the construction of historical memory in Colombia,” affirmed Gustavo Quintero, High Counselor for Victims.

People affected by the conflict take part in a march for peace through the streets of Medellin, Antioquia department, on October 7, 2016, just days after voters shot down the peace accord with the FARC. (AFP / Raul Arboleda)

“Our intention corresponded to illustrate the key moments of the conflict, as of the peace process, images that are known in the whole world and that integrate the narrated history of Colombia for three decades,” added Florence Panoussian, Director of AFP for Colombia and Ecuador.

Colombia: Guerra y Paz runs until October 31, 2018.