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So, hello. I'm using my platform here now to inform about what's happening in my country. I'm from Cali, Colombia. The city that's been burning for 5 days now and being massacred by its own government.

We need your help to spread awareness on this. As of yet, there hasn't been a lot of international news coverage about it, and our own news are too biased in favor of the government to be of any help.

How did it all start?

On April 28, a national strike was called for people to raise their voices against a tax and health reforms proposed by president Iván Duque, during an economic and social crisis exacerbated by the covid-19 pandemic.

Among other things, this reform wanted to tax us for funeral services (during a pandemic). They also wanted to increase the price of food and water, when most of the population has a salary that does not allow a family to live with dignity. Moreover, another nefastous health reform has yet to be taken down.

But the response of the national government to these protests has been to deploy military forces against the civilian population. A violent, disproportionate, and arbitrary action that incurs in serious human rights violations. My city, Santiago de Cali, has been one of the most affected places. During the night hours of the last few days, in different areas of the city, the police and the mobile anti-riot squad (ESMAD) have burst into peaceful demonstrations attacking with firearms, tear gas, and leaving a balance of dead and wounded that has not yet been counted. They have also captured many demonstrators, some of whose whereabouts are unknown.

Crystal Crowns