'Life is hard' How peace has failed Farc female ex-fighters

The 2016 ceasefire was meant to reintegrate civil war rebels, but many feel condemned to lives of poverty and danger

-  Shanti Das PONDORES

In a Colombian reintegration camp for former guerrilla fighters, María Rosalba García de Sepúlveda sits next to her shack, wearing leaf-pattern trousers and eating jam biscuits, she couldn't be less threatening. But she feels her life is at risk. "You fear for your security at all times," the 68-year-old said.

For 43 years Sepúlveda was part of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or Farc - a leftwing guerrilla group founded by farmers that spent five decades fighting the government.

After joining at 18 to escape rural poverty, she rose to become one of the few female commanders, known by her war name Eliana. Then, in 2016, a peace deal led her and 13,000 others to demobilise, and she moved to the Pondores reincorporation zone near the Venezuelan border.

Down a dirt track and guarded by soldiers with assault rifles, the camp in La Guajira, northern Colombia, feels like a prison at first. But the 400 or so residents, including 135 former guerrillas and their families, have done their best to make it their own. The plywood-walled, metal-roofed homes are painted bright colours and small gardens are filled with flowers, dogs and toys. Anti-war murals are everywhere, like the building painted with doves and huge letters: "PAZ" (peace).

Yet beyond the symbols of hope lies discontent. The government promised reintegration camps would be places of safety and opportunity to help battle-hardened former fighters settle back into society. When she first moved here, Sepúlveda saw positives: she resumed the high school studies she never had a chance to complete and moved in with another female ex-guerrilla, whose son affectionately calls her abuelita - granny.