Situation Along the Colombian Border     There has been a climate of violence in the region. And paramilitary forces are locating themselves in Ecuadoran territory. Why do they want these lands on the border? They come and go but they are displacing Ecuadoran peasants. Is the response adequate? There is a lot of concern because of the violence of all types that is taking place -- recently killings between para militaries and guerrillas. The area has always been abandoned by the government. There's no adequate sewage in many areas. There's no electricity, tap water is also unavailable. The existing services are very inadequate. There are a lot of Colombians looking for work and they also need these services. It creates conflicts. They'redisputing the little that is available.     The solution for some would be repression which I donīt think will resolve the problem. There's been talk but it hasnīt been put into practice of investing money for infrastructure and social development. But this can't be done overnight.  There's also been talk of building large camps to house refugees.  This is being questioned a lot. Because this has occurred in other places and these camps fall under military control. Instead of refugee camps they become concentration camps. This is not the best option.     There are many contacts on the Colombian side. The people come and go including some work on the Ecuadoran side. We want to give the option to the Colombian people who want to come to Ecuador, that have contacts in Ecuador, to integrate into the communities. That way attention can be given to the Ecuadoran communities. If there's a group of Colombians that come here and they give attention to them they're going to live better than the Ecuadorans. (Integration) would be the ideal. But I donīt think the government likes that idea much for security reasons. They can't control them that easily. We know there's a danger. We need to know who's coming here. But do we need to enclose them in these large camps?      We are talking about 1,000 who have entered Ecuador. But there have been more than 2,000 which have followed an escape route out of Putomayo and into Ecuador and then back into other Colombian states like Narino. They enter Ecuador and then return to Colombia through another way. It's a corridor. There are Colombians who have lived in Ecuador for 30 years. They come and go. The border is artificial.      About 500 Ecuadorans had to leave their homes because of (paramilitary) death threats. And there weren't any plans to receive them or care for them in any way. The housing that had been made for the Colombians,the government said could not be used for Ecuadorans. This was absurd. Ecuadorans and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)    The guerrillas many times pass over into Ecuador to buy food or to rest. And the people along the river (Putomayo) know where to find them. And many times the FARC has helped peasant farmers with medicine and if they're is a sick person they transfer them. The relationship has been very cordial and helpful. The people call them the muchachos. If there's a problem it's easier for the muchachos to resolve it than any official authority. They have good acceptance and they don't enter the area with weapons, they don't enter with aggression. They come and go and people know them. When there's friction in the communities they turn to them. What has happened has been confrontations between the FARC and Para militaries but there have not been confrontations between the Ecuadorans and the FARC.  However, around 1997 the FARC ambushed an Ecuadoran Military patrol killing 11 soldiers. The military detained Ecuadorans and tortured them. They knew they weren't guerrillas. The were well known people in their communities. The defense minister at the time accused them of being Guerrilleros de Finca (Farm Guerrillas). Who in that area isn't a farm guerrilla? Whatever that is. There was a long investigation and after four years the suspects were released. More __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!?