Photo Credit: Refugees International
11/23/2007

Soledad (in white) lives in Brisas de los Angeles, and is babysitting for her four younger sisters. They arrived in May 2007, after leaving their village in the countryside when guerillas forcibly “recruited” Soledad’s only brother. Her mother managed to pay a ransom and get him back, but then fled immediately, fearing repercussions. Soledad and her family have received no assistance from the government, and her mother works selling food door to door. Her younger sisters attend school, but she does not – she tries to find work when she can to support the family. Despite finding safety in Tumaco, they are still afraid that the guerillas will find them here. As a result, Soledad’s brother has been sent out into a safer part of the country to find work.