Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Judi Lynn

(160,219 posts)
Fri Aug 19, 2016, 10:13 PM Aug 2016

Bogota’s solution to homeless problem: Put them on the bus to other cities

Source: Colombia Reports

Bogota’s solution to homeless problem: Put them on the bus to other cities

written by Adriaan Alsema August 19, 2016

Colombia’s capital has been boasting its recent crack-down on crime. However, according to other cities, Bogota did nothing but put homeless people and drug addicts on the bus to other cities.

Bogota Mayor Enrique Peñalosa vowed to curb crime rates in Bogota when he took office in January this year.

Since then, he and President Juan Manuel Santos had promised coordinated efforts to seek “a more more orderly, clean, illuminated public space where citizens feel there is authority and certain norms to abide.”

One of the most publicized offensive was the evacuation of a small, but infamous area informally called “The Bronx,” a crime-infested area named after the New York City borough.

Read more: http://colombiareports.com/bogotas-solution-homeless-problem-put-bus-cities/

15 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies

forest444

(5,902 posts)
1. The Argentine dictatorship did the same thing in the late 1970s.
Fri Aug 19, 2016, 10:22 PM
Aug 2016

Over time, many of the displaced simply moved back - all the more so because the same dictatorship also ruined the economy (in much the same way Bush almost ruined ours, except the consequences were more intense).

Thank you for sharing this, Judi. I wonder how the mayors of the affected Colombian cities will retaliate for this.

Judi Lynn

(160,219 posts)
5. A lot of Colombian mayors are connected to the neo-paramilitaries, the new groups
Sat Aug 20, 2016, 12:48 AM
Aug 2016

formed from members of the old death squads of the allegedly disbanded A.U.C., which was always connected to the Colombian military, handling a lot of the truly gruesome tasks the military didn't want to handle personally.

These politicians who are still connected undoubtedly would feel fine in asking some neo-paras to stop by and aid them with a little "social cleansing" which they've all been doing for decades.

I was shocked the first time I learned they systematically have murdered street vendors, drunks, prostitutes, anyone they believe gives a place a bad appearance, etc.

Ordinarily one would expect the mayors to try to make arrangements for shelter, food, etc., but there are huge numbers of Colombian politicians who are allied with "muscle" in case they want assistance in getting rid of people.
(They are known for getting rid of political enemies, election opponents, human rights activists, union organizers, indigenous, and African-Colombian citizens.)

Colombia has been able to operate quite a lot like a complete feudal system all this time, with full U.S. support. As Rumsfeld, Bush's Secretary of Defense said, they see Colombia as a "lily pad" country, a "forward operating base" from which they can move in any direction, toward Central or other countries in South America, so they want to keep Colombia close to them.

Judi Lynn

(160,219 posts)
8. The numbers proportionately are wildly dissimilar.
Sat Aug 20, 2016, 12:58 AM
Aug 2016

Colombia has often had the largest displace population in the world, due to entire villages being destroyed, due to paramilitary death squads, on the orders of higher ups moving into towns, chasing off the people through outright massacre, or terror tactics, then giving the land over to corporations, huge landowners, etc., etc., etc.

For decades the result was that millions of people fled to cities where there was no housing or employment, creating the greatest human crisis in the world in certain years, and almost always at least 2nd worst, right after Sudan, etc.

Just a little bit of difference, and you can find this out by spending some time researching.

 

JackRiddler

(24,979 posts)
13. Would you also agree with that re: Middle East, Ukraine?
Sat Aug 20, 2016, 08:51 AM
Aug 2016

Otherwise neither Judy Lynn or I, nor you, need to represent the US in having an opinion on Colombia's mass internal deportations dating back decades. We're allowed to have our own opinions on what's wrong and right. US treatment of the homeless is bad, or even worse depending on the jurisdiction. But if the US really loses any "moral standing" with regard to Colombia, then that is not so much because of the bad moral example in the U.S. itself, but because of the 10 billion dollars of foreign aid given directly to the Bogota death squad narco-regime since 2000!

a la izquierda

(11,784 posts)
12. My state does it with its addicts and mentally...
Sat Aug 20, 2016, 07:11 AM
Aug 2016

ill. They are shipped to my town because it has resources.

Judi Lynn

(160,219 posts)
6. Their price has been lowered after Obama was elected, but the last time I heard, it was still
Sat Aug 20, 2016, 12:50 AM
Aug 2016

in the hundreds of millions annually. They passed over 10 Billion dumped into the country from 2000, and the beginning of Plan Colombia, several years ago.

vinny9698

(1,016 posts)
3. I worked for Texas MHMR, and they called it "Greyhound Therapy"
Sat Aug 20, 2016, 12:14 AM
Aug 2016

We had chronic mental patients that were creating scenes and just being a nuisance. The therapist would ask them if they any relatives anywhere in the US that they would like to visit. Of course the client would say yes and then we would approach the Salvation Army which would pay for the ticket and provide sack meals for the number of days it would take them to get there.

Judi Lynn

(160,219 posts)
7. Oh, jeez.That's inhuman, monstrous. How many lost souls could survive something like that? Thanks.nt
Sat Aug 20, 2016, 12:53 AM
Aug 2016
 

JackRiddler

(24,979 posts)
14. There are degrees of wrong.
Sat Aug 20, 2016, 08:54 AM
Aug 2016

The issue here should be the longstanding, direct U.S. support to a death squad regime -- even as this is coupled with a lot of hypocritical condemnation of neighboring Venezuela.

Latest Discussions»Latest Breaking News»Bogota’s solution to home...