Law for equal treatment of Afro-Colombians to be presented in July

[Judi Lynn]

Law for equal treatment of Afro-Colombians to be presented in July
Saturday, 21 May 2011 13:13
Toni Peters

To mark Afro-Colombian Day President Juan Manuel Santos on Saturday announced his government will present a bill for equal treatment for the Afro-descended peoples of Colombia.

The head of state said the Law of Equal Opportunities for Afro-Colombian Peoples will be presented to Congress on July 20, Colombia's Independence Day and the official start of a new parliamentary year.

The initiative “is now in the consultation process” said Santos, who also said “We want Colombia to be a country free of any kind of discrimination and we want to guarantee equal treatment for Afro-Colombians and for all communities.”

Santos recognized that black people are affected by high levels of poverty, lack of opportunities, illiteracy, displacement, among other problems admitted that “the country owes a debt to its Afro-descendents people.”

More:
http://www.colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/16427-law-for-equal-treatment-of-afro-colombians-to-be-presented-july.html

Gee, what's the big rush, anyway?

[gbscar]

1. At least one of the possible reasons is obvious, but doesn't change the fact this is a good move.

History, both Latin American and otherwise, is full of good things done for questionable reasons and questionable things done for good reasons. This just adds to the list.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Opting to say it's time to stop persecution of black people of course is a "good thing."

It's also hundreds of years late.

[gbscar]

4. That's true, but such is precisely the problem at hand.

Racism is perhaps one of the worst evils humanity has had to deal with throughout our existence on this planet. It can even be argued that political exclusioin and socio-economic injustice, while certainly involved in the process of creating or promoting discrimination and prejudice, are easier to resolve than their underlying cultural consequences and their related ramifications.

Having said that, this isn't the first action against racism in Colombia and, no doubt, it will also fail to be the last. Once again, history is rather illustrative. Even Simon Bolivar himself, for example, was unable to escape from the racial prejudices of his day despite his undeniable attempts to end slavery. To say the least, he feared and distrusted the pardos due to their role in the fall of the first two Venezuelan Republics. Some of the stereotypes which developed during the period are rather disgusting and the very fact that slavery continued to exist, both formally and in practice, throughout the region for almost half a century speaks for itself.

We could also go north for a quick comparison. Last time I checked, even integration and affirmative action haven't truly ended the persecution of black people in the U.S. While the election of Barack Obama was an admirable sign of progress, almost nobody would argue that it represented the final victory of equality and justice over racism and discrimination.

You could argue the same thing goes for the election of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela too, regardless of its contextual differences. Racism in Washington isn't identical to racism in Bogota or Caracas but it continues to exist in all those places under multiple forms. This only serves to show the issue is more than just a matter of political willpower or, for that matter, progressive legal advances. It is going to take time even in the best of circumstances and, unfortunately, we will not live to see a world without discrimination.

But, in the end, the fact remains: any step that is taken towards such a desirable goal is absolutely welcome.

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Judi Lynn]

6. Be honest and name these "certain people". n/t

[naaman fletcher]

7. I don't engage in personal attacks, unlike some people. nt.

[Judi Lynn]

8. Be honest, and name "some people." n/t

[naaman fletcher]

2. Santos is proving to be a great leader. Nt