Leaving Colombia Colombia has suffered through a civil war for more than 50 years It began with an argument between farmers wealthy landowners and the government The farmers were very poor They wanted the landowners and government to give them better land rights Rights are privileges and freedoms that are protected by laws Their demands were refused The farmers began fighting against the government This grew into a fierce battle across Colombia UN Rights of the Child Every child has rights Refugees have the right to special protection and help The United Nations UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is a document that lists the rights that all children should have Think about these rights as you read this book 4 This Colombian home lies empty and abandoned Thousands of Colombians fled to other countries to escape the fighting These people are called refugees Refugees flee their homeland because of war and other unsafe conditions Refugees are different from immigrants Immigrants choose to leave to look for better opportunities in another country
Nicaragua Costa Rica Caribbean Sea Panama North Pacific Ocean Venezuela Bogotá Colombia Ecuador Brazil Peru Colombia is at the northern tip of South America Bogotá is its capital city Many other Colombians fled their homes and took shelter in the forest or in other cities in Colombia People who flee their homes but stay in their country are called internally displaced persons IDPs Around 7 3 million IDPs live in Colombia 5 The Colombian flag is yellow blue and red Yellow represents the country’s rich resources blue for the seas and red for the blood that has been spilled during its war
My Homeland Colombia Bogotá Around 9 8 million people live in Bogotá Spanish explorers reached South America in 1499 They settled the land that would become Colombia and named it after Christopher Columbus although he never went there Colombia has borders with Venezuela Brazil Peru Ecuador and Panama It is a beautiful country with many different landscapes such as mountains volcanoes grasslands and tropical beaches Colombia is one of the world's largest coffee producers Coffee is mostly grown in the mountains 6
Colombia has a population of Colombia’s Story in Numbers 47 million people Bolívar Square is a beautiful square in Bogotá It is named after Simon Bolívar a military leader who helped Colombia gain independence from Spain More than half of Colombia was once covered in rain forests These forests are under attack because the land is being cleared for farming Colombia became independent from Spain in 1819 It is South America’s oldest democracy In a democracy every citizen should have the same rights Wealthy landowners ran the country’s huge coffee plantations The farmers who worked for them were treated like slaves and paid poorly When the farmers demanded more rights and freedoms they were ignored 7
