The Face of Resilience

An oral history narrative, of a Colombian refugee who survived captivity and now lives in San

Diego, California.

The story in which I am about to share is about my second cousin Jaime Mallarino. I will be

telling his traumatic story of his kidnap when he was 27 years old which ultimately led him to

seek refuge in San Diego, California. He is from Medellin, Colombia and due to the language

barrier I will be telling his story through his perspective.

Background:

Since the 1960's guerilla movements, insecurity and safety issues among Colombians have led

thousands to seek refugee asylum or be subject to internally displaced programs. By 2024, there had been almost 7 million internally displaced people in Colombia (UNHCR). Additionally, the United States of America and Spain have been the primary recipients of Colombian asylum

applications as numbers increase to 116,800 new asylum claims in the past year, an increase of

18%.

Before I begin, it is essential to know the background of Colombia and what has led it to be an

unsafe, war-torn country. This story has to do with the Guerrilleros, an armed gang that claims to be fighting for the rights of the poor, asserting that they aim to protect them from government violence and provide social justice through communism. Part of how they live is kidnapping for ransom and helping maintain cocaine farms. Guerrilla groups were part of an armed conflict that began the Civil War in 1964, with the formation of the FARC and the ELN. This violence has been prominent before and is still prominent today as Colombia has serious social and political conflicts that have led citizens to live in poverty and be subject to relocation. Colombia is one of the most unequal countries in the world, causing disparities which have led people to leave the country, such as my second cousin (“Colombia Armed Conflict”).

Before I begin, I want to give my thanks to Jaime for letting me interview him and educate

others through this project. Additionally a trigger warning to those that suffer with PTSD.

His Story:

I am a ranch owner and have had multiple ranches of cattle in Colombia. At the time of my kidnap, I was 27 years old and was visiting one of my ranches called “La Sonrisa” with my partner Miguel in Cartagena, Departamento del Atlantico. It was getting dark, and we were talking outside on the patio as usual, getting ready for bed. Suddenly, eight men in two trucks with rifles sticking out arrived on my property. They started yelling and telling us that we had to go with them. I instantly wanted to change because I was in boxers for bed and needed my glasses. They almost did not let me, but after some convincing and telling them that I was not going to leave like this, they finally let me inside, followed by one of the men with a rifle. I then asked if I could talk to Miguel in private, and they let us briefly with the men armed outside the door. Quickly, we discussed that if they separated us, we needed to create different ways to communicate without them realizing. One of the things that worked and got us through our detention was coughing at night. At night, the world is quiet, and we needed to know if we were still alive and together. After this, they separated us and put us in the back of a truck bed and blindfolded our eyes. I do not know how long we traveled, but it was a long time, maybe 4 to 5 hours. Finally, the car stopped and we arrived at an abandoned Campesino house in a rural area, deep in what seemed like a jungle, but I could not tell where we were, and we were quickly separated into different rooms. We slept just one night there, and then the next day, we were blindfolded and forced to walk for a very long time. I couldn't tell where we were but the conditions were humid and tropical. Finally, we arrived at a specific location, separated again, and were each given a tent. All I could tell was that I was in a jungle and was told to build my own tent. I was a big fellow, so my feet hung outside the tent. We were strapped with one foot to the tent, so we could not go anywhere so I made a hole so I could use the restroom. They also did not let us look around, and were forced to look only at the ground and never the sky, so we never knew where we were. For days, I was trying to figure out where I was and who I was, and all I could hear was that there were more people around me, but all I could see was one person with a gun always next to me. I had no concept of time and felt that I was captured for years, but I would like to say it was about 15 days. I was living in conditions where I was only fed beans and rice twice a day with limited water and no social interaction. I thought this nauseous terrible feeling would never end and saw no end to captivity. Suddenly, after many gruesome days, in the middle of the night I heard gunshots. The army had raided their camp and killed two guerrilleros while the rest ran off. Finally me and Miguel were rescued along with another farm owner that was also held captive. After being freed, I learned that my Tio Tito and Tio Raul were the ones who told the Army and police officials that we had been kidnaped. The Army then looked to nearby towns looking for boots being purchased as it is very common for guerrilleros to buy their captives boots for the long treks ahead. Luckily, because I have a huge foot that is not common in Colombia, they found the store where they bought my boots and tracked our location.

After this, I tried to stay in Colombia because my life was there, but I unfortunately was forced out. I had to go to therapy and psychology sessions as I had trauma that has stuck with me to this day. I now have to wash my teeth multiple times a day because, in the 15 days that I was captured, I was not able to; the dirtiness of my teeth transports me back to that time and makes me nervously brush my teeth every time. Colombia was very unsafe, and I did not want my kids to grow up like this. I sold everything, got Refugee Asylum, and was relocated to San Diego. I now live here and have found a community. There are not very many Colombians in San Diego however, I was able to continue working in agriculture. The adjustment was very difficult but I know that San Diego is also a better place where I could speak my language, Spanish. I also have been able to meet other cultures, especially Mexicans, that have helped me become accustomed to my new life. I am lucky enough now to be able to go back to Colombia but live a better life in San Diego. I am very fortunate to have family living in Colombia and now in San Diego who have helped me transition to the United States as seamlessly as possible. San Diego has provided me with the necessary aid and I now have a green card.

Closing Remarks:

I decided to share this story as I felt that it shows the hardships that refugees have gone through and how trauma and mental health relates to issues and reasons why refugees are forced to relocate. This was something that was studied in my ethnic studies class at UCSD and applicable to topics discussed in class. The state of Colombia has only worsened and I'm so fortunate to have my second cousin living here and being able to be one of his support systems. I'm so honored by this man as he is one of my role models and inspirations in life. Thank you so much Jaime for letting me interview you and tell the story to many hopefully in which will inspire those and bring awareness to people. I know being a refugee and being forced out of your country is one of the hardest things in life and my second cousin is the face of resilience. His story changed my life and I hope now it can change yours.

Colombian refugee story San Diego

Works Cited

“Colombian Armed Conflict.” Justice for Colombia, 18 Feb. 2018, justiceforcolombia.org/about-colombia/colombian-armed-conflict/.

“Colombia Situation.” Global Focus, reporting.unhcr.org/operational/situations/colombia-situation. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.