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Outlook: How to talk to guerillas

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Edited Leyner Palacios Getty Images_Anadolu_Contributor.jpg

01/04/2024 GMT

How to talk to guerillas

BBC World Service - Outlook, How to talk to guerillas

Leyner Palacios grew up around volatile armed groups so he learned to negotiate with them

When the fight for the jungle burst into his village, Leyner had to rely on his way with words to find peace once more.

Leyner Palacios grew up around volatile armed groups, so he learned to negotiate with them.

He comes from a remote forested area called Bojaya, where clusters of small villages are spread along isolated waterways. Leyner's community had to share the rivers and forests with outsiders, armed groups like the Farc and the paramilitaries, who were locked into a decades-old conflict. As a child, Leyner learned to constantly navigate checkpoints manned by volatile armed people, and he showed a talent for negotation and mediation. As the conflict heated up, and with his community under siege, these skills would become more useful than ever.

Music from the 'Cantadoras de Pogue' was recorded by the Centro de Estudios Afrodiaspóricos - https://www.icesi.edu.co/vocesderesistencia/e/vol-1-cantadoras-de-pogue.php

Presenter: Asya Fouks
Producer: Harry Graham
Translation: Jorge Caraballo
Sound design: Joe Munday
Editor: Munazza Khan

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707

(Photo: Leyner Palacios Credit: Getty Images/Anadolu)

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