A married couple and six children completed the individual reparation process with the Unit for the Victims. They received the notification on the first compensation event carried out by the Unit in Norte de Santander in 2022.

The Lopez family make up a nucleus of eight people affected by forced displacement who received compensation letters from the State in Cucuta.

Filled with nostalgia for his experience more than 20 years ago, Ramon Lopez, a simple and well-mannered man, arrived at the Comfaoriente auditorium in Cucuta and recalled his forced displacement to Cucuta with his wife and six children, two of them with disabilities.

In his expressions, it is possible to see the pain caused by the violence of his land in the 1990s, when an illegal armed group forced the Lopez family to leave the Sardinata municipality (Norte de Santander) because they didn’t want to join that structure outside the law.

Outside the microphones, the children recalled the intimidation they suffered and other events that affected their home. This pushed them to a new lifestyle which wasn’t easy to take, but with love, union, and strength, they managed to overcome the difficulties. Ramón Lopez turned to mining as a source of income and was able to support his children with a formal education.

Today he is a grandfather. And between his experiences and the effects left by the armed conflict, Ramon Lopez sees the past as an opportunity to learn and move forward. Joined by his wife and his six children, he arrived at the first compensation event carried out by the Unit in 2022 in the Norte de Santander Capital.

"Right now, I feel well and calm, I thank you for what you do with us because this helps me a lot," he said amid the mixed feelings generated by the situation.

With an act of dignity by the Government, the Unit for the Victims recognized the damage caused by the armed conflict and praised its commitment and dedication to rebuild family and social fabric. The compensation event beneficiaries learned about the Unit’s institutional offer and the adequate use of the resources received for individual reparation.

Luis Lopez, one of the six children, highlighted the Government's commitment to advance in the reparation processes that, in the case of this family, registered a process of more than two decades. "I need some glasses for myself because I can't see anymore, and for my son’s requirements in school and what's left for food," said his father.

During the joy caused by the notification process, the Unit for the Victims gave this population family kits with clothing, footwear and other items that will help meet their needs.

The compensation event will continue this Thursday in Cucuta, where the Unit will deliver more than $600 million COP to approximately 120 people affected by the armed conflict.

(End/CEG/COG/RAM)