The Victims Unit works together with the communities in the construction of the road map for the compensation of the damages caused by the war to these communities of Meta.

The Victims Unit conducted work days with survivors of the armed conflict residing in the towns of Puerto   Alvira , La Horqueta, Guacamayas, and the downtown area of Mapiripán   in Meta, for the advance in the collective repair route.

With the participation of 22 delegates from these communities, officials of the collective reparations sub-directorate worked to identify the degree of knowledge of the population in the route phases and roles of actors involved in these processes, as well as the experience in the application of tools for the identification of affectations.

Juan Felipe Acosta, director (in charge) of the Unit for Victims in Meta and Eastern Plains, said that "the armed conflict has affected Colombians in many ways. Many have been forced to abandon their lands and livestock to save themselves; many others have been injured, kidnapped or illegally recruited. In these cases, the victims are particular individuals. However, there is also a type of damage in which the victim is a group of people: this is the collective damage ".

"An example is when a school is destroyed. The community that enjoyed   that good is affected collectively   and has the right to collective reparation. This is how a collective damage is constituted, and in these exercises that the Unit advances in the territory it is sought to identify these affectations to be repaired within the collective route ", explained     director.

With this exercise it is expected to continue advancing in the formulation of the Comprehensive Collective Reparation Plan, which will be after its approval within the framework of a Transitional Justice Committee, the road map for the compensation of the damages caused by the war to These communities of Meta.

(End/EVA/CMC/LMY)