Álvaro Hernández, president of the Córdoba victims' table, received direct threats from insurgent groups because of his constant refusal to join their ranks. In September 1989 he had to leave his estate in the village of El Venado in fear. He carried only the clothes on his back. © Charlie Cordero
Bellavista has no inhabitants, but rather survivors. Between 1983 and 2011, they suffered 8 armed attacks. Today, finally, about 332 people and 98 families returned after 18 years. © Charlie Cordero
Catherine Perez is not able to wield a weapon, however this hunting rifle adorns a corner of her home. She only uses it to drive away animals that try to damage her banana crop. © Charlie Cordero
Ernesto Sotelo is 40 years old. He hides some tears while telling the story of how his brother decided to join the FARC-EP. He and his mother, Iris Sotelo, hope that with the end of the conflict and the demobilization of the guerrillas, they can see Luis again. © Charlie Cordero
Rodolfo Pacheco (false name), 70 years old, lives in Carmen de Bolivar, one of the towns most affected by the armed conflict. On January 6, 1999, he was wounded in the middle of a FARC vs. Colombian army battle. What remains of that day still lives with him: four scars on his body that he was not born with. © Charlie Cordero
Catherine Perez is 43 years old. In her hand she holds the photograph of her missing sister, Iris Esther Perez, who was recruited by the guerrillas on May 12, 1996. She was barely 15. Iris is one of more than 3,000 children recruited in the last 20 years by the FARC. © Charlie Cordero
Gloria Areiza lives in Sacramento, Magdalena. In 2001, when she was 3 months pregnant and already had a 6 month old baby girl, her husband was killed, her house was burned and she had to flee. She still lives in fear, in a house that is half cement, half wood. © Charlie Cordero
A toy found in one of the houses of the victims of forced displacement in Batata, Cordoba. The time when these lands were used for livestock and horse breeding have been forgotten because of the war. © Charlie Cordero
Pacho González, 34 years old, was displaced from the village of El Bolsillo (Montes de María) in June 1999. He returned in 2008, after the fighting ended. This village lies in the heart of the Carmen de Bolivar, one of the regions that was hit hardest by the war. Today, lying on the brooms he makes for a living, he remembers the nights he tried to sleep while on the move. Back then, his dreams were stolen by the cold and mosquitoes in gullies and thickets, the only shelters where he could dodge the bullets. © Charlie Cordero
Almost at the top of the Sierra Nevada, Sacramento flourishes. 180 families have returned. There is competition between coffee production and illicit crops. The FARC and ELN set up camps, created tolls and checkpoints and became recruiters. © Charlie Cordero
On this park and football field, FARC guerrillas and paramilitaries separately disputed sporting meetings from the 1980s until the first years of 2000. © Charlie Cordero
Eduilson Goes Torres is 36 years old. He lives in Gallo, the city of Tierralta, chosen by the government as one of the concentration points of the FARC. Between fear and hope, he and his wife Everlides del Carmen—together with their five children—hope that the signing of the agreement will bring peace. © Charlie Cordero
The peasants of Batata return to cultivate the land. They walk again through the streets of the village with their machetes. Each one personalizes the machete's sheath to fit their style. © Charlie Cordero
Anyone brave enough to ford this river pays $1,000 for the privilege of being transported from one bank to the other. This is the only way to reach the village as an outsider. © Charlie Cordero
Rafael Alonso Miranda, a 63-year-old cattleman, lost his leg from a bomb that exploded next to his house amidst clashes between the FARC and the Colombian army. In spite of that, he never left his home in Bellavista, Magdalena. Now on crutches, he hopes to finish his half-built home. © Charlie Cordero
Altar in Homage to Cayetano Ortega, on the road to La Sierra in Montes de Maria. Cayetano and his car were thrown into the ravine by FARC guerrilla members. © Charlie Cordero
