The Tree of Love

There she stands, a lonely tree in a forest of concrete. She seems healthy though, full of leaves. Its surprising because the greater urban area of Bogota, Colombia, is known for its pollution. Actually the tree is officially not in Bogota, but in the city of Soacha, which is another department. For me its Bogota, I just see an endless sprawling city.

Although the conflict in Colombia maybe less intense than a few years back, Colombia still hosts world’s largest (internal) refugee population. No one knows how many, but its millions.
People who witnessed atrocities, witnessed losing their belongings and have to deal with a situation where they have to rebuild their lives in another place, unknown to them.
The tree has witnessed it all; it witnessed violence and people coming and going, but it is called the tree of love. ‘Because so many children have been produced under it’, tells a ‘local’ refugee me, who has been living there for years now. Still hoping to witness the day that peace arrives to Colombia.

Kadir van Lohuizen