Bogota (AFP)

In the middle of the jungle, they faced the army, but also with deadly tropical diseases. Thousands of ex-Colombian guerrillas survived thanks to a mixture of discipline and solidarity, useful in these times of coronavirus.

"The logic was to take care of myself, my neighbors and others," said in an interview with AFP Laura Villa, joined the ranks of the rebellion in 2003 in this country plagued by nearly six decades of civil war .

This 39-year-old ex-guerilla was one of the six Farc doctors. Each rebel knew that when he "fell ill, he was a burden for the others because we were constantly on the move. Often it was not possible to transport him in a vehicle, if not in a hammock", recalls she.

Under the bombing, the guerrillas organized field hospitals, analysis laboratories and even health training schools.

"Each one moved with the bare necessities. There was an early diagnosis, a rapid treatment for diseases of the jungle", from malaria to intestinal infections, says the doctor of the rebellion.

In the camps, cleanliness was the rule. "No one could wash themselves or wash their belongings in upstream waters. The water in the kitchen was sacred and under guard if necessary," she said.

This experience is crucial today in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.

None of the 2,877 men and women living in 24 former rebel assembly areas has been infected.

-Maintain the same spirit-

Faced with the health emergency, "we were able to maintain among the people the spirit they displayed during the conflict", welcomes Pastor Alape, leader of the Alternative Revolutionary Joint Force (Farc) party, founded by the former guerrilla Marxist.

But if they manage to protect themselves from the virus, they have not been spared elsewhere: nine of them have been murdered since the start of confinement imposed throughout Colombia on March 25.

According to the FARC, they are 201 in total to have been killed since the peace agreement of 2016 signed by this guerrilla, the oldest of the American continent, resulting from peasant insurrections in 1964.

In these areas, some 12,800 rebels have reorganized their lives, while the chiefs are accountable to the special peace justice for the most serious crimes of the conflict.

A total of 22.5% of ex-guerrillas, accompanied by their families, are engaged in a process of social and economic reintegration in these areas. Far from the big cities, there live 4,000 people who have used their experience of war to protect themselves from the contagion.

The ex-guerrillas managed to escape the Covid-19 in these 24 spaces, despite the collective toilets and showers.

Outside the zones, only one of the approximately 9,000 demobilized soldiers has been infected, while Colombia has some 57,000 confirmed cases, including more than 1,800 dead.

- Crisis time principles -

President Ivan Duque has started to relax isolation measures in order to revive economic activity, while trying to impose "social discipline" in this country of 50 million inhabitants.

But from the start of containment, the 24 territories were closed to visitors, the community made their own masks there and distributed them to surrounding villages.

Vehicle disinfection is mandatory. Meetings are held outdoors, respecting the recommended distance between participants.

"We have learned two things from the conflict, which remain fundamental principles: discipline and solidarity. And I think that this was valid during this crisis," said Laura Vega, delegate of the Farc in the Icononzo area, in the center of the country.

On the government side, according to Emilio Archila, presidential adviser, the pandemic "has not interrupted the commitments" resulting from the peace pact, including the supply of areas with food and medicines.

© 2020 AFP