PRESENTATION

Sons and daughters of Colombian exiles will present their book 'Semillas regadas' in Bilbao on 30 September

On Tuesday 30 September, Bilbao will welcome the authors themselves as they present their publication Semillas regadas, a work that captures the wounds, but especially the lessons learned, of those who were forced to leave with their families or those who had to stay behind without them in their country of origin.

While Colombian exile is neither the only one of its type nor the only one continuing today, the authors, writing from the perspective of sons and daughters “with humility, but also with courage” aim “to offer these stories as a collective statement, addressed to those who have experienced, are experiencing, and, potentially and sadly, will experience situations like ours”.

The writing process

The book Semillas regadas is the product of a process of emotional processing and construction of collective memory through writing. Ten people from the group that the Colombian Truth Commission (CEV) called “second generations” met virtually in 2024 for more than six months in search of the “right” words to express the feelings, meanings and challenges of exile and migration.

Amid fears, pain, doubts and a strong collective force, the group was guided by the methodological design, workshop facilitation and editorial coordination of Mariana Schmidt Quintero, as well as the psychological support of Claudia Moreno García.

The legacy of the Colombian Truth Commission

The initiative is part of the ongoing efforts to maintain the Support Network for the Legacy (REL) of the CEV in Europe, with the support of the Directorate of Human Rights and Victim Support of the Basque Government.

It is also an initiative that draws on the prior and similar experience of the Internodal Gender Group (GIG) supporting the legacy of the CEV, through which many of its members, some of them mothers of the authors, insist that the truth can never be complete without their voices and those of their sons and daughters.

Presentation of Semillas regadas

The first presentation of this book will take place on Tuesday 30 September at 17:30 in the Salón de Grados of Zubiria Etxea, Hegoa Institute (Sarriko, Bilbao). Admission will be free until full capacity is reached. Copies will be available for those attending.