I am not afraid to speak out

Video installation – a DVD of the work was also produced.

Colombia has been described as one of the most dangerous countries in the world in which to express a political opinion. In the year preceding this film, over 7000 Colombian civilians were murdered for political reasons. It is estimated that between 3 and 4 million mainly peasant farmers have been forcibly displaced from their land by politically motivated violence.

I am not afraid to speak out (2006) was produced by O’Donoghue when she travelled to Colombia as part of a human rights delegation from Ireland. The delegation met with various trade unionists, human rights activists, students, political groups and victims of violence. Everywhere we went, people wanted to tell their story. They asked us to let people in Ireland know the reality of their life in Colombia, a country where speaking out can mean placing your life at risk – a fact that was confirmed many times over, as I met the families of victims.

In Bogotá, I met with Debra Barra Fince a Wyuu, indigenous person from Northern Colombia who asked me to bring her story back to Ireland. The video documents her story. The Wyuu people have lived on their lands for over a thousand years. Twenty years ago, three multinationals moved onto their land and started to extract coal; it is now the largest opencast coalmine in Latin America. Coal from the mine is exported to Ireland. 88% of Ireland’s imports from Colombia consist of coal, amounting to 38.5 million euros per year. Most of this coal comes from Northern Colombia, where whole towns have been cleared to allow for the expansion of mines. Since filming this work, several more of Debra’s relations have been murdered.