Content area 1
You can use a bold headline here to catch the eye!

This is an area that can be used for featured content such as special offers or affiliate links.

See the default content in feature.php to see how to replace this with your own content. You can also activate widgets to replace this content.

Link to other content: Link here!

Special Offer 1

This is an area that can be used for featured content such as special offers or affiliate links. Easily edit this text in the feature.php file.  Read more!

Special Offer 2

This is an area that can be used for featured content such as special offers or affiliate links. Easily edit this text in the feature.php file.  Read more!

Margarita teaches you to braid, to minimize hair breakage and damage with clips from her video “Braiding With Hair Care In Mind”.

YouTube - Hair Growth Pictures

Hair Growth Pictures that I have taken over the last couple of years. With proper hair care, the right hair products and a little TLC, I was able to get my hair back in shape.

The one in British columbia near Walmart if you need a location


try http://www.sallybeauty.com
SOME Sally Stores Sell and Supply hair extentions and SOME DON’T ! !
also try http://www.hairextentions.com

Long Hair Extensions

<img src="http://www.buzzle.com/img/articleImages/299669-29724-48.jpg" width="239" height="350" alt="Long Hair Extensions" class="ImgBorder"

On an average, human hair grows at the rate of 1 cm per month. It means that to have “long cascading hair”, you would have to wait for at least 5-6 years. Thanks to the latest advancements in hair styling, long hair extensions are available easily. With long hair extensions, you can fulfill your dream of 22 inches long and thick hair in a few hours and that too in your desired hair color and texture. In addition to this, you can have any of the following type of hair extensions.
Curly long hair extensions
Extra long hair extensions
Extremely long hair extensions
Normal short to long hair extensions.
In fact, long hair extensions for braids are very popular in South-East Asian countries as women there love to have long and thick hair. Before knowing whether long hair extension would look right on you, you should learn something about these commercial hair. Read on to know all about hair extensions.

Types of Long Hair Extensions: The two most popular types of long hair extensions are individual strands and wefts. The basis of distinction is the hair extension techniques for application.

Individual Strands: The first method of artificial hair integration is the individual strand integration, which involves applying 30-50 strands of commercial hair to a small section of your own hair. This is done by first coating your hair with a chemical substance and then bonding the commercial hair by any of these methods – weaving, gluing, heat fusing, using waxes or polymers or clamping with metal rods. Such hair extensions generally last for only a few months and have to be removed and integrated again. The process of removal is very crucial and must be done by an expert, as the chances of damage are maximum.

Wefts: Wefts are described as curtains of hair that are attached to the hair at the top of the head and are left loose to cascade down. In order to integrate a weft in your hair, it is first cut into different vertical sections. This eases the task of weft application. Your hair is divided into two parts by a horizontal line at the top of your scalp. At the start of the part following the back, braids are made and the sections of weft are sown along with them. The part flowing on the forehead is combed back so that the hair runs and covers the braids. Such braid hairstyles are popularly known as tracks. Once integrated, they remain in this way for a few months. As your hair grows about 1 cm every month, the weft-sections will lose their intact positions. It is necessary to reposition them. For this, you will have to visit your hair stylist for undoing and redoing the weft.

A weft can be either handmade or machine made. The former comes at a higher price than the latter. Still, it is advisable to go for a handmade one as it can be made in a way that it matches with your hair color naturally. A weft is generally made from good quality hair.

Types of Hair in Long Hair Extensions: In both the above-mentioned types of hair extensions, the hair used is either synthetic hair or natural human hair. The synthetic hair is made from human or synthetic fibers. Some examples of synthetic fibers are Kanekalon and Toyokalon. Synthetic hair is cheaper than the human hair and is available in a wide range of colors and textures. Human hair is the naturally grown hair of some individual and therefore, is differentiated as per ethnicity. The general categories includes, Asian, European and Russian hair. Asian hair type is coarse and very dark in color. Must be used only on Asian hair. European hair type is soft, either straight or wavy. It looks good and ais durable. Russian hair type is considered to be the best in the business of commercial hair. It is a business of some families to grow and sell hair. They don’t treat their hair with any chemical or other styling agents. Therefore, Russian hair is also called raw or virgin hair and thus, is more suitable for coloring and perming purposes. However, the cost is a bit too much. The best option will be to go for an European hair type as it is good in quality and easy on the pocket. Moreover, hair imported to United States must be processed and boiled to meet the USA import standards for commercial hair. So, no hair (even Russian hair) remains virgin in the States.

Long Hair Extensions Hair Care
The most important thing that you should never forget is to frequently wash your scalp, especially in between the braids or tracks so as to avoid any bacterial or fungal growth. Keep this area clean.
Brush your long hair extension gently after waking up, a swim or shampooing. Make sure you remove all the tangles as they may result in hair breakage.
Always use good quality hair care products. Wash and condition the long hair extension at least once in 2-3 days using mild shampoos and conditioners.
Your natural hair can derive moisture from your scalp but the hair extensions won’t. Therefore, it is your responsibility to oil and moisturize them regularly.
Long and quality hair extensions are actually no less than a magic that can be done to your hair within a few hours. Try these hair accessories and discover a new you.

http://www.sheldeez.com Africa’s Best, African Essence and a large selection of black hair products sold at africanamericanhair.com. We carry the internets largest selection of black hair products…

You’re Engaged!

You certainly want to enjoy this wonderful and magical time in your life but you know that planning your own wedding is going to be a big job! The following checklists might make it a little easier for you to keep it simple, keep it organized and keep you sane!

The 12-Month Countdown

6-12 Months Before Your Wedding…

The wedding date has been set and now like any large project, it’s a good idea to step back and take a look at the big picture first, then break it down to the finer details later.

The Big Picture: Who, What, Where and How

• Decide who will pay for what, where you’ll get married and how expenses will be shared

• Talk to friends, family, bridal consultants or wedding coordinators to get the direction you need for starting an organization system

• For most couples, the wedding day can be a blur, so decide early on the best way to capture your special day’s cherished memories – like with an Adesso Photo Guest Book.

The Details

Once you have your organization system in place, start going down your to-do detail list. Here are a few of the critical ones:

• Call your church or synagogue for an appointment with the Officiate
• Explore pre-marriage counseling
• Decide on what size wedding you want
• Consider and decide on wedding attendants
• Start a guest list for the wedding
• Begin determining ideas/themes/color schemes for your wedding and reception
• Select a reception location and a caterer if need be
• Consider reception entertainment
• Select a florist
• Together, shop for wedding rings
• Select a wedding dress, headpiece and schedule fittings
• Decide on the bridesmaids’ dresses

4 – 6 Months Prior To Wedding Date…
As the wedding date gets closer, the to-do list will consist of finer and finer details. And because you put an organization system in place months ago, you won’t miss a one!

• Check details and requirements for marriage license
• Coordinate theme and color schemes with florist and decorator
• Decide on a gift registry and register your gift selections
• Order your invitations and other wedding stationery
• Shop for the groom’s attire and select what the men in the wedding will wear
• Select wedding ceremony readings
• Select wedding ceremony music
• Decide and order wedding favors
• Select a bakery for the cake
• Arrange and plan honeymoon
• Review your agreements with all your vendors and service providers to insure you haven’t forgotten any details

2-Months… and Counting

• Mail out invitations
• Arrange and plan your rehearsal dinner
• Select and purchase your wedding day accessories
• Arrange attendant’s parties
• Coordinate and prepare accommodations for out-of-town guests
• Select a hairdresser and makeup artist and schedule those appointments
• Finalize those honeymoon plans

1-Month To Go!

• Last wedding dress fitting
• Final fitting for bridesmaids’ dresses
• Final fitting for men attendants
• Get marriage license
• Have your wedding attendant’s parties
• Shop and purchase your outfit to wear when you leave the reception
• Organize the final check list of wedding day events
• Confirm all the wedding day “accessories” are in order, i.e. rings, pillows, garter, etc.

2-Weeks Remaining!

• Finalize entertainment arrangements
• Go over and finalize music lists
• Go over and finalize the special music events, i.e. first dance, dance with parents, etc.
• Pick up wedding rings, make sure they fit and review any engravings

1-Week Before Your Big Day!

• Review your marriage license to make sure it’s in order
• Prepare seating arrangements for ceremony
• Prepare payment envelopes for Officiate, entertainment and vendors and give to the person who will handle that
• Confirm honeymoon reservations
• Make necessary honeymoon preparations, i.e. bank, traveler’s checks, etc.
• Prepare and pack for honeymoon
• Confirm out-of-town guest accommodations and transportation
• Check in with the florist to confirm arrival time set up
• Have your wedding ceremony rehearsal letting everyone know what they will do on the wedding day
• Have and ENJOY your rehearsal dinner!

Your Wedding Day!

• Allow plenty of time for your scheduled hair and makeup appointments
• Allow at least 2 hours for dressing
• Bring the rings and marriage license
• And MOST IMPORTANTLY, take a long deep breath and relax and enjoy your day!

For the last three years, Lesley Mattos, Founder of Adesso Albums has been happily pursuing her dream of helping people all over the world capture the Now in life’s most important moments. Of all the ways to capture your wedding memories, the Adesso Album is the only guest book alternative that provides an instant memory of your wedding event in both pictures and words. The Adesso Instant Wedding Photo Guest Books can be found at http://www.adessoalbums.com/weddings.html and if you need the Polaroid gear, you can purchase it along with the photo guest books as part of a kit

Short discussion about natural hair and the pros and cons of using chemical relaxers

220 Laboratories have allegedly files a law suit against Kate Hudson and her hair stylist-guru-to-the-stars, David Babaii, in the Superior Court of Los Angelos, over a verbal contract with the Laboratories. They claim Hudson and Babaii have misappropriated trade secrets, committed fraud, are in breach of confidence and contract and up to 13 other transgressions.

The secret ingredient to the new line of hair products, which is said to revolutionize the hairdressing world, is black volcanic ash, from the distant tropical island of Tanna, in the tiny South Pacific nation of Vanuatu.

Researchers have just discovered that the average woman, unknowingly, puts 176 different chemicals on her body, in her daily beauty routine. The use of volcanic ash is part of the world wide drive to find more natural products.

This is not the first time volcanic ash has been used in health care of the body. The Volcanic Earth, based in Vanuatu, sells the best beauty tips from Vanuatu, an exclusive exfoliating ‘Ash Power’ body scrub, produced from fine crystals of sugar and volcanic ash. The scrub has the same color as fertile black soil. It has the feel of fine granulated sugar being rubbed on the skin. The exfoliating action is produced by chafing the grains back and forth, scrubbing away dead cells of skin. After a few minutes of scrubbing, the grains melt away in lightly fragrant, moisturizing foam.

One of the ash exfoliate user described it as, “It’s like dying your own hair. The black as squid ink stuff gets everywhere you don’t want it to be. I don’t think the facecloth I used to remove it in the shower, will ever recover. I was so glad we had a handheld shower so I could quickly to hose the splatters away from the grout, so they wouldn’t stain. My husband would have killed me.”

The mineral rich, oil absorbing volcanic ash contains sulfur, which has been used for centuries as a treatment for a wide variety of skin conditions. The volcanic products are said to detoxify and restore life energy through the ancient minerals.

According to Kate Hudson and her partner, you can now manage fly away hair, as well as buy a mask for the face, procured a scrub for the body and an exfoliator and conditioner for the lips.

It is incredible what pulverized rock and cooled molten glass, produced by violent volcanic eruptions, can do. The locals in Tanna may be burning away their fortune, as they collect the ash, instead of wood, to use on their fires to cook their meal. Particularly since the area has been stripped bare by the action of the volcanic ash. I’m sure when it comes to the end result, however, there will be a dispute of who owns the precious ash, which liberally litters the plain around the base of Mt Yassur, turning the landscape into a wild scene from a science-fiction movie?

There is a further more valuable use for the ash, which only nature can create. When high levels of volcanic ash is erupted into the air, as was experienced in 1991 after the eruption of Mt Pinatubo, there was a worldwide cooling effect. The ash, which can remain suspended for days and sometimes even up to years, screened the sun and cooled the earth. A string of volcanic eruptions could be the answer to the world’s crisis of global warming. Will nature be kind and lend us a helping hand?

My sister is trying to grow her hair out. She’s tried Dr. Miracle and Doo Grow and Baby don’t be Bald and some others I can’t remember, it showed little results after 5-7 months of use. So is there any other good hair growth products that she can use that can show some results?


Hair Care for African American Women
It`s a fact that healthy hair has faster growth, vibrancy and resilience. But how do you achieve healthy hair?
Start With Proper Nutrition
This is probably the single most important factor to having healthy hair. Just like any part of the body, the hair needs certain nutrients in certain amounts to be healthy. The problem is that the average person`s diet doesn`t supply all of these nutrients in the proper amounts. There are many ways to increase your vitamin intake – eat dark vegetables, nuts, whole grains and pure oils. Or try a hair vitamin. Look for products with essential oils like vitamins E and A, flax seed and borage oils. Be sure your hair vitamin also includes significant amounts of B6, B12, Niacin, Biotin, pantothenic acid and folic acid – the elements found in healthy hair. Be sure any products you use inside or outside are formulated for relaxed or chemically treated hair.
Be Sure Your Hair Is Properly Moisturized
Dry hair is unhealthy and can lead to problems like split ends. Some people are lucky enough not to have dry hair naturally, but they are in the minority. Look for products that contain jojoba oil. Adding Jojoba Oil to your skin cream can help improve skin tone. It is a natural emollient, making the skin softer, cleaner, and all around healthier. These properties make it ideal for use on the scalp to clear away build-up that can inhibit healthy hair growth. In addition to helping relieve dry, itchy, and flaky scalp, jojoba oil can also nourish and condition hair follicles, thus preventing or repairing damaged hair.
Keep Your Scalp Clean
Having a clean scalp is essential to healthy hair growth. Over time sebum can build up in the hair follicles which will stunt the growth of the hair and cause a “thinning” look. It`s important to clean the scalp thoroughly to prevent this. Look for products that contain de-ionized water, emu oil )which acts as a super moisturizer that infuses dry, brittle hair with vibrant shine), Shou Wu extract, silk protein, calcium, vitamin E, vitamin B12, vitamin B6, vitamin B2, folic acid, collagen and citric acid. These nutrients promote healthy, fast growing hair and are reported to work together to simultaneously soften and strengthen hair. Again, be sure your product is formulated for not only relaxed, color treated, and braided hair, but for natural hair as well.
Avoid Harsh Chemicals
Unfortunately, chemical treatments like relaxers, curly perms, and coloring can cause damage to the hair. Relaxers can be particularly damaging because they work by bringing down the bonds that hold the hair together resulting in breakage. Use products that contain natural ingredients. These ingredients should be the first listed in an ingredient list on your product label.

Jungle Fever

Lina grips her face with her hands and lets out a groan of pain. Her uncle is standing over her, his hands forming the shape of a pistol and pointing down at an imaginary body on the floor. ‘They had him on the ground, like this,’ he says. ‘They fired two shots into his head from here.’

‘They humiliated him before killing him?’ wails Lina, tears running down her face. Her body is bent double at the news of her brother’s death. Gunned down aged 27 in her home town of Florencia, southern Colombia, he was murdered, she believes, by her former ‘boss’ – her commandant in the ruthless guerrilla army, Farc.

Lina was a member of Farc – the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – for seven years. Last December, exhausted and demoralized, she deserted, handing herself in to the army. Farc does not take such betrayal lightly. A terrible revenge has been exacted upon her family.

Her compact body is built for life in the jungle; she has strong arms, black hair tied back in a functional ponytail, and long unmanicured nails. From the age of 13, when she signed up, her bed was a cambuche, made from sticks hacked from the trees or a bit of plastic thrown over roots and stones on the ground. She ate lentils, rice and beans – sometimes supplementing them with cockroaches, ants and worms (the big white ones were the best – ‘they tasted like butter’). And she saw combat many times – she still has the angry welt where an army bullet pierced her neck and exited through her upper arm. (’They gave me aspirin and sent me to recover back at the camp.’)

Today things look different. In a moment of reflection, she glances out of the window of her uncle’s bungalow in a grubby, frenetic barrio of Bogota. ‘I still can’t believe it when I wake up and see the city,’ she says. ‘I never thought I would get a chance to live like this.’

Lina is one of the thousands of Colombian women who have joined the ranks of Farc. Founded as a peasant militia in 1964, Farc still has its roots in hardline Marxist ideology. For more than four decades it has conducted an implacable battle with the Colombian state and the rival paramilitary death squads of the United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC). Farc began as a rural movement, but has been gradually driven into bases deep inside Colombia’s near-impenetrable jungles, some of which are almost the size of Switzerland.

Not surprisingly, hard facts about the rebel group are difficult to come by. The government puts its troop numbers at around 9,000, while other estimates have it at over 30,000. What is better understood is how Farc finances its campaign – through the cocaine trade, kidnapping and extortion.

My visit to Colombia comes a few days after the release of Farc hostage Ingrid Betancourt, a former presidential candidate who was seized in 2002 and held in the jungle, sometimes chained by the neck. The rescue of Betancourt – along with 14 other captives – at the hands of military intelligence officers posing as aid workers has hit the group’s morale; her description of the ‘exceptional malice’ with which Farc treats its captives has damaged its international standing further. It is estimated that Farc now holds 700 hostages.

But there’s a surprising aspect of Farc’s armed struggle: like the kidnap victims, many of the rebel group’s own frontline fighters also see themselves as prisoners. And another unusual aspect of this ‘war’ – around 40 per cent of Farc’s frontline soldiers are female.

Lina joined after her mother left home and her father was left struggling to support five children. ‘I didn’t want to be a problem for him. Farc promised me an education and a wage, so I went to live with them.’ Neither of those promises were honored once she arrived – and it was made clear that any attempt to leave would be punishable by death.

Carolina Escobar Neira is the manager of a program for former combatants at the Colombian government’s High Council for Reintegration. ‘Farc has traditionally had a policy of equality among its troops,’ she says. ‘Women are expected to do the same work as men, whether that is heavy manual work, long marches or combat.’

Farc women, however, often face a life of sexual exploitation, fear and physical abuse. Contraceptive injections are administered forcibly and pregnancies are dealt with by means of abortions with whatever basic medical equipment is to hand.

‘They teach you all this Marxist philosophy and then treat you like a slave,’ says Lina. Betancourt, too, recalled her shock at the group’s treatment of its own female soldiers. ‘They were victims, too,’ she said. ‘I’ve always had a lot of esteem for them. The girls are tiny, but I’ve seen them carry heavy logs just like the men. They are slaves.’

It’s 20 July, Independence Day in Colombia. Hundreds of thousands of protesters have spilled out on to the streets, amid cries of ‘Liberty, Liberty, Liberty!’ Magazine racks on street corners show Betancourt’s weary but glamorous face, alongside triumphant headlines predicting Farc’s demise. T-shirts hanging in shop windows tell a similar story. Their slogan reads: ‘No more kidnappings, no more extortion, no more Farc!’

There’s a mood of optimism in the air. In March, spokesman Raul Reyes, seen as Farc’s number two, was killed in Ecuador, in a cross-border raid by Colombian troops. Days later, another member of Farc’s ruling body was murdered by his bodyguard. Then in May, Manuel ‘Sureshot’ Marulanda, Farc’s founder and commander, died of a heart attack. Many Colombians hope these events signal the beginning of the end of the organization they blame for wreaking havoc and destruction upon their country.

‘The collective sensation is that Farc is in its final stages,’ says Carlos Montoya, of the National Commission for Reparation and Reintegration. ‘The Colombian people have given a clear signal that it is time for them to demobilize.’

President Alvaro Uribe’s hardline stance is credited by many with getting the country back on its feet. But any improvement has come at a price. Uribe’s government and associates are mired in allegations of involvement in the drugs trade, and senior politicians in his administration have been linked to the AUC’s death squads. Amid the flurry of accusations, eight pro-Uribe congressmen have been arrested, and his foreign minister has been forced to resign. Yet, despite these scandals, his supporters are campaigning for a third term for Uribe.

Meanwhile, Cesar Avila Romero, manager of the Esmeralda Peace Home in the east of the capital, has an influx on his hands. Funded by the Ministry of Defence, his place looks after women and families who have recently deserted Farc. ‘This year the numbers have been incredible,’ he says. ‘We are really seeing a massive demobilisation. Many people are arriving here who have spent 10, 15 years in armed combat.’ The government reports 1,405 desertions from Farc in 2008, a 10 per cent increase on last year. In total, since Uribe mounted a full-frontal assault on the group in 2002, it’s said that nearly 10,000 Farc members have handed themselves in to the authorities.

The Esmeralda has a caring, if slightly chaotic, atmosphere: downstairs in the TV room, rows of young men, women and children watch the evening soap opera, while others snatch a few minutes’ sleep in the cramped bedrooms upstairs. A beautiful, blinking baby lies passively on the bed in Romero’s office while we talk – she and her twin sister were born prematurely shortly after her mother arrived from the jungle. Both twins have suffered health problems, and her mother is still in the clinic, so he is keeping an eye on her. ‘We try to unite families here. Many women arrive feeling that everyone is the enemy – it is our job to show them civil society has something to offer.’

Marcela, 26, has been living at the Esmeralda since May. She deserted Farc after nine years serving in various fronts in the regions of Choco and Antioquia. Petite and pretty, she says she still wakes at night dreaming she is back in the jungle with helicopters overhead and Farc hunting her through the trees. Sometimes she falls out of bed, being unused to sleeping on a mattress after so long on the ground. Being outside Farc ‘feels good though. This was the only decision I could make. With time the fear will go away.’

She says conditions have deteriorated for Farc soldiers on the front line. ‘When President Uribe arrived everything changed. The commanders were under more pressure. There was more hunger, and more punishment.’ She had been living on a diet of pasta, water and salt, and the death penalty was regularly administered to those accused of being ‘traitors’ or ‘infiltrators’.

‘When I joined, it was a big deal to sentence a comrade to death. Now, they are getting so desperate that they will kill people for stealing sugar,’ says Marcela. Increasing numbers thought about leaving – the 400-strong front had dwindled to 83. ‘When we heard the news [about the death of Raul Reyes] we thought – “If he can’t survive, what on earth will happen to us?”‘

Marcela went through two forced abortions during her time with Farc, and now dreams of starting a family. ‘It’s a priority. But not yet – I have to get back on my feet first.’

Family is one of the strongest motivations for women – and many men – to attempt the transition into civilian life. Romance in the ranks is frowned upon; couples who wish to have a sexual relationship have to ask their commander for permission, and they can be split up at any time if it is deemed necessary.

In San Cristobal, a hillside barrio on the outskirts of Bogota, one family has stayed together despite the best efforts of the guerrillas. The home of Esperanza Sierra Ramirez, 26, and Jose Orlando Aguirre, 36, is a picture of domestic bliss. Beans and potatoes sprout from a small patch of earth outside the front door, and two dogs chase each other in the chilly morning air. Esperanza is getting her two-year-old son Jose Eduardo ready for nursery, heating his milk in the kitchen while his father dresses him in dungarees and a woolly balaclava.

Orlando and Esperanza served together in Farc for four years, eventually deserting in 2005. Orlando was a committed revolutionary, while Esperanza joined, she says, ‘for love’, having met Orlando at a party in her home town of Ibague. ‘I was very innocent when I met him,’ she says, stirring the saucepan of milk and smiling fondly at her husband. ‘I didn’t even know there was such a thing as a guerrilla. When I first went to the camps I found the physical labor and the lack of food hard. But I was very much in love – at that time I wouldn’t have changed my decision for anything in the world.’ She admits there were also elements of the lifestyle she liked. ‘It wasn’t like in ordinary life where the woman has to wash her husband’s underpants. In Farc everyone has to look after themselves.’

The crisis came when their commander decided to split the couple up, sending them off to different fronts. They didn’t know whether they would ever see one another again. ‘I wanted to die. I felt like part of my soul had gone,’ says Esperanza. For Orlando, who was becoming increasingly disillusioned with Farc’s mistreatment of its troops and its abuse of civilians, the separation was the last straw.

‘I had always thought the most important thing was the revolution,’ he says. ‘But when I had to say goodbye to Esperanza I found myself crying in the ranks. I had to ask for permission to sit down. Everybody was shocked – they had never seen me cry. I started to realise I was abandoning my wife for the sake of a revolution that was never going to happen.’

Another recent deserter resorted to particularly dramatic measures in order to return to the family she had left behind when she joined Farc. Sitting in her mother’s sparse sitting room in a Bogota housing estate, she looks every inch the typical city girl: manicured nails, carefully groomed hair, white trousers. Amalia now has a respectable job in a travel agency and keeps her guerrilla past a secret from her neighbours. When she went to the camps, her two-year-old daughter was sent to live in Bogota with her grandmother but, after two-and-a-half years, Amalia could no longer bear the separation. ‘I was given the task of looking after an airstrip, and I saw my opportunity,’ she says. She got on to the plane with her gun and told the pilot he was being hijacked. ‘He went very pale and did what I said.’ On the journey to freedom she read her horoscope in the newspaper El Tiempo. ‘It said I was about to start a new cycle in my life. I remember thinking how true it was.’

Amalia suffered a traumatic forced abortion during her time in the jungle. She was given drugs which succeeded in killing the fetus, but not in provoking a miscarriage. The fetus was later extracted with pincers, and she was given just 20 days’ rest before going back into combat. ‘I was so angry with the commander. Farc say their policy is social equality, but internally they don’t practice that. That is why there is so much demobilization. And women suffer worst of all.’

Female combatants often find it harder than their male colleagues to fit back into civilian society. ‘Women feel more rejection from people in the community, because they have broken not only social rules but also the rules of gender,’ says Carolina Escobar Neira of the government’s High Council for Reintegration. ‘Nevertheless, we find that women take better advantage than men of the government programs available to former combatants. They are more likely than men to attend counseling sessions and workshops, and to take up further study.’

There are signs, too, that bonds of gender can be a powerful force in promoting peace and reconciliation. Valledupar is a sweltering pueblo nestling just inland from Colombia’s Caribbean coast. It was a traditional heartland for the AUC paramilitaries until a demobilization agreement with the government in 2006, and on its strangely quiet streets people are still tense, suspicious. It is here that an extraordinary group of women have achieved post-conflict reconciliation of a sort the government can still only dream of.

Todos Somos Mujeres (’We are all women’) consists of 40 women who meet every Thursday on the patio of a colonial house in the town centre. Half are former combatants with the AUC; the other half had children or husbands killed by the same group. Through sharing their experiences, the two sides have formed a strong bond and now hope to start workshops with both women and men across the country.

In the shade of a mango tree, the women sit hand in hand and explain how they overcame their grief and resentment towards one another. ‘Initially we were very defensive in the presence of the victims. In order to ask for forgiveness you have to forgive yourself first,’ says Luz Paulina de la Rosa, 42, a former combatant.

Otilia Cordoba, an outspoken community leader whose teacher son was killed by the paramilitaries, testifies to the group’s healing effect for the victims. ‘I no longer simply think of myself as a victim,’ she says. ‘Or rather, I realize the women in the armed groups are victims, too. I think as women we realize that, for the sake of our families, we have to try to reach out to the other side. Otherwise how much lower will Colombia sink?’

Could such a program work for Farc women? Clara Rojas, who was kidnapped with Betancourt while working as her aide, thinks so. I meet her at a breakfast reception in a smart club in Bogota, where she is due to give a speech to a group of immaculately dressed upper-class women. Rojas’s lined face betrays some of the strain of the past years. At liberty only since January, she’s had just a few months to get to know her four-year-old son Emmanuel, who was taken from her by the rebels when he was eight months old in order to seek medical treatment, and was not reunited with his mother until her release.

Rojas basks in the attention and adoration heaped upon her by the audience. She explains that during her time in the jungle she developed strong, affectionate relationships with some of her female guards. ‘At first, I found the female Farc very harsh, very tough,’ she says. Things changed when she was pregnant, and she was isolated from the other hostages with only two female guards. Emmanuel’s birth left the baby with a broken arm – and his mother in bed for 40 days.

‘During the pregnancy I got very ill, and when my son was born I nearly died. If it hadn’t been for those two women, I never would have survived. We developed a very intense female solidarity: they were the ones who urged me to pull through for the sake of my son, and they cared for him when I couldn’t.’

Rojas believes Farc’s female members should have an important role in bringing the group’s members back into civilian society. ‘Through women you can change things a lot. You can see they suffer – not only in the small ways like being deprived of female clothes and identity, but also in the fact they are not able to achieve the most minimum level of security for themselves and their families. In my experience, lots of Farc women would like a change. I think there is work we could do there.’

But for many Colombians, both victim and combatant, the cycle of suffering is still red raw. Back at the apartment owned by Lina’s uncle, no talk of change, of optimism, of solidarity will bring back her murdered brother. Oblivious to the non-stop urban roar of the taxis and street vendors outside, Lina, and her aunts and cousins gather around a mobile phone in the kitchen. They’re looking at pictures of the young man sentenced to death by Farc merely for being the brother of a deserter. Lina’s mother and her surviving sibling have been forced to flee their home, with no money and nowhere to go.

Lina wipes away a tear. The words she utters don’t convey the desperation in her voice. ‘Son of a bitch,’ she cries. No matter how hard she tries to run, war just keeps catching up with her.

 Page 5 of 27  « First  ... « 3  4  5  6  7 » ...  Last »