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What Do Colombian Rebels Do When The War Is Over?

In this Jan. 3, 2016 photo, Leonidas, a commander of the 36th Front of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, speaks to rebels at their temporary camp in Antioquia state, in the northwest Andes of Colombia. Now peace is within reach as talks between the guerrillas and the government near conclusion in Cuba, and for the first time the rebels are thinking about a future outside this jungle hideout. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
In this Jan. 3, 2016 photo, Leonidas, a commander of the 36th Front of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, speaks to rebels at their temporary camp in Antioquia state, in the northwest Andes of Colombia. Now peace is within reach as talks between the guerrillas and the government near conclusion in Cuba, and for the first time the rebels are thinking about a future outside this jungle hideout. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

After 50 years of conflict, Colombian officials say they’re close to reaching a peace settlement with the the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

What does that mean for rebels who have spent most of their adult lives fighting? The New York Times’ Nicholas Casey recently spent four days in a FARC camp in the mountains of Colombia.

He tells Here & Now‘s Meghna Chakrabarti that visiting the camp was like stepping back in time. Many of the rebels have never seen a city or walked on asphalt, and they have a hard time imagining a place for themselves in modern Colombia.

Guest

  • Nicholas Casey, Andes Bureau Chief of The New York Times. He tweets @caseysjournal.
  • Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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