"Colombia to comb landfill for bodies of hundreds" Associated Press July 27, 2015
MEDELLIN, Colombia — A team of forensic experts began removing 31,000 cubic yards of rubble Monday from La Escombrera, a debris landfill on Medellin’s outskirts where the remains of as many as 300 people are believed to have been dumped during one of the darkest chapters of Colombia’s long-running civil conflict.
At a ceremony to remember the missing and kick off the search effort, officials joined more than 100 women who dressed in white and carried black plastic silhouettes to represent their loved ones.
Human rights activists say it could be the biggest mass grave ever in Colombia and the dig represents a glimmer of hope that justice will be realized. But the search will be complicated.
Always is when it comes to allied atrocities.
Despite more than a decade-long clamor by victims’ families that the landfill be closed and excavated, giant trucks have continued to dump construction waste daily.
Colombia’s rightist paramilitary groups demobilized a decade ago, and the government is negotiating a peace deal with the biggest rebel movement. With the conflict winding down, officials have been fanning out across the country to exhume hundreds of bodies, attempt to identify them through DNA testing, and return the remains to family members.
But most of the unmarked graves are in lawless rural areas, not Medellin, which is Colombia’s second-largest city.
Investigators say it is unclear how many, if any, bodies can be recovered.
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Unfortunately, I need to end things here for now because there are several things I need to clean up today before resuming my posting. Please forgive me.
NEXT DAY UPDATE: 16 police officers killed in Colombia helicopter crash
Fits with the theme, doesn't it. Start digging, and who wanted them removed and why?
I never got back here yesterday because at the end of the day I was worn out and tired. I haven't even read the Globe today after getting up two hours late and having to drive farther for it. The cleaning I started turned into a massive project that is going to take more than two days, and I don't want to leave it half-done (like so many things on this blog).
I hate to use the cliche biting off more that one can chew, but I didn't realize the task I was undertaking yesterday, sweating my butt off the whole time. Was a weird day. The weather was really funky, and there were cloud formations I've never seen before and I've lived here all my life. Weird black clouds rolling between white and blue skies, lightning strikes here and there, patches of rain, and honestly, I was thinking weather manipulation. Calling for more of the same this afternoon.
Nice day so far this morning, though. Good day for cleaning.
