Citizens Concerned as Agrarian Strike Escalates in Colombia · Global Voices
Cati Restrepo

Since August 19, Colombia has been experiencing an agrarian strike, through which farmers are demanding guarantees from the government that allow them to live with dignity in order to sow the land.
In a country with high agricultural potential, opinions are abundant and it appears as though there is no negotiated solution in sight [es]. This has generated countless expressions of concern among citizens.
Tatiana Mena (@TatianaMenaV) [es] says:
Debo confesarlo: estoy muy triste por la situacion del pais y es mas triste la situacion que estan viviendo muchas persona, la pobreza…
— TatianaMena☆ (@TatianaMenaV) August 23, 2013
I must confess: I am upset about the country's situation and the situation that many people are living through, poverty, is even more upsetting…
Maria Fernanda Carrascal (@MafeCarrascal) [es] imagines different scenarios for Colombia, as she accompanies her post with an image:
Que sería de Colombia, de nosotros, sin nuestros campesinos. #LoQueEsConLosCampesinosEsConmigo pic.twitter.com/d6odDRzkK1
— Ma.FernandaCarrascal (@MafeCarrascal) August 22, 2013
What would Colombia be, what would we be, without our farmers. (Cartoon reads: “Sorry for the inconvenience, we are risking our lives so that you can have food on your table”)
And Soñando Despierto (@juanrhc) [es] affirms:
HP Santos Buscando la paz con guerrilleros terroristas y declarandole la guerra a quienes nos dan de comer #LoQueEsConLosCampesinosEsConmigo
— Soñando Despierto! (@juanrhc) August 23, 2013
[President] Santos looking for peace with terrorist guerrillas and declaring war to those who feed us.
Translation: “How can we not support those who have always fed us!” Image by Liliana Castro Morato on Facebook
In the midst of the conversation are also the voices of those calling for real action on the part of all those who continue posting their opinions via the Internet.
Maly Mejía (@Maly) [es] expresses the following:
#LoQueEsConLosCampesinosEsConmigo nosotros en twitter escribiendo y en la vida real no haciendo nada, así somos.
— Maly  (@Maly_Mejia) August 23, 2013
(The farmer's situation is my situation) we are on twitter writing and not doing anything in real life, that is how we are.
And Ricardo Casas (@BecauseImHouses) [es] says sarcastically:
Los verdaderos campesinos son los que luchan en las redes sociales por mejoras en likes y aumento de favs #LoQueEsConLosCampesinosEsConmigo
— Ricardo Casas (@BecauseImHouses) August 23, 2013
The true farmers are those that fight on social networks for improvements on likes and increases in favs
On the other hand, the blog El Churro [es] shares photos from the fourth day of the strike and assures that:
Los medios de comunicación nacionales y regionales hasta el momento estigmatizan, opacando la magnitud que ha tenido el paro agrario y popular.
The national and regional media have stigmatized up until now, detracting from the magnitude that the agrarian and popular strike has had.
Concluding the fourth day of protests, the media reported [es] shortages and curfew measures, meaning the conversation has not ceased under hashtags #LoQueEsConLosCampesinosEsConmigo (The farmer's situation is my situation) and #YoParoPor (I strike for).
The government also reported a blockage of over 30 streets throughout the entire country [es] and, concurrently, several citizen videos report attacks taking place by the riot squad.