May 2 commemorates 21 years of the Bojayá massacre, Chocó; an event that left more than 102 dead (including children, women and the elderly), after a confrontation between paramilitary groups and guerrillas.
In the Bellavista Church, more than 700 people sought refuge from the bullets and the violent confrontation that was plaguing the streets of the Chocoano municipality. Antún Ramos Cuesta, a priest of the church at the time, spoke with Kienyke.com to recount the events of May 2 and how he survived this massacre.
“At that time, Bojayá was a municipality that lacked basic services and it was difficult to live. Despite that, the people were happy, but the events of May 2 and the displacement took away our joy,” said the priest.
Antún says that Chocó did not have a dense presence of armed groups at that time, however, he recalls that one of the first guerrilla groups to enter the department was the M-19.
Events within the church
In a movement of paramilitaries towards Vigía del Fuerte, guerrilla groups intercepted and wounded several of their members in Bellavista. The clashes begin on the first of May and cease around 6 in the afternoon by agreement between the enemies.
“You have to understand that the paramilitaries arrive in the region in April and 13 days later the confrontation begins. The paramilitaries who were going to Vigía del Fuerte returned with the difficulty that they killed the commander of the group,” said Antún.
According to the priest, in the middle of the confrontation they let the armed groups know that actors of this type are not accepted in the urban area. However, they ignored it.
Before the thunderous confrontation, the population took refuge in the church. “We were all day on May 1 inside the church, we were almost 600,700 people,” he added.
In addition to finding a solid structure in the church, Antún believes that people took refuge in that place for the reason of faith. “Most of the houses were made of wood and the church was made of concrete. We thought that in the midst of the confrontation the armed groups were going to respect that space, but even they themselves tried to protect themselves there, to which we said no.”
Ensuring the care and health of women, children and the elderly; the priest also had to keep the entire community that took refuge in the church distracted. For this reason, they began to carry out religious practices such as prayer to counteract what was happening outside.
“It was time to solve the food and the daily problems that arise within a reduced space. The prayer became an encouragement to cope with the shots we heard,” the priest pointed out.
moments of anguish
At 6 in the morning on May 2, 2002, the confrontations between paramilitaries and guerrillas resumed, this time with heavy weapons. At about 10:30 am the guerrillas launch the first cylinder bomb from Pueblo Nuevo, which explodes 50 meters from the church.
Half an hour later, a cylinder bomb explodes inside the Bellavista church. According to Antún, when the artifact falls, the most affected were women and children, because they rested where the priest gives the Eucharist.
After the explosion, Antún remembers getting up injured, however he decided to start helping people in serious condition and take them to the house of the Agustinas sisters, a place that was also harmed by the explosion of another cylinder.