Port Resistance: the autonomous zone at the heart of Colombian protests
Meet the kids of Cali, who make up the soul of a national revolution
Cali, Colombia- A few hundred young women enter Puerto Resistencia, (Port Resistance) the heart of protests here in Cali, with their fists raised to the air in a gesture of defiance against the state that has been killing them in the streets for weeks. They are cheered by the dozens of primera línea, or “front line” protesters who defend the square — youths clad in improvised riot gear with homemade shields that have repelled countless police attacks on this autonomous zone they have carved out with sweat, tears and blood.
They dance in the streets. They hug. They are proud, joyful and fiercely defiant. They celebrate the fact that for today this autonomous zone in a poor neighborhood of Cali, which has endured so much violence in recent weeks, remains firmly in control of the community that has taken it’s destiny and security into its own hands.
No one at Port Resistance seems to have last names when they speak to me, and I have doubts the first names they give me are correct either. The atmosphere is permeated by a fear of being persecuted, killed or simply disappeared by Colombian state forces.
