My Colombian War
A Journey Through the Country I Left Behind
Silvana Paternostro
- A
- timely,
- evocative
- account
- of
- a
- reporter's
- reckoning
- with
- her
- homeland's
- volatile
- pastGrowing
- up
- in
- the
- coastal
- city
- of
- Barranquilla,
- Colombia,
- Silvana
- Paternostro
- indulged
- in
- the
- typical
- concerns
- of
- a
- privileged
- young
- girl:
- friendships
- and
- parties,
- school
- and
- family.
- But
- soon
- it
- became
- apparent
- that
- life
- in
- Colombia
- would
- not
- go
- on
- as
- usual.
- Strange
- planes
- appeared
- overhead,
- the
- harbingers
- of
- the
- marijuana
- drug
- trade
- that
- would
- explode
- into
- cocaine
- wars
- over
- the
- next
- decade,
- and
- soon
- after,
- a
- disputed
- election
- would
- lead
- to
- demonstrations
- and
- kidnappings
- targeting
- the
- affluent
- landed
- elite—including
- Paternostro's
- family.
- A
- revolution
- was
- brewing,
- and
- the
- social
- inequalities
- reflected
- in
- her
- life
- would
- boil
- over
- into
- the
- most
- violent,
- most
- protracted,
- and
- most
- misunderstood
- civil
- war
- of
- our
- time.In
- My
- Colombian
- War,
- Paternostro
- journeys
- back
- to
- the
- place
- where
- her
- family
- and
- her
- closest
- friends
- still
- live,
- weaving
- authentic
- experience
- into
- a
- history
- of
- this
- ongoing
- conflict.
- Through
- interviews
- she
- allows
- us
- to
- witness
- the
- treacherous
- war
- zone
- that
- Colombia
- has
- become,
- projected
- on
- the
- daily
- lives
- of
- its
- citizens.
- Paternostro's
- book
- is
- a
- stunning,
- comprehensive
- narrative
- of
- Colombia's
- past
- and present.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
