The streets of Tibú, an oil town in the Colombian department of Norte de Santander, have once again been the scene of the exodus of thousands of people who seek refuge from the violence between the guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN) and one of the FARC dissidents.

This town experienced similar scenes between 1997 and 2004 when the massacres of guerrillas and paramilitaries forced the displacement of more than 34,000 people who had to flee to get to safety after being accused of collaborating with the other side.

This time, of the 38,000 displaced people left by the guerrilla war in Catatumbo, about 5,300 are in Tibú and the rest, mostly in Cúcuta, capital of Norte de Santander (15,086) and in Ocaña (11,503), the second city of the department, bordering Venezuela.

In the urban center of Tibú there are five temporary shelters that welcome adults and children and in which the situation is about to become critical.

One of them is the Minor Seminary, converted into an improvised home for those who arrive with their own dramas.
In the different spaces of this place there are temporary beds and people with stories of sleepless nights and the despair that accompanies those who flee aimlessly from the bullets.

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“We were two days in silence inside the house. At night we did not turn on the light for fear that they would reach us,” a woman who prefers to omit her name and who fled with her husband and two children from the La 25 sector told EFE.

Another woman, named Luz Mary, from the farmhouse of Miramontes, said that she went out on motorcycles along with several members of her family.

“They told us that we should go out and we left our animals abandoned. It is strong and more for our children,” he told EFE, while in the background some minors were heard chanting “We want peace.”

Don Jaime, a farmer with deep roots in the farmhouse of La Serpentina, shares his story: “My family has lived here for generations. The earth is our home, but now we are forced to flee, but I will return.”

As the days go by, the exodus continues in the deep Catatumbo. Some stay in Tibú, others continue their way to Cúcuta, where there are already more than 15,000 displaced people, or to Ocaña, which has received more than 11,500 people.

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The catatumbero Jean Carlos lived closely the beginning of the conflict and fled with 11 relatives on a motorcycle in search of shelter.

“One panics,” he says, and assures that he plans to return to his land as soon as everything calms down because “we have fought hard to have it to leave it thrown away.”

Lieutenant Colonel Miyer Fernando Moreno Gutiérrez, commander of the Army’s Battalion of Military Engineers No. 30, said that they are evacuating civilians in risky conditions, the most recent of them with 40 people.

“With the constant aerial patrol, 120 people have been rescued, including social leaders, peace signatories and communal leaders, who were protected and placed in shelters,” said the officer, who indicated that they have had knowledge of isolated confrontations, but not with the same intensity of the first day.

The humanitarian response continues to arrive and the Government of the North of Santander has activated protocols to provide basic assistance to those affected: food, mats and hygiene kits are distributed among the shelters.

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The streets of Tibú are patrolled by the Army and the Police, who try to bring tranquility and order, but fear persists and insecurity remains a shadow over the community.