María Cristina Cobo Mahecha, una luchadora incansable, una mujer resiliente, una enfermera dedicada y comprometida con su trabajo y con el servicio a la comunidad. Grupos armados la desaparecieron forzosamente en medio del conflicto interno colombiano. Su madre reclama justicia y la verdad de lo ocurrido. El caso sigue abierto. Esta es su historia.

Hope, memory and resilience

María Cristina Cobo Mahecha, a tireless fighter, a resilient woman, a nurse dedicated and committed to her work and to serving the community. She was forcibly disappeared by armed groups in the midst of Colombia's internal conflict. Her mother demands justice and the truth of what happened. The case is still open. This is her story.

Espoir, mémoire et résilience

María Cristina Cobo Mahecha, une combattante infatigable, une femme résiliente, une infirmière dévouée et engagée dans son travail et au service de la communauté. Des groupes armés l'ont fait disparaître de force en plein conflit interne en Colombie. Sa mère réclame justice et la vérité sur ce qui s'est passé. L'affaire est toujours en cours. Voici son histoire.    

María Cristina Cobo Mahecha, Colombia

1. Background For the last six decades, Colombia has been under internal armed conflict resulting in more than 9 million victims, with violence across 95% of municipalities(1). More than five guerrillas, paramilitary groups and regular government forces have been involved in this conflict. Between 1985 and 2018, more than 450,000 people were killed in the crossfire and millions were ‘’ displaced, and widespread human rights violations (2). In 2016 the Colombian government and the FARC guerrillas signed a peace agreement to end the conflict, but the implementation of peace agreements has brought new challenges for the country, violence has not stopped and changed its dynamics, Human Rights defenders and peace signatories are still under attack. In 2022 the Colombian Truth Commission registered in its final report that more than 2,500 attacks on health workers and health infrastructure occurred between 1997 and 2019 (3). 2. Who is Maria Cristina Cobo Mahecha? Maria Cristina Cobo Mahecha (born March 16, 1975) was a survivor, a nurse, and a daughter. During her childhood, Maria suffered ‘’ a significant accident in which she survived with several injuries and severe burns to her body. This experience had inspired her to pursue a nursing degree to help people. Maria received her nursing degree from the Universidad del Llano-Meta (University of Llano-Meta), in Colombia. During her first year, Maria worked in social services, designing health promotion and prevention programs to address the high rates of teen pregnancy in Calamar, a town in Guaviare Colombia and creating programs to help the older farming population.   Movimiento por la salud de los pueblos Galería de trabajadores de la salud bajo ataque Referencia: Colombia: caso María Cristina Cobo Mahecha Título: Esperanza, memoria y resiliencia Idioma: español - subtítulos en inglés Tiempo: 00:11:51:00 Realización: Luisa Fernanda Viatela Una Producción del Movimiento por la salud de los pueblos © 2023 People's Health Movement Health workers under attack Gallery Reference: Colombia: The case of María Cristina Cobo Mahecha Title: Esperanza, memoria y resiliencia (Hope, memory and resilience) Language: Spanish - English subtitles Time: 00:11:51:00 Web documentary by: Luisa Fernanda Viatela A People's Health Movement Production © 2023 Mouvement populaire pour la santé Galerie de travailleurs de la santé attaqués Référence : Colombie : Affaire María Cristina Cobo Mahecha Titre : Espoir, mémoire et résilience Langue : espagnol - sous-titres français Heure : 00:11:25:00 Réalisation : Luisa Fernanda Viatela Une production du Mouvement populaire pour la santé © 2023