Colombian forest tribe living in makeshift tents in Bogota Park struggles due to pandemic

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA - OCTOBER 01: Colombia’s indigenous Embera tribe forced to flee their rainforest reserves in Colombia’s western Choco province at the beginning of 2020 to escape fighting by armed criminal groups are struggling for life in Bogota after becoming homeless without government aid. They have been staying in tents and huts in Bogota's National Park since they were evicted from the place where they lived at the Ciudad Bolivar peripheries. Indigenous people traveled hundreds of miles to the capital. They have been sheltering from the rain and the cold Bogota nights in only cramped tents made from plastic sheeting held together with wooden sticks. Some sell handmade jewelry on the street, while others beg for a living. But the pandemic process and lockdowns which started mid-March 2020 have added more challenges to their already difficult lives. Because they could no longer work as street vendors selling their handicrafts to earn what they needed to buy food and pay rent. So some indigenous families were dispossessed from their rented rooms, costing about $110 a month. The Coordinator of indigenous activities in Bogota, Jairo Montañez said there are 14 indigenous authorities in Bogata, noting that eight and nine of them are sleeping in the National Park of Bogota. “We expect that the others will join this weekend, within the framework of the no guarantees and not complied with the fundamental rights of indigenous peoples,” he said. (Footage by Juan David Moreno Gallego/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)