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[Music playing: "Casas Viejas" [br]by Francisco Canaro and Ada Falcón]

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My name is Rolando Arenos.

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I have lived in this neighborhood [br]for roughly 46 years.

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We came here from the countryside, [br]from the mountains.

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There was no water.[br]There was no sewage system.

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We would have committee [br]meetings on weekends.

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Taking out dirt, making piles.

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And that's how we started to build[br]our neighborhood, bit by bit.

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We used to beg the mayor [br]to install a sanitation system.

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Not to give it to us for free. [br]To charge us.

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He kept refusing to install [br]any public utilities.

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So when we realized he was not[br]going to install any utilities

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we took the electricity from over there,

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we drank the water from Santa Margarita.

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We went back to to the mayor, and he [br]said, "You all don't know when to stop."

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"If you come back and break the water [br]pipes, I'm going to throw you in jail."

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So we decided on collective action.

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We made a proposal, and the mayor said,

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"You have left me with no choice. [br]We will install the utilities."

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We were born here. [br]We're staying here. No evictions.

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This is the Cascada neighborhood.

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Out of 185 homes, 75 have received eviction [br]notices due to the occupants' risk of death,

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due to the crumbling structures,

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caused by unstable incomes and other [br]events in the neighborhood's history.

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The problem in associated with [br]this neighborhood because

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it's on a piece of land that provides [br]structural support to a highway

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and it's bound by

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the Cascada ravine, the Chaguala ravine, [br]and Ocean Highway.

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When they built the highway...

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Interviewer: The highway [br]wasn't there before?

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No. There was a road, [br]but it was very small.

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Then they made it wider.

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And when they made it wider, [br]they damaged the houses.

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It looked like a handmade dirt temple.

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Then afterwards, they put up a wall.

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And even with that wall, they continued [br]to damage the neighborhood.

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This community has had a problem [br]for nine or ten years.

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They had to fix the highway,

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which is directly above the neighborhood,

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because it became unstable and [br]part of the mountain collapsed

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and blocked that part of the roadway, [br]and there was a landslide.

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My name is Maria Isabel Muñoz, [br]and I live in the Cascada neighborhood.

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The situation has gotten worse since 1999,

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with the widening of the highway [br]that goes towards the ocean.

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Because of the construction of a wall, [br]carried out by the state,

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which was not built according to code,

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and did not take into account the runoff

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from the mountain where they built [br]housing for displaced families.

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They damaged the water from the aqueduct. [br]

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Because over there, on the side, [br]there's a big tube

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And on this side, there was another one.

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And they damaged both.

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So the excuses started, more, [br]and more, and more of them

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and we would tell them, "The water [br]is coming right through here."

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Engineers came, but they said,

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"The issue is, we can't start any trouble [br]with the government." Understand?

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And they'd say to us,

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"Why don't you leave the neighborhood? [br]Why are you still here?"

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Why should we leave?

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I'd argue with them,

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I'd say, "Since you live somewhere [br]else, someplace nice."

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"You couldn't care less. We do care [br]because we live here."

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We live here, so we do care.

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It's been 14 years.

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Imagine that.

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14, 15 years practically. And we've [br]been fighting the government....

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Let's see what happens now.

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I've put a lot of money into my house.

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I haven't been able able to fix it [br]perfectly because I don't have the means.

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But the house won't fall. [br]The way I have it -- it won't fall.

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I have a lot of these columns.

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I have about 11 of them .

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You know area behind this neighborhood?

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They're building a 33-story [br]building. Imagine that.

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Interviewer: "That one won't fall."

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Those buildings don't fall.

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A friend of mine lives over there.

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He has a small farm.

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I talked to him recently, and he told me, [br]"Hey man, I'm fed up."

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They keep asking him if he'll sell [br]his land. And he refuses.

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It hurts me. A lot of people aren't [br]in any condition to move.

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They're kicking us out [br]as if we were animals,

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into these 32 square meter boxes when [br]we're used to living with normal comforts.

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There are nice houses here.

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My house is not big, but I was fine there.

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Now they're telling me, [br]'Go live over there!'

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They gave me an apartment [br]but I haven't taken it.

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I told them, "I'm not taking it [br]because I'm not displaced"

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I'm not going anywhere. You damaged [br]my house, now you have to fix it.

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Once it's fixed, then [br]I'll decide what to do.

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I receive financial assistance to help [br]pay my rent every first of the month.

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They tell me they're going to take it [br]away because I haven't demolished my house.

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because I haven't followed [br]the demolition order.

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I told them I'm not going to demolish it [br]until you fix my housing situation.

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I don't want an apartment. [br]I didn't ask for that.

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I want an old house or a new house. Or [br]money so that I can choose whatever I want.

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Whatever the government can give me. [br]And if not, I won't leave.

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The government tells me, "Well, ma'am, you [br]have an order to receive temporary housing.

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That's it. It's final. You have to go."

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I said, "If you take away my subsidy and [br]don't fix anything, I'm going back home.

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I'll fix it and stay there."

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Why don't they invest more in our [br]neighborhood instead of kicking us out?

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There's people that gave and fought a lot [br]to build a home for themselves.

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Some people didn't care.

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They took the apartment and they left. [br]And they're fine over there.

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Everyone has their own opinion.

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I was going to move into the apartment.

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But it was so small that I said, [br]"I won't take it."

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I asked the lawyer, "If I don't take the [br]apartment what happens?"

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He said, "Ma'am, you're not required to [br]take it if you don't want it."

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So I told him, "If I didn't have [br]anywhere to go, I'd take it.

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But I have a house and [br]I worked hard for it."

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The failure to prevent future [br]risks for these communities

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has led to larger and more [br]complicated risks on the ground.

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This could have been prevented,

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had the original [br]construction had been done properly.

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About 14-15 years ago, residents [br]began to file complaints

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because their houses were falling apart.

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The residents blame this, in part, on the [br]work that began about 10, 11 years ago

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on the construction of a westward highway [br]towards the New West suburb.

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Now there are about 15 thousand [br]residences in that area.

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That's what they did up there.

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There were lots of explosions over there.

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Oh man, when they were building there, [br]everyday it was like,

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BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM.

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And that's what lived through right here.

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We've had this problem in our [br]area for 14 years.

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Houses deteriorate because of runoff and [br]underground water flow

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caused by excessive construction [br]in the New West suburb.

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It has been disturbing us but we haven't

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gotten the attention [br]we deserve from the state.

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We demand that the state,

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and we demand that the City of Medellin, [br]

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gotten the attention [br]we deserve from the state.

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seeing as the was damage caused

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by excessive construction [br]in the New West suburb,

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where the city has [br]put it's population growth.

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We ask for help in the [br]recovery of our neighborhood

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being that we've been here for 50 years[br]and that we want to stay here.

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There is a social fabric here, [br]there are roots here,

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and the City of Medellin isn't [br]taking this into account.

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They say, "Leave the neighborhood."

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But we say that we're going to stay here.

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Or build good apartments here, big ones, [br]where we can fit our lives.

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But these little apartments, they only [br]have 2 bedrooms, you understand?

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We have the right to a dignified life and [br]they should respect our wishes.

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We want to regain our rights, [br]since we've lost them.

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We demand our neighborhood's recovery. [br]We breathe peace and tranquility here.

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No more evictions. We were born here, [br]and we will stay here.

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We don't want discrimination [br]in our neighborhood.

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Don't violate our rights.

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We demand the right to a dignified home.

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We don't want more evictions [br]in the La Cascada neighborhood.

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We want to continue being the same unified[br]neighborhood that we've always been.

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We want to stay in our neighborhoods, [br]in our homes.

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They need to respect that right.

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We want to stay in our neighborhood, [br]where we were born and raised.

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The problem they caused needs a just [br]solution. And no more evictions.

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We are not displaced, and we do not [br]want to become displaced.

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We have the right to put the pieces [br]of the puzzle back together.

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It got messed up by large corporations [br]that came and, from one day to the next,

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managed to destroy our community,

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When the eyes of the world are upon us, [br]the government listens to us.

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When these eyes are no longer on us, [br]the government goes blind.

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"I've never seen you. [br]I don't remember you.

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We've never discussed this. Leave a [br]message with my assistant.

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Etc., etc., etc."

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If you come here late at night, [br]you'll see there is no thievery going on.

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There are no break ins. You can leave for[br]a month, and no one will touch your house.

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You come back and everything[br]is like you left it.

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In other parts of town, you go there [br]at night and you'll get robbed.

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This is a really good neighborhood to [br]live in. It's great for raising a family.

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That's why we're fighting. [br]So that they don't kick us out.

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We don't know if this area could be [br]declared a priority interest

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so the state could immediately make [br]the necessary investments,

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But we also have to think about how [br]we could guarantee that it get done

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with the lowest possible [br]impact on the residents.

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We should uproot as few families [br]as possible, even temporarily.

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How is this accomplished?

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ThIs is a situation that needs [br]to be resolved by the government,

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by local social organizations, [br]and by human rights groups

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in order to undertake an analysis[br]and come to an agreement

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with this community to decide what is [br]best to guarantee their rights to a home,

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their rights to human development, [br]their rights to social development,

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and the right to the roots [br]they have in this area.

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We are few, but we are united.

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And united we are strong.

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And with that strength, [br]we will fight for our neighborhood.

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Yes we can! Yes we can!

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We are the future of our neighborhood!