In 2001, the community was trapped between right- wing paramilitary groups and the leftist FARC. Both factions accused the town of being sympathetic to the other party, and villagers were murdered by the hundreds. In response, the Nasa created the guard as a sort of neighbourhood watch to patrol the territory. Volunteers’ red and green bandanas symbolise the fight for the land and the blood they’ve spilled, and their “command sticks” are often more symbolic than threatening.
The organisation has no age limits or gender requirements. They say nonviolence in a country armed to the teeth wasn’t a philosophical or ideological choice but a pragmatic one. They had tried armed self-defence in the past but it didn’t work. The community understood that more weapons only generated more bloodshed. The first time they caught national attention was in 2004, when a number of Nasa leaders were kidnapped by the FARC. About 400 guard members went after them, deep into the jungle. They found them after 20 days and managed to have them
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