Margarita Rojas Mena stitches up a torn photo of the local school, where armed groups had a confrontation — part of a healing ritual for residents. She’s a healer in MojaudĂł, a community in Alto BaudĂł, ChocĂł, Colombia.
Fernanda Pineda/MSF
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Fernanda Pineda/MSF
Stitching sutures is one way doctors treat wounds.
But now there’s another kind of stitching to heal psychic wounds: tearing up and then sewing back together photographs of loved ones and homes. That’s one of the rituals devised in the remote area of Alto BaudĂł in the western region of Colombia, where feuds between armed rebel and criminal groups have terrorized the population for years.
The photo stitching is part of a two-year project conceived of by Doctors Without Borders, working with community healers and midwives from 2022 to 2024. The goal has been to create rituals to help manage the anxiety, depression and other mental health risks posed by the area’s widespread violence.
Fernanda Pineda/MSF
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The project’s title, RiografĂas: Women Healers of Alto BaudĂł, cleverly combines the Spanish words for river and photograph. Photoville creative director and co-founder Sam Barzilay explains that the exhibit showcases the resilience of women in the face of global health crises, highlighting them as agents of change and healing. The project focuses on the community living near the Baudò River, where many people of African descent and indigenous Embera reside, facing threats from armed groups and landmines. The photograph captures a gathering at the river, showing the community’s unity and connection to their surroundings. In the morning, intimate moments unfold as a woman cradles a baby, people attend to their laundry, and everyone gathers together. The peaceful river scene captures kids playing with pails and balls, along with a small canoe in the background. This tranquil setting contrasts with the underlying stress endured by the community. Traditional healer Carmen Fidela Mena reflects on the community’s struggles and her dual role as a healer and makeshift medical practitioner. The image of the healer symbolically healing the wounds of the territory encapsulates the resilience and resourcefulness of the community. Each female healer ripped a picture of the area she wished to heal, and then, just as she has maintained the well-being of her community, she used herbs and sutures to mend it. The day the incident occurred at the school, I found myself hiding under the bed, filled with thoughts of mortality. I wondered, “Am I going to die? If my blood pressure rises, will this be the end for me?” And so, I remained motionless in that moment of fear and uncertainty.
Despite the ongoing conflict, these new rituals introduced by the healers offer a glimmer of hope for the future.
Diane Cole contributes to various publications such as The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. She is also the author of the memoir After Great Pain: A New Life Emerges. For more information, visit her website at DianeJoyceCole.com
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“Sarah decided to go for a walk in the park to clear her mind.”
Sarah chose to take a stroll in the park to relax and clear her thoughts. phrase “The cat sat on the mat” as “On the mat, the cat sat.”
