Today I logged onto MSN and many of my Colombian friends had that little umbrella icon thingy before their names in my friends list. Wondering if there was a big rainstorm in Bogotá or something, I decided to ask one of them, que maaas? What was the deal?
Well, this little umbrella has very little to do with rain and a LOT to do with protest. As you may or may not know, there was a HUGE protest in cities throughout Colombia yesterday against kidnapping and the many people who’ve been kidnapped by the FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia) over the last few years. With the motto “La Solidaridad Rompe Cadenas,” hundreds of thousands of people walked out from their jobs and homes and took to the streets of Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Bucaramanga, Cartagena, etc etc, to protest this phenomenon of kidnapping that has haunted Colombia for way too long. El Tiempo has a bunch of coverage here.
Now, back to the umbrellas… Resulta que, they’re a form of online protest. It’s to show their solidarity. But why an umbrella??? No one knew (someone suggested that maybe because it’s black and black is mourning? quizas?)… any ideas, cosmopolatinos de Nueva York?
(To add the umbrella to your MSN name, just type (um) before or after your name. Así de fácil.)
Did anything go down here??? Didn’t know of anything in Jackson Heights yesterday, but then again, I was holed up in my office in Times Square for most of the time….
More info on the protests (in English) here:
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6275834.stm
(couldn’t find ANYTHING in the NY Times!!!!)
para español, visit www.eltiempo.com