It's closer to me, so it's mine... I don't think so

Ever since the beginning of history, countries and empires hace fought endlessly for territory, either to claim it or to defend it. In the past, territorial disputes were resolved through war, in which the country with the best army would win. Today however, territories and international boundaries are defined by bilateral treaties between countries or the International Court of Justice. Military action is only used as a last resort. Still, many territorial claims are unfair and have no valid argument, and when these are approved by the ICJ, then military action is justifiable, as with the territorial dispute between Colombia and Nicaragua regarding the Archipelago of San Andres and Providencia as well as the maritime borders between the two countries.

In 2001, Nicaragua filed a complaint to the International Court of Justice in The Hague against Colombia where it claimed that Colombia's possessions in the western Caribbean Sea were unfair and that Nicaragua should be the fair holder of these territories. The territory Nicaragua wants is the entire San Andres Archipelago which includes the islands of San Andres, Providencia, Santa Catalina, as well of several other islets and banks, and more than 75,000 km2 of water. Nicaragua also wants a large portion of water east of the 82nd meridian (the boundary between Colombian and Nicaraguan waters). Nicaragua said Colombia was being "imperialist and expansionist". The area Nicaragua claims is rich in oil and gas and could benefit economically from it. 

But first, what are the general rules? A country has sovereignty over waters that are within 200 nautical miles of its coast. Of course, the waters around the islands and the islands themselves are closer to Nicaragua than they are to Colombia, however, Colombia does have the right to those waters because of the islands it possesses in that area.

Now the facts about the case: Colombia and Nicaragua signed a bilateral treaty in 1926 in which both countries agreed on the current established boundaries. However, in 1980 Nicaragua said the treaty was invalid. Before both Nicaragua and Colombia became independent in the early 19th century, the Spanish possessions in the Americas were divided into several Viceroyalties or Captaincies, the equivalent of separate colonies (similar to how the British colonies were divided in North America). The disputed territory was part of the Captaincy of Guatemala (to which Nicaragua is a succesor) before 1803. However, on November 20th, 1803, the King of Spain ordered that the territory be transferred to the Viceroyalty of Nueva Granada (present-day Colombia). Therefore, when Colombia became independent from the Spanish Empire in 1819, it kept the territory.

Nicaragua claims it has the right over the islands and the surrounding water for several reasons: First, it says that the treaty signed in 1926 is invalid because at the time the treaty was signed, Nicaragua was under US invasion, so the treaty was signed under US pressure. Second, it says that the 1803 order was never implemented and that it was actually replaced by a new order in 1806. Finally, Nicaragua says that Colombia's territory in the Caribbean Sea is way too big and disproportionate compared to those of other countries. It also says that the Colombian Navy had intimidated and captured several Nicaraguan fishing vessels that roamed around the area.

Colombia responded to all of Nicaragua's claims. According to Colombia, the treaty that was signed in 1926 should be valid because it was later ratified in 1930, after the US troops had left Nicaragua. Regarding the new order in 1806, Nicaragua never quotes such order in the document they presented to the ICJ, while the 1803 order is quoted on the document. Nicaragua says that Colombia's territory is way too big, well the established boundaries were all agreed to on bilateral treaties with all the countries that Colombia has a maritime border. So if the disputed territory was indeed part of the Viceroyalty of Nueva Granada at the time of Colombia's independence, then the territory does lawfully belong to Colombia.

On November 2012, the International Court of Justice have their verdict. It was terrible loss that caused outrage in the whole country. The ICJ ruled that although all the disputed islands did belong to Colombia, 75,000 km2 of water, rich in oil and gas, and also one of the largest marine reserves in the world, should be transferred to Nicaragua. President Juan Manuel Santos called the verdict unfair and baseless. Whether Colombia will accept the Court's judgement is still being decided. I do believe the judgement is unfair because their was a previous treaty settling the dispute which Nicaragua considers invalid. Now, many of Colombia islands are surrounded by Nicaraguan waters. See map.






 

Lingustic Paper Reflections

After listening to Mr. Tangen's audio comments on my paper, I realize that although the paper was well written overall, there are several things I could've done better. The first aspect that is mentioned is the use of Chicago Style. If I were to rewrite this paper, I would incorporate my sources more into the text rather than just putting it all at the end. I was supposed to cite the information inside the text more accurately. When I used words such as "according to", I would have incorporated more specific information into the text such as the year in which the study was published, etc. Also, I would've thought of a creative title instead of just briefly naming the topic of the paper. I should have payed more attention to accurately writing the paper in Chicago Style.

Another thing I would have done differently is diction. The paper was supposed to be written in a formal diction, however, I missed a little bit on that. My paper was written with a rather more informal diction, different from what was expected. So I would've focused a lot on making my paper sound formal, doing things such as eliminating exclamation marks and use a more formal vocabulary.

Finally, I could have chosen a topic with more potential for argument. Although I did pose a question at the end of the paper, a more debatable topic could have been better.


















 

A Journey Across Troubled Human Minds

Colombia: a war for all Colombians

After reading this book,  I began to reflect what it is to be from this country. This book made me realize all of the absurdities, all of the consequences of being from a country with an ongoing internal conflict and an inequality rate that's on the roof. I identified with this book immensely not only for all the stories the author tells about everyday life in Colombia, but also what it is to be Colombian in other countries. After browsing my memory of the times i've traveled and the past year I lived in Switzerland, I agree with the author that being Colombian is a struggle. Certainly, it's more of a struggle for more people than others and I am lucky (or we at CNG are lucky) to be of the ones least affected, but it is undebatable that in Colombia everyone, regardless of social class or how much money you have, is a victim.

I myself can recall so many instances where the fact of being Colombian creates a struggle in my life. For example, the fact that my mom doesn't let me walk to school even though it's really close because they might steal all my stuff is a struggle. The fact that for many years my parents couldn't go to several places in Colombia because they might get kidnapped is a struggle. In 2004, my uncle was traveling through a road away from the city. He got stopped by the FARC, and when he tried to escape, several men hidden in the bushes all began shooting at my uncle's car. He managed to get out of the car with no injuries, but he had to run and hide in the forest so he didn't get killed. He spent the night in the forest and the next day he was safe and sound. But just listening to that cold blood story is a struggle. My grandfather owned a big finca in Los Llanos. My mother and my uncles would go there every vacation when they were kids. Many childhood memories of my mom are in that place. When my mom was 18, in 1985, my grandfather was notified that the FARC had seized the Finca and that they would not be able to go there ever again. My grandfather died in 1993 and never returned to the finca. This year, 29 years later, my family went to the finca for the first time in almost three decades. It was very hard to see the ruins of what once the house where my mother spent entire summers.

In Switzerland, I got to see the reputation my country has abroad. When people asked where I was from, and I said Colombia, there were two things that would cross everyone's mind: cocaine and Pablo Escobar. Yes, people are very ignorant (some people didn't even know Pablo Escobar has been dead for more than 20 years, but if my country has that reputation, there's a reason why. That reason is the struggle that affects every Colombian rich and poor every day. The thing that saves all of us from hating our country is our happy people and our rich culture. But for someone who was lived abroad most of their life, like the author if this book, it is not surprising Colombia is worst than hell.

Respect is the Key

FARC? Violence? What is that?

The author of The Colombian War describes coming back to Colombia as an experience where she is once again afraid of what she had forgotten when she left to the United States. Not only the news give her fear, but also her family member. Everyone tells her to be careful when going out on the street or more importantly, when leaving the city. This is the main reason she has such a hard time adapting to Colombia. She doesn't like the fact that you have you have to be in a state of alert the whole time.

The author's experience reminds me of what I experienced when I came to live in Colombia from the United States when I was five years old. I was a little kid. I certainly didn't truly understand the situation the country was going through. The only thing I knew was that there were some bad guys called guerrilleros that were very dangerous. Here in Bogota, my apartment building happened to be close to a forest that could be seen from the window of my room. At night, I would be scared that they would appear and do something bad to me. Of course, my mother would tell me that they lived in the jungle far away, and that they couldn't get where we were because our army was fighting them so that we could be safe. She was right! There was absolutely no risk that the FARC would reach Bogota and kill us. The army was actively fighting them in the jungle. But I had the mind of a little kid that just came from living in the US. The forest just made me scared. And the news my parents watched didn't help. It is a different situation when you are an adult. You know specifically which situations get you in danger and you think with a greater amount of logic. But for me it was the first time I was having a relatively realistic fear at night. Usually kids are afraid of the monster under the bed. The monster under the bed doesn't exist. Children are used to hear their parents tell them that what they fear is not real. But in my case, the FARC did exist. It was something real and for me as a little kid realizing it was something real made me even more scared of it. The only guarantee that I would be safe was my parent's reassurance that the FARC wouldn't get where I lived. 

At the time I arrived to live in Bogota in 2002, the daughter of the President of Colombia was a student at CNG. Not just taking into account that she was the daughter of the President, but also Colombia's situation at the time, it's not hard to believe that CNG looked like a military base. Seeing so many soldiers and people with guns all the time made me scared. I wasn't used to that. It took me some time to realize that those people I was so scared of were actually protecting the school from the FARC.  

Raised in a Different World

Colombia is a country that has always been characterized by its strikingly high social inequality. The gap between the rich and the poor is one of the highest in the world. This certainly means that being raised as an upper class child here is totally different than being raised as a middle or lower class child. There are many reasons for this which the author tells us and that me as a Colombian was able to connect and identify really well.

The author describes really well how the upper class society in this country works. In Barranquilla, se went to the American school there, the Karl Parrish School. She and her friends spoke the best English of anyone in Barranquilla, which was an instant sign of a high socioeconomic status. As in any unequal society, people from the American school would be called spoiled and too American. I can totally identify myself with this, being a student at CNG. Wearing the navy blue hoody with the CNG letters is more than just a uniform. It is a tag, a tag that indicates a high socioeconomic status. CNG is one of the most expensive schools in Colombia (if not the most expensive), CNG students speak the best English in the country, CNG students go to Miami and Europe in their vacations, CNG students are members of Bogota's most exclusive clubs, CNG students only eat American candy, and have all the commodities many kids in Colombia don't have. CNG students have the "you can hit me but my daddy will sue you" attitude. This why we are called spoiled, just how the author describes in Barranquilla.

Another thing that is characteristic of Colombia's upper class that the author describes really well is Miami. Miami is where all of Latin America's affluent people go to during their vacations to tan in the beach and spend hours in huge malls buying all their clothes. As she very well mentions, then people like to show off their Miami-bought clothes here in Bogota. That is another tag for status here in Colombia.

Apparently the author grew in a different situation than the rest of the people which today allows her to see the situation in the country from a different point of view.