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Project May 2, 2018

Rehabilitating Colombian Militants

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A former FARC combatant takes a break at a pepper farm near La Union, Valle del Cauca. Image by Greg Kendall-Ball/Nature. Colombia, 2018.
A former FARC combatant takes a break at a pepper farm near La Union, Valle del Cauca. Image by Greg Kendall-Ball/Nature. Colombia, 2018.

The 2016 peace agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC rebel group was only the first step in the country's recovery from half a century of violence. Now, the nation is running an unprecedentedly large and costly reintegration programme for thousands of ex-combatants from the FARC and the paramilitary groups that fought them.

The effort to rejoin society is especially difficult for the many former combatants who struggle with psychological and psychiatric trauma. Scientists are working with hundreds of ex-combatants, conducting anthropological research and controlled trials to better understand the psychology of militant fanaticism, propensity for violence and PTSD.

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