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El Testigo (The Witness)

Date:
Location:
122 Cannon House Office Building

Announcement

Please join the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission for a screening of the Colombian film El Testigo(The Witness), followed by a discussion with the film’s protagonist, Jesús Abad Colorado.

Photojournalist Jesús “Chucho” Abad, born in 1967, focuses his work on human rights and armed conflict. El Testigo documents the trajectory of Colombia’s brutal internal armed conflict through the lens of his camera, capturing the magnitude of the violence and the suffering it has wrought. Years later, Abad returns to search for the subjects of his photographs and talks to them about their lives and their opinions of his work. Their narratives reveal the tragedy of the conflict and their hope for forgiveness and reconciliation.

The hard-won 2016 peace accord between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, is fragile. Implementation has been slow and in late August a sector of the FARC announced they had rearmed. Yet throughout the country, popular support for peace persists – people yearn for a different future. El Testigo helps its viewers understand why. 

The 73-minute film, produced by Caracol Television in Colombia, is in Spanish with English subtitles.

This screening will be open to Members of Congress, congressional staff, the interested public, and the media. For any questions, please contact Kimberly Stanton at 202-225-3599 (for Co-Chair McGovern) or Piero Tozzi at 202-225-3765 (for Co-Chair Smith). 

Hosted by:

James P. McGovern
Member of Congress
Co-Chair, TLHRC
Christopher H. Smith
Member of Congress
Co-Chair, TLHRC
Witnesses

Opening Remarks

Panelist

  • Jesús  Abad Colorado, Colombian photojournalist and protagonist, El Testigo

Moderator

  • Lisa Haugaard, Executive Director, Latin America Working Group

Bios 

Contact The Commission

Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission
House Committee on Foreign Affairs
4150 O'Neill House Office Building
200 C Street SW
Washington, D.C. 20515
United States of America

Phone: +1 (202) 225-3599
Fax: +1 (202) 226-6584
TLHRC@mail.house.gov

Accessibility

The Commission seeks to make its events, meetings and hearings accessible to persons with disabilities.

If you are in need of special accommodations, please call (202) 225-3599 at least four business days in advance.

Questions with regard to special accommodations in general (including availability of Commission materials in alternative formats and assistive listening devices, sign language interpretation, etc.) may be directed to the Commission.

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