El documental consiste en el intenso testimonio que nos da Martha Palma en el año 1999, en el coliseo de Turbo, Urabá Antioqueño, donde viven durante tres años las comunidades afrocolombianas desplazadas violentamente del Cacarica, en el bajo Atrato – Chocó. La violencia del desplazamiento, la vida en el puerto de Turbo en un barrio obrero trabajando sin ningún medio para educar a sus hijos, la soledad y la pérdida de su esposo, llevan a Martha a enfermarse de pena moral, para finalmente morir en agosto del año 2002. Es a su memoria que dedicamos este documental, como un homenaje a su lucha, a su resistencia, y como un doloroso ejemplo de las madres que en Colombia, víctimas de la violencia y el desplazamiento, mueren prematuramente dejando un país lleno de huérfanos.

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AN EMPTY HOUSE CRACKS

In the violent and complex conflict that has wracked Colombia, the most vulnerable have always been the most affected. The Urabá Trilogy (Never Again, An Empty House Cracks, and Soraya: Love Is Not Oblivion) presents the stories of Afro-Colombian peasants in the department of Chocó who have been displaced by the armed conflict between the national army, Colombian guerillas, and the right-wing paramilitary.

Marta Palma is just one of the countless refugees left homeless and profoundly traumatized by Colombia’s 50-year-long civil war. After witnessing her husband’s murder by guerrillas, Marta and her children flee their village for the town of Turbo, where family and friends help them attempt to reconstruct a life. At the age of 45, Marta falls ill and dies. Was it the trauma, heartache, or senseless violence that surrounded her that led to her illness? With heart-wrenching interviews, black and white photographs, and footage of the aftermath of a guerilla massacre, An Empty House Cracks makes real the hardship endured by the victims of Colombia’s complex war.

** Michael Mace, English Content Editor.