Medics from US aid destitute in a lawless Colombia

By Juan Pablo Toro, Associated Press, 6/16/2003

ARAUCA, Colombia - The high fever and sores spreading over her son's skin had been worrying Jensi Rojas for days, but she could not afford to take him to a doctor.

So when a group of medics, including six from the US military, set up a makeshift clinic inside a school in this town in eastern Colombia, Rojas brought in the sick 8-year-old.

After examining the skinny boy, a US Army doctor handed Rojas a prescription and assured her in thickly accented Spanish that her son would feel better in no time. He was in the late stages of chicken pox, the doctor explained.

''For people who don't have money, this is a great help,'' Rojas said Saturday.

The 26-year-old mother was among about 1,000 people who received free medical treatment through a program organized by Colombian authorities and US Army special forces soldiers working in this lawless region near the Venezuela border. It was one of the rare times American military personnel have mixed with civilians in Arauca.

Roughly 70 Army special operations forces have been in Arauca State since late January, training Colombian troops to protect a key oil pipeline from attacks by leftist rebels.

Even though the American soldiers are barred from participating in missions with Colombian soldiers, leftist guerrillas have characterized the Americans' arrival as an act of aggression and threatened to step up the violence.

Arauca has become one of Colombia's most dangerous regions, with civilians dying regularly in bomb attacks blamed on the larger Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. The rebels, along with a smaller guerrilla group, are fighting the government and right-wing paramilitary forces in a 39-year conflict that kills an estimated 3,500 people annually.

In a raid yesterday, soldiers discovered nearly 2 tons of explosives at a rebel hideout in the mountains of central Colombia, the Colombian Army said.

Saturday was the third day since the program began last month that the team of doctors and nurses have made themselves available to the residents of Arauca. Organizers hope to treat a total of 8,000 women and children before the program ends later this year.

As doctors examined the patients inside rundown classrooms for more than seven hours, Colombian and American soldiers stood guard outside.

Most patients suffered from asthma, skin infections, and stomach problems. Like Rojas, most were poor and could not afford the roughly $20 charged by private doctors in the area. Although Arauca is wealthier than many states in Colombia because of its oil, unemployment is high.

''This is a great opportunity to meet the people and help them out,'' said the US Army doctor, who asked that he not be named.

This story ran on page A8 of the Boston Globe on 6/16/2003. © Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.