Better being rich than poor

What is the value of a person's life? That is a complex question. A few days ago, while at the wake of a person dear to me, next door the funeral of Margarita Gómez was taking place. Margarita had been murdered in the region of Cordoba (Northwest Colombia) (Link in Spanish) in early January. A packed church and a swarm of reporters trying to inform the public of the progress of the ceremony (and that of Mateo Matamala, her boyfriend, both students at Bogota's most prestigious university, murdered at the same time) showed the concern of a society for their families and the lack of sense behind such a crime. While Margarita was fare-welled by her family and friends, the President anounced (Spanish) a reward of 500 million pesos (about USD$300,000) for information conducive to the capture of those responsible for this crime.

Besides the philosophical discussion about the virtues of using rewards as a mean to solve crimes like these, it is remarkable to see the haste by the authorities to find the causes and people responsible for such an absurd crime. However, in a country where victims are in the thousands, why isn't there the same apparent haste when the victim is a peasant, the unemployed, or anyone else from a common background? This is a country where people with means live in a different country to people without them; a country where health, education and justice are as readily available as fat is one's bank account. A country where the support and recognition to victims of violent acts is inversely proportional to their place in a perverse social pyramid; a country of ill-fated bubbles.

Without trying to diminish the importance of giving justice to the families of Mateo and Margarita, we can only wish all victims of violence had the same support from the authorities. Our society badly needs a justice system that values the life of everybody, that works for everybody, that helps transform a country of invisible victims and powerful victimizers into a country with opportunities for all and hope for the future. A country worth transforming, not fleeing from.

Now the government announces its “unbreakable commitment” to eliminate those criminal mobs that operate in the region of Cordoba. Unbreakable only after the death of two innocent but high-society victims? Where was that commitment at the time of the murder of tenths of other victims? Well, it wasn't there yet because in this country, even after death, is better to be rich than poor.