Modern and post-modern news from Colombia in the NYT

1. Abortion legalized in some cases:

In a 5-to-3 decision handed down late Wednesday, the Constitutional Court overturned Colombia's complete ban on abortion and ruled that the procedure would be permitted when the life of a mother was in danger or the fetus was expected to die or in cases of rape or incest. Women's rights organizations in places as varied as Argentina and New York hailed the ruling.

By way of response, the Catholic church in Colombia threatened to excommunicate the judges who ruled in favor of the suit to decriminalize abortions on this limited basis. One brave priest from Cordoba, Tomas Seba Rodri­guez, spoke out against the church's position, commenting that judges are appointed by the state, not the church (which you might think obvious, but it's not) and therefore must be guided by the state's human rights laws, not the church's position. He explained, "hay que tener un poquito de sensibilidad y ponerse en el caso de una mujer que ha sido violada" (you have to have a little bit of sensitivity and put yourself in the place of a woman who has been raped).

Two days later, he retracted his statement. Draw your own conclusions.

2. Leaving the wild, and rather liking the change.

The Nukak have no concept of money, of property, of the role of government, or even of the existence of a country called Colombia. They ask whether the planes that fly overhead are moving on some sort of invisible road.

When asked if the Nukak were concerned about the future, Belisario, the only one in the group who had been to the outside world before and spoke Spanish, seemed perplexed, less by the word than by the concept. "The future," he said, "what's that?"

Are they sad? "No!" cried a Nukak named Pia-pe, to howls of laughter. In fact, the Nukak said they could not be happier. Used to long marches in search of food, they are amazed that strangers would bring them sustenance for free. What do they like most? "Pots, pants, shoes, caps," said Mau-ro, a young man who went to a shelter to speak to two visitors. Ma-be added, "Rice, sugar, oil, flour." Others said they loved skillets.

I'm so tired of stories written like this. Wide-eyed, innocent natives meet modern world. Where has Juan Forero been for the last decade or so? You can almost see him patting his sources on the head with a pitying smile. For a more insightful view into what contact between the west and peoples living on its margins looks like, see La Vida Silvestre.