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Protesters Bury Themselves Up to Their Necks

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Nine Colombians have buried themselves, leaving only their heads poking out of the ground, to protest the lack of running water and other public services in their poor Bogota neighborhood.


Their bodies numbed by the weight of soil packed in on all sides, the men waited in vain in their living burial site inside a church for local authorities to arrive to hear their complaints on Wednesday. Only reporters showed up.

Six protesters had themselves dug in on Tuesday evening in Bogota's poor Usme neighborhood. Another three later joined them.

"Here we drink polluted water. It's brown as coffee and comes from a lake where they've found dead people, horses and other rubbish. Our roads are terrible," said Hernando Rodriguez, 65, his chin just above the soil, speaking in a whisper.

About 60 percent of Colombia's 43 million people live in poverty, according to government figures. Living conditions are made worse by a 38-year-old guerrilla war.

The protesters are not eating and hardly drinking, in order to avoid having to defecate or urinate. Local people said there were rumors some protesters, who wear black or white ski-masks, were taking turns at being buried and then being dug out.

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