Thousands of miles away from Ecuador, where the Colombian military trespassed on the first of the month to conduct an air strike against a rebel group known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, tensions are heightened.
In Jackson Heights, an area dotted with storefronts that specialize in calling cards and remittances to South America, where Spanish-language newspapers, radio and television are gateways to the homeland, and where Colombians and Ecuadorians regularly do business together, everyone is on alert.
In response to the raid that killed Colombian guerilla leader Raul Reyes, Ecuador has severed diplomatic ties with Colombia, Venezuela is vowing to banish the Colombian ambassador, and all sides have mobilized troops.
The skirmish, which some expect to escalate, has had a ripple effect all the way to Queens.
“We live close together, we work together,” said Eduardo Geraldo, the past president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Queens, on the Ecuadorian, Colombian and Venezuelan communities in the borough.
“Right now everybody is surprised. We can’t believe this is going on,” said Geraldo, a Colombian who considers himself bi-partisan with regard to the current conflict.
Citing the prevalent war mentality in his native region of the world, Geraldo said he would not be surprised if Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez started a war with Colombia in an effort to take over the country Chávez considers a puppet of the U.S.
Congressmember Gary Ackerman, whose district includes Jackson Heights, recognizes that Colombia has been an important ally to the U.S.
“But it doesn’t give them the right to cross anybody’s border,” Ackerman said.
Speaking about his district, Ackerman explained, “People are concerned, but not necessarily about each other as fellow residents in the States.”
Miguel Flores, President of the Ecuadorian Chamber of Commerce, is bothered by the border showdown but pointed to a lack of infrastructure and the prominence of guerilla warfare - both on the part of the rebels and the organized military - as conspicuous warning signs.
“Like brother and sister, they hate each other,” Flores said referring to Ecuador and Colombia.
“I try to look at it a different way,” he said, explaining that both countries and cultures relate well to one another.
“But at the same time, my people suffer, the Colombian people suffer, the Venezuelan people suffer. It’s all politics; I think it affects everybody,” Flores said.
Ecuadorian Bolívar Coba is one of those affected people. While acknowledging “this is not a war, it’s only a conflict,” Coba, an employee at The House of Cards & Printing on Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights, is eager for things to change.
“I hope this conflict will be finished as soon as possible. It has to be solved by diplomatic means. There’s no reason to create a war and fight,” Coba said.
Carlos Mauricio Pava, a Colombian, pointed the finger at Chávez.
“He has to get away from Colombia,” said Pava, a cook at Mario’s Grilled Chicken on 37th Avenue in Jackson Heights.
“I don’t like the way he manipulates his government and his people,” he said.
Despite the turmoil in their native countries, Geraldo urges the Queens Hispanic community to come together.
“Americans don’t see us as Colombians, Ecuadorians or Venezuelans,” Geraldo said.
“They see us as Latinos and that’s the way we have to be.”
- With Ursula Gonzales
