Fascism is entering our societies through the front door, and many of us can’t get our heads around how our neighbors could vote these governments in. A few weeks ago, Colombia voted in protégé of the new international far right, Abelardo de la Espriella, as its president.

Our team in Colombia tells us of the consequences when we vote “thinking only of ourselves”. Overnight, the communities they work with, who have fought against historic and ongoing state abandonment, were put at heightened risk. Our team is worried. When the results came in, they tell us, “we were afraid because everyone we worked with, including us, went from being Colombian citizens to being enemies of the state.”

Meanwhile in the US and Europe, the war on migration has turned migrants into a national security issue, enabling governments to use extraordinary measures – including lethal force – against people on the move, and making enemies of the state of those who stand in solidarity with them. Recently, I read about the prosecution of anti-ICE protesters, sentenced to prison from 30 to 100 years. Their book club, and their pamphlet collection, were used as evidence against them. My first thought was: they sound just like my friends.

After de la Espriella’s victory, our team in Colombia decided to return to the community of El Guayabo, with whom they walk and work. After all, here was a community that had already lived through frightening times. Searching for answers, perspective, and courage, they remembered the moment they met each other:

There in a small community in Santander, the farmers of Guayabo were facing eviction. The police ordered them to leave their lands and called them invaders and guerrilla fighters. The community joined hands and began to sing songs of praise. When the police saw and heard them, they didn’t know how to react.

The lesson they took from this – the lesson they want to remind us all of – is this: in order to dismantle violence, you need a great deal of creativity.