As a 37-year-old civil struggle continues in Colombia, the DeKalb Interfaith Network for Peace & Justice is trying to bring attention to the international crisis closer to home.

At 7:30 p.m. tonight, political refugee Guillermo Jose Cohen will speak about human rights injustices and U.S. involvement in his home country at the Center for Latino/Latin American Studies, 505 Garden Road.

“I get a little jaded sometimes,” Interfaith coordinator Cele Meyer said. “In advance, we tried to stop the Vietnam, Contra and Gulf wars, and we haven’t stopped one yet. But these efforts in Colombia are so full of enthusiasm, and the young people today are just so great about fighting.”

On Sunday, Meyer was listening to National Public Radio when she heard another of many stories reporting death and disappearance in Colombian jungles. According to CNN, Colombia’s state prosecutor is investigating the disappearance and possible murder of about 32 peasants by far-right paramilitaries in Naya.

CNN reports that about 40,000 people have been killed in Colombian fighting in the past 10 years, and 2 million have been forced to leave their homes. Every year, the struggles are said to kill about 3,000 people.

The conflicts pit leftist guerrillas against the armed forces and illegal paramilitaries. Paramilitaries are funded by ranchers and businessmen “tired of the inability of the armed forces to defeat the rebels,” according to CNN.

This group reportedly draws substantial funds from the local cocaine trade. Members also often target peasants they suspect of aiding the leftist rebels.

“It all comes down to young people being aware of what’s going on,” Meyer said. “Generations growing up today weren’t around for Vietnam. Them being aware of things like this are when things are going to change.”

Cohen, who also teaches at a Chicago high school, will speak about the United States’ addition of $1.3 billion for “Plan Colombia,” Colombian President Andres Pastrana’s latest phase of the anti-drug war. The money will go for military aid, among many things.

“Instead of focusing on treatment and prevention, we’re just throwing people into prisons,” Meyer said. “The huge demand for cocaine needs to be cut out, because the U.S., like they did in Vietnam, is just spraying the plants in Colombia and killing animals and other crops right along with the drug crops. People are getting sick, too.”

Cohen’s presentation is co-sponsored by the Colombia Action Network. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Latin-American studies and master’s degree in Hispanic interdisciplinary studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago.