Daira Elsa Quinones Preciado of Colombia is one of five million people who have been displaced in her country because of war and violence. As part of the Witness for Peace program, she will speak at 10 a.m. and again at 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 8 in Dillard Theatre.
Daira is one of the founders of FUNDARTECP (The Foundation for Art and Culture of the Pacific). She works with displaced people who have recently arrived in Bogota to find food, shelter, and clothing, and she does workshops on dance, music, identity, and human rights.
FUNDARTECP has a special focus on women. Daira is also working on raising the profile of more than 125 families (Afro-Colombian, Awa indigenous, and campesino) who are currently residing and resisting in El Por Venir, where she is originally from.