Bojayá is a municipality in the Chocó Department, Colombia, its municipal centre is the townBellavista Nuevo. The Bojayá massacre occurred in the original Bellavista on May 2, 2002. An essentially new town was constructed, on a hill to avoid flooding, one kilometer upriver from the original Bellavista in 2003, and inaugurated in 2007. Whereby the original Bellavista was renamed to Bellavista Viejo, and the new town Bellavista Nuevo. Bellavista Viejo is currently completely abandoned.
Bojaya municipality
The Bojaya municipality, according to a 2005 census, has 9941 inhabitants. 58.4% of the population of the municipality is afro-colombian, and 41.4% and indigenous Embera. 95.86% of the population do not have their basic needsmet. The municipality contains part of the Utría National Natural Park. There is still paramilitary and presence of the ELN in the region, tensions and violence between the groups are still threatening the population in the region.
Bellavista Nuevo
Half of the inhabitants of the Bojayá region live in the municipal centre, Bellavista. After the massacre, only a part of the population remained or returned to the region. The remains of the victims of the massacre are buried in the new town, a mausoleum has also been build in their memory.
Relocation
The new town one kilometer south of the original position. was built after the Bojayá massacre by the Colombian government. The relocation of Bellavista was announced on May 7, 2002, 5 days after the massacre by president Andrés Pastrana who visited the region after the massacre. The main reason for the relocation, namely the frequent flooding of the town, is a reality not exclusive to Bellavista, but rather common to the region. The majority of the town was in favour of a relocation, but the town was torn on the issue. The university Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá was put in charge of the design of the new town. The 265 houses were build of concrete, exceptional in the region, and provided with, among other services, a water installation and electricity.
Bellavista Viejo
The old town, Bellavista Viejo, is currently completely abandoned. The old San Pablo Apóstol church has been restored after the massacre in 2002, and is being maintained in memory of the tragic event. Every year, on the second of May, a memorial is held in the church. During this service, the statue of Christ mutilated in the massacre, el Christo Mutilado de Bojaya, is brought in a procession by river, from the new church in Bellavista Nuevo to Bellavista Viejo.
