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I Wrote “My Name Is Colombia” So My Daughters Could Know the Truth

By Samuel Celis Rueda

HAVANA TIMES – When I began writing “My Name Is Colombia”, I wasn’t thinking about becoming a writer, much less imagining that the story would eventually become a book and be published. What I needed was to tell something that was too painful for me to keep silent about. I wanted my daughters to know my version of what had happened and, over time, to understand why a chapter of our lives had driven us so far apart.

I was born in Bucaramanga, Colombia. At the age of twenty-nine, I emigrated to Chile in search of a better future for my family. Like so many others who leave their country behind, I traveled with the hope of finding new opportunities, stability, and peace of mind. I had worked to build a life, and I believed that the efforts of an honest person were enough to protect what I loved.

After my separation from my wife and several family disputes, I could never have imagined the direction my life would take. I was accused of sexually abusing my daughters, a false accusation that destroyed my life. The legal proceedings that followed changed my existence: I went from being a professional trying to provide for his family to becoming a man under suspicion, subjected to a criminal investigation and deprived of his freedom.

Prison was an experience that tested everything I thought I........

© Havana Times