THE LURE OF A BETTER LIFE

New Efforts Try To Keep Colombians From Leaving

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA - Black graffiti spray-painted on a grimy wall in
downtown Bogota asks, "Why Haven't You Gone to Miami?" Some days, a
group of student artists from the prestigious Los Andes University
drag a battered suitcase emblazoned with the same message through the
capital's streets. They hand out fliers challenging fellow citizens to
phone in or E-mail their answers. "I'm not going to Miami because I
don't want to have to wash any more dishes than I do at home," said
one reply recorded on the students' answering machine.

It's all part of an effort to discourage emigration by the young and
disaffected in a nation plagued by the highest unemployment in Latin
America and a long-running war waged by Communist rebels, right-wing
paramilitary gangs, and drug mobs.

Easy money. But many here are looking to new horizons, not for reasons
to stay. At least 225,165 Colombians left in the first nine months of
2000, according to latest government statistics. That is 822 people a
day, up 30 percent from last year. One third of the emigrants, many of
them young, middle-class professionals, ended up in the United States,
adding to the estimated 2 million Colombians already living there.
More than 10,000 others opted for Mexico-a transit point for
Colombia's drug exports and a way station for visa-less Latin
Americans attempting to cross into the United States. "The American
dream is a bit like drug trafficking. It's all about the lure of easy
money," said Boris Perez, one of the student artists sounding the
alarm at the flood of Colombians abroad.

Other groups, too, are battling the brain drain. Colombian television
has been airing a government ad designed to restore national pride and
shed the country's anarchic image. "We Colombians are violent . . .
for loving," says part of the jingle, as images show citizens hugging
and helping one another.

As a practical matter, the endless lines at the passport office and
the lengthy waiting list for American visas may put a more effective
brake on the exodus. Up to 1,500 Colombians throng outside Bogota's
heavily fortified U.S. Embassy from 5 a.m. each day. Demand for visas
is now so heavy that applicants must wait until early 2002 for their
requests to be processed. Among those seeking to head to the United
States is a former combatant of the now defunct M-19 leftist guerrilla
group. "My battle cry used to be 'Free Motherland or Death!' " he
said. "Now it's 'Free Motherland or Miami!' "