NEW CITIZEN CELEBRATES PEACE, SAFETY

Her father was gunned down by guerrillas who wanted his ranch for
cocaine production.

Her husband was burned with cigarettes, stuck with pins and cut by
torturers.

She was kidnapped, brutally beaten on the head and facing
death.

But, today, Martha Cortes is happy and secure. She is far from the
drug wars in Colombia.

She's in Canada.

"I am very proud to be like all of you - Canadian," Cortes, 43, told a
flag-waving crowd at Canada Day celebrations in Red Deer on Saturday.

"This is the safest place I have ever been."

She introduced her three stepdaughters to the Bower Ponds stage to
swing their long, flowing skirts and sway their hips in dances common
to Colombia.

Organizers estimate as many as 15,000 people attended the celebrations
that included ethnic food booths and dozens of dancers and singers -
all topped off with a fireworks display.

People showed patriotism by placing small flags in their hair, donning
red cowboy hats and sitting under red umbrellas and blankets
emblazoned with the Maple Leaf.

Cortes celebrated the memory of arriving with her husband in Red Deer
six years ago as a refugee who couldn't speak English. Her
stepchildren arrived two years later.

They escaped from Colombia, where violence has created more than
100,000 refugees and prompted two million to flee in recent years. It
has been called the worst humanitarian crisis in the Western Hemisphere.

Cortes said her hard-working father had owned the largest ranch in the
area. A guerrilla group wanted it to produce cocaine in the mid 1990s.
They tried to bankrupt him by stealing his cows and horses.

"When my dad told them, 'If you want to steal anything, you can do it
over my dead body, he got 10 shots and they killed him.' "

A right-wing paramilitary troop, fighting for a bigger share of the
drug trade, came for the land five years later. This time they were
dealing with Cortes and her husband.

"We were honest people. We worked hard and had cows and horses. When
they tried to take the ranch, I said no. So they kidnapped my husband
and tortured him terribly."

Her husband, Eladio Viveros, eventually escaped. But in retaliation,
the brutal men kidnapped Cortes for 17 days.

She lifts her hair to show seven scars, a permanent reminder of the
horrors in 2000. She was hit by a gun butt when she refused to follow
orders, including having sex with a group of men.

"My head got infected because I didn't have any medicine. Because I
was without food, I got very sick."

A worn-down Cortes eventually signed documents turning over the ranch
to the paramilitary.

Cortes and her husband went to the Canadian Embassy and in two days
they were flown to Canada. They arrived with nothing but a backpack,
containing a change of clothes, given to them at the embassy.

Catholic Social Services and the Central Alberta Refugee Effort helped
them settle in Red Deer. They first stayed in a motel, then a
one-bedroom apartment.

They became Canadian citizens last November.

Cortes, who worked as a secretary and computer teacher in Colombia, is
now a supervisor at a janitorial company. She recently brought a house
and graduated from a college course in English as a second language.

Cortes said she loves Canada because of the friendly people who
respect human rights.

"The people are the best and are always ready to help, no matter your
colour or if you speak with an accent."

Canada Day celebrations in Red Deer were praised by many. People said
they had more elbow room. The food booths were moved to a parking lot,
making it less crowded, said Colleen McPhee, executive director of the
Red Deer Cultural Heritage Society, which organizes the event.

"We had so many young families. It was just great to see them have a
good time. It's free and everyone can come," said Shirley Thomas,
past-president with the Red Deer Cultural Heritage Society.