The Hernández Llach family left Barranquilla 13 years ago and emigrated to the United States, but not for the “American dream”, but to stay alive, as asylum seekers.
Seeking the security they perceived to be in Miami, they were protected by the US government. So it was six years before the tragedy knocked on the door of his residence, dressed as a policeman.
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It was about 3:30 pm on Tuesday, August 6, 2013 and Offir Hernández was home alone when Police arrived, knocked on the door and showed him some photos of his 18-year-old brother Israel.
Given the situation, he called his parents and the uniforms waited for him to arrive. While waiting, the young woman assisted them, served them water. They made jokes and laughed.
And the police arrived … They hadn’t finished talking when their mother told them, “And they killed him.”
“It was a daily routine. Something like “No” Ha ha (ironic laughter) nothing happened. And when my mother came, they started saying that my brother was doing graffiti and the police arrived … They hadn’t finished talking when my mother told them: “And they killed him”. And I said, “Oh, Mom, please!” “, remember.
While Offir has not yet calculated the severity of what was happening and the tragedy he was about to experience, his mother’s natural instinct did identify what had happened.
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When police confirmed she was dead, she went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. “I watched as part of me melted and my legs turned to gelatin. I fell to the floor, practically crawled as far as I could, turned around and said: “I know what you’re doing,” he recalls.
The Hernández Llach family left Barranquilla for safety.
Courtesy family album
Offir repeated this last sentence over and over again to the police, who assured him that they had shot him with the taser pistol and “possibly he could have hit his head”, helping his sister to get up, after the nervous shock. that the news provoked him.
“I told them, ‘I’ll find out. I will not rest until I receive justice. It was a very difficult time, I acted very quickly. My father started reading the Bible and I started calling his friends, ”says Hernández.
More than a decade later, the pain of his departure remains intact as if time had stopped between his parents and his sister Offir Hernández, who explains that he “seems to be cutting your leg” to describe the emptiness caused by the fact that he is no longer alive.
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He was an excellent artist, he presented at the National Museum, he presented in different places where he sold his art
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It was a recognized graffiti
Offir says Israel has already been recognized for its work with graffiti and art, because in Miami graffiti is used for advertising, stimulating purchases in local commerce and the opportunity for urban artists to move forward.
“My brother was one of those graffiti who was recognized by many people for his style and artistic ability. He was an excellent artist, he presented at the National Museum, he presented in different places where he sold his art and the money he used for organizations and to help other people “, he says.
Hernández Llach points out that, due to his work, He won the Golden Key of the city and was certified, among other occasions, by the then president, Barack Obama.
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“Reefa” was passionate about graffiti.
Courtesy family album
She says her brother had no criminal record, was never arrested and was a healthy young man, although police authorities did not want to show him as such, she said.
“They even wanted to say that he was taking drugs, and the toxicology showed that he was not. He had a split head and many other blows to the body. They wanted to say that he broke his head, while he was returning to the floor when they put the taser on him … Or rather: a lot of inconsistencies and shortcomings “, he says.
10 policemen arrived, they already put him under and beat him, they put him on and he couldn’t resist
What happened?
It wasn’t easy for him to remember that story now. And not because his memory did not allow it, but because of the drama it contains, the impotence and the pain it continues to cause.
“My brother was doing graffiti and the policeman decided to call in reinforcements, 10 policemen arrived, subdued and beat him, put him on and he couldn’t resist,” the 29-year-old woman recalls.
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He says he was up to one of the two friends Israel was with at the time and that they saw everything and were also affected and intimidated.
Barranquillera recorded the complete history of the events attended by one of his friends from his brother immediately after it happened.
“They were taken to the train station for 12 hours and remained cold. They took their mobile phones, which they never returned, and psychologically abused them. When I got to his house, he was horrified and looked around every corner, because they told him if he wanted to be like their friend, “says Offir.
In the story he recorded, his close friend said that they grabbed him, threw him on a marble wall, beat him, then arrested him and later shot him with a taser.
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What the sister does not explain is how the security cameras located in that place, because it is a banking area, from one moment to the next, have been “lost”.
The police officer has a history of abuse; a veteran said he would kill someone one day because he attacked him
The drama of a family seeking justice
“So far we don’t know exactly what happened to him, because his friends saw things that were never heard in the section where the police were being tried. They said their statements were not valid … because it did not suit them. It was an abuse of power, brutality and negligence, an attack on civil rights, “he said.
The woman stops her version and grabs a glass of water to take a sip and calm the anger with which she recounted this last fragment, but which, apparently, was not enough because now recalls that the policeman was acquitted and promoted “despite his criminal record”.
“The police have a record of abuses; a veteran said he would one day kill someone for attacking him; abuse of power, because he was in a bar drinking and started fighting with civilians; drug abuse because they had previously found cocaine; and family abuse … And he was protecting us. Can you believe that? “, He says.
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The book was released to maintain the young man’s legacy.
Courtesy family album
Since then, Offir has tried to be more united with her parents and, in case of an argument, does not spend more than an hour disconnected from them. In addition, every August 6, he organizes protests on the spot, in front of the police station and at the Convention Center, where the Art Festival takes place.
It also provides continuity to the project that Israel had undertaken with the assembly of skateboards. He cut them, painted them, left the logo, the brand, the style and now, with the project already formed, the family donated a package of them in 2019, when they traveled to Santa Marta.
In addition, they launched the book “Art is not a crime” at the Colombian consulate in November 2019, in which they captured in 250 pages the story “Reefa”, its beautiful art, its photographs, its poetry and “Justice for Reefa” movement.
A painting is erased, a life is not recovered. Painting is temporary, death is permanent
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“This book is a cry for justice. It is an invitation for future leaders to make a good decision. A painting is erased, a life is not recovered. Painting is temporary, death is permanent “, he explains.
Offir acknowledges that we must continue. That’s why he celebrates his achievements as a police camcorder, although he admits it’s not enough and remembers other events, such as one of the recent cases in which George Floyd died. And he regrets the cases of “police abuse” in Colombia.
“I had to learn to live without that part of me and I support his legacy, I’m right. We live in an asylum, we moved to the United States for safety, it’s the most ironic …”.
Deivis López Ortega
Correspondent for EL TIEMPO Barranquilla
On Twitter: @DeJhoLopez
Write to me at [email protected]
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