The Colombian city of Medellin was notorious for Pablo Escobar's drug empire and violent crime. But today, Medellin has completely transformed, attracting tourists from all over the world.
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00:00Medellin, a bustling city of millions.
00:04Pablo Escobar is now just a fridge magnet.
00:07Comuna Trece, once a violent neighborhood,
00:10has become a major draw for tourists.
00:12And to keep it that way,
00:14the city backs young artists like rapper Raisis.
00:21Art in this neighborhood and community has made a difference.
00:26Offering people an alternative to war and violence
00:29and a new way of seeing their world.
00:34Enrique Gomez also had to shift his perspective.
00:39A victim of decades of violence,
00:41he once planned to become a lawyer.
00:46My father had a farm.
00:48During the conflict, they gave him 24 hours to leave or die.
00:53I moved to Medellin to get my family out,
00:56and since I knew no one, I started selling on the street.
01:02It's not just Enrique Gomez.
01:05The whole city is changing.
01:07Medellin is now the heart of Colombia's textile industry.
01:11He once sold pants and T-shirts on the street.
01:14Today, 600 employees produce clothes for him.
01:17And thousands of Colombians have also found a future in the industry.
01:25The textile industry is strategically important for the country.
01:29It creates over 1.5 million jobs.
01:32Ninety percent are held by women,
01:34many of whom support their families and are victims of armed conflict.
01:37Enrique Gomez and other textile entrepreneurs are supporting small businesses in and around Medellin
01:47to help create more jobs.
01:52One of them had eight female workers.
01:56We brought him here, supported him.
01:58Now he has over 90.
01:59Other women who have fled conflict regions have also found work here.
02:09I was displaced from Cordoba because of the terrible guerrilla violence there.
02:17I came here, took a sewing machine course, and now I can make a living.
02:23And now I can make a living.
02:26But Colombia's textile industry with 1.5 million workers is under pressure,
02:32as cheap competition from China keeps growing.
02:37Xi'in, Temu, AliExpress, they're like biblical locusts destroying national industry.
02:44And that's not just true for Colombia, but for Europe and the U.S. too.
02:48If the government doesn't act fast, the sector will disappear.
02:55Social stability in Medellin would quickly collapse without it.
02:59The textile industry still plays a key role.
03:03After the peace deal with the FARC,
03:05many fighters and victims looked for new opportunities.
03:09Like Guiamina Valencia,
03:11who now works in the Clothing for Peace project alongside a former FARC member.
03:15You know, appreciation for everyone, both for them as perpetrators and for us as victims,
03:25is pretty complicated in this country.
03:27To help them and us, we came up with the idea of organizing ourselves.
03:31Guiamina's husband was abducted 41 years ago, her brother later.
03:38Sewing helped her survive.
03:40She earns little in the Clothing for Peace project, sales are just too low.
03:44The money, yes, there was some international aid for certain workshops.
03:54But here in Medellin, we haven't received much support yet.
03:59So far, the initiative has only sold online, but now it has its first store in Medellin.
04:12The project's leader, a former FARC rebel, knows how vital economic success is.
04:17These clothes are made by farmers who, thanks to the peace agreement,
04:23now run village workshops in places like Anori and Ituango.
04:28Peace is also about the economy.
04:31It's about social justice and about ending inequality in Colombia.
04:35Things are expected to improve as the project opens a second, better location downtown.
04:43A former drug cartel property will be used for training and sales, a symbol of change.
04:54It's a testament to the current government's commitment to driving productive projects forward.
05:00Why? Because in Colombia, there are many drug-related assets,
05:04many like this one, that they still have.
05:07And no other government has ever used these funds for productive projects.
05:11for peace agreement signatories, communities or the marginalized.
05:19The initiative might also benefit from the city's tourists, another driver of Medellin's growth.
05:26Tourism is an important part of our economy.
05:31Today it provides around 110,000 jobs and accounts for almost 7% of our city's gross domestic product.
05:39Tourism, culture and textiles. It's this mix that's driving the city's transformation into a safer place.
05:50But the government must nurture this change, otherwise stability will disappear.
05:56And with it, the exuberant atmosphere and the music projects in the districts.
06:00The memory of Pablo Escobar is slowly fading, and only a few tourists come to this memorial.
06:10But the cartels are still active in the areas surrounding the city.
06:15Medellin seems like an oasis.
06:18Medellin seems like an oasis.
06:19Medellin seems like an oasis.
06:20Medellin seems like an oasis.
06:21Medellin seems like an oasis.
06:22Medellin seems like an oasis.
06:23Medellin seems like an oasis.
06:24Medellin seems like an oasis.
06:25Medellin seems like an oasis.
06:26Medellin seems like an oasis.
06:27Medellin seems like an oasis.
06:28Medellin seems like an oasis.
06:29Medellin seems like an oasis.
06:30Medellin seems like an oasis.
06:31Medellin seems like an oasis.
06:32Medellin seems like an oasis.
06:33Medellin seems like an oasis.
06:34Medellin seems like an oasis.
06:35Medellin seems like an oasis.
06:36Medellin seems like an oasis.
06:37Medellin seems like an oasis.