The Atheists from Moscow

Julian is 32 years old. 1 He is a man with a mission.And a long beard, dishevelled hair, baritone voice and mischievous smile.He was once a librarian in a small town in southern Colombia.But no more.A few months before I met him, Julian left his stationary library job for a much more dynamic pursuit.His plan?To bring libraries to people instead of the other way around.Julian's "mobile library" vision was to get new books -and new ideas -to people living in the most remote areas of Colombia.Books on his back, Julian criss-crosses the veredas (rural villages) and the corregimientos (indigenous areas) by motorbike or on foot.He visits small villages of just one or two thousand people, scattered across the mountains.Villages, where there are no libraries, and where there may be no books.Villages, where schools have only textbooks, nothing more, and where it takes long walks for children to go to school.Julian tours his mobile library through the mountains of Cauca, a region in southwest Colombia.The Nasa indigenous people live in this region, as do guerrillas, paramilitaries and drug traffickers.Having travelled this route for a few months, Julian has befriended many traditional and community leaders and village teachers.Instead of arriving unannounced, he'll call these contacts in advance to let them know when he and his bounty of books will arrive.Once in a village, Julian invites the entire community to gather, introducing himself and his travelling library."Anyone who wants to borrow a book is welcome to!" Julian tells them

Criminology · Political science · History and Politics in Latin America · Psychology · Religion and Society in Latin America · Religious and Theological Studies

• Pentecostals, Gender Ideology and the Peace Plebiscite

  Open Access•William Mauricio Beltrán, Sian Creely•Religions•2018

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