ZLOUPOTREBA DECE I MLADIH U ROMANU BOGORODICA PLAĆENIKA FERNANDA VALJEHA

Abstract

On the basis of the theory of the novela sicaresca, this paper depicts the figure of the sicario (young assassin) in the novel Our Lady of the Assassins written by the Colombian author Fernando Vallejo. The figure is the symbol of the abuse to which children and young people in Colombia were exposed during the 1980s and 1990s. The paper implies that sicarios are both products and victims of socio-political circumstances in Colombia. It is emphasized that young hitmen come from marginalized social strata; therefore, they were suitable for becoming victims of manipulation and exploitation. Children coming from poor city quarters were deprived of love, attention, and care, which pushed them to grow up too quickly. Craving for money, they enter the world of crime, which nullifies their primordial innocence and purity. By entering this world, children become deprived of their basic human rights: the right to freedom of thought, speech, education, and existence. They become mere henchmen condemned to premature death. It is concluded that with the tragic death of a minor hitmen, Vallejo shows that in Colombia ruled by drug lords there is no (bright) future.