---
author: Eric Wagoner
date: '2003-02-05T12:43:46'
draft: false
title: Living with the Hippos
---

Luis Perea is a refugee inside of Columbia, chased from his home by civil war. Now he tries to make a living by raising cattle and bananas while living with his family inside the ruined confines of drug lord Pablo Escobar's abandoned ranch. Says Perea, ["I guess I am like the hippos. They also came from a far place but now they are happy here."](http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N20157419 "Reuters AlertNet - Hippos roam Colombian drug lord's abandoned ranch") You'll have to read the article to see where the hippos fit in.