Story By: Jonathan Macias, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash

Residents in Bogota have started displaying a red flag outside their windows to indicate that they are living in poverty during the COVID-19 lockdown and need assistance.

The initiative started in the municipality of Soacha in the department of Cundinamarca, part of the Metropolitan Area of the Colombian capital Bogota.

The concept started earlier this month when the council asked residents to hang red cloth from their windows if they were in need of food or aid.

Soacha has been described by local media as the most populated municipality in Colombia with around 700,000 inhabitants including many Venezuelan immigrants and around 50,000 people displaced by conflicts.

One resident, whose name has not been disclosed, told local media: “We need economic help from the government, many people are now unemployed.”

Another local said: “We cannot go to work and earn a living to support our children!”

According to reports, around 77 percent of the population in the municipality is said to be living in extreme poverty and do not have regular income.

Colombia has registered 3,792 cases of COVID and 179 related deaths, according to the latest figures from the Johns Hopkins University.

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