15/12/2005
stampa
invia
“It hurts too much. Free them now.” Rosy de Hintze is the wife of Lotard, a German
citizen kidnapped by FARC in Colombia five years ago. She has no more tears to
shed, but she hasn’t given up hope. Refusing to surrender to despair, she repeats
her appeals to the guerrillas and the Armed Forces to release her husband. Her
life of waiting binds her to 5,425 other families crushed by uncertainty. 5,425
is the official number of kidnap victims, according to a list of names published
by the Colombian Foundation, Nueva Esperanza. Approximately 1,000 are
in the hands of FARC guerrillas, 500 were seized by the paramilitaries of Autodifese Unite, 2,000 were taken by various unknown bands, and the rest are subdivided between the National Liberation Army and common criminals. “At least tell me if he’s okay,” pleads Juan Manuel, 6, who hasn’t seen his father, Julio Cesar Rios, since February 2002, when armed men took him from Guarne, in eastern Antioquia, the state where 21% of the kidnappings have taken place.
Eternal Suspense. As though they were swallowed by the forest, no one talks anymore about the 5425, no one reports on them or searches for them. They were kidnapped for ransom or to serve as exchange merchandise. The guerillas take prisoners only to use them as trade: civilians for guerrillas captured by the government and paramilitaries. FARC calls it “humanitarian exchange.” But the Uribe government refuses to negotiate, and up to now has done nothing to recover the victims. Time passes, the government promises: in the meantime, the victims survive somewhere, separated from their very lives.
No Truce. The only ones who have taken steps so far are the friends and families, isolated
but unwavering. They demand justice, clemency, dialogue. For the rest of Colombia,
the 5425 are simply more victims in an endless war that threatens everyone, every
day. If it weren’t for a few celebrities, such as French-Colombian Ingrid Betancourt,
whose family has been fighting for her freedom since February 23, 2002, the victims
would be completely forgotten by the government, the media, and national and international
institutions, no different from
the thousands killed every year, the hundreds threatened with death every month, the dozens persecuted every day.
Ojala! But this Christmas, the families forced to stumble in the darkness have at least a chance to speak with their lost ones. “El Colombiano”, a Medellin daily, has opened a section given over to messages from families to kidnap victims, “a breath of air in their prison.” Called “Liberta’, un grido di fede,” and available both in the paper version and on-line, the section includes direct, personal messages from families as well as general expressions of hope and solidarity from everyone else. “A friendly, hopeful greeting for everyone. May God give you strength not to give up. Wherever you are, Happy Christmas. Forza!” writes Amparo from Bogota’. “The way is hard but you can make it. Stay strong, it will be over soon. Never stop struggling. May God protect you and give you strength,” says Diana Cristina Cardona from Medellin. From New Jersey in the United States, Luis writes, “A special greeting for everyone, please don’t lose faith in God, great and powerful, and soon you will be free.”
Never Forget. But the life is hard. “I am forcing myself to make it to the day they free us,”
writes Elkin Hernandez Rivas, a lieutenant, kidnapped seven years ago, in the
last letter received by his mother, Magdalena, two years ago. “I want you to stay
proud of your son. Don’t suffer for m, worrying about what might happen. One day
I’ll be free and we’ll laugh about all this.” So Magdalena waits, ever-faithful.
But it isn’t easy. Gustavo Mocayo is the father of Pablo Emilio, seized on December
21, 1997. “We have been living without my son for almost eight years now, and
happiness has disappeared from my family. All is sadness. Our hearts
are dried out from weeping. Our children are rotting in the wilderness, but the government has forgotten them. Please don’t, don’t forget them.”
An Imperative. Olga Lucia Gomez, director of the Pais Libre Foundation, reminds us that kidnapping is not simply a crime of the past. “It is a continuing problem, growing every day. That’s why it’s so important to remember all the victims.” Colombia has more kidnappings than any other country in the world, so remembering is not only an imperative, it is a real humanitarian emergency.
stampainvia
5,425 people have been kidnapped. A newspaper creates a section to give voice to the families
“It hurts too much. Free them now.” Rosy de Hintze is the wife of Lotard, a German
citizen kidnapped by FARC in Colombia five years ago. She has no more tears to
shed, but she hasn’t given up hope. Refusing to surrender to despair, she repeats
her appeals to the guerrillas and the Armed Forces to release her husband. Her
life of waiting binds her to 5,425 other families crushed by uncertainty. 5,425
is the official number of kidnap victims, according to a list of names published
by the Colombian Foundation, Nueva Esperanza. Approximately 1,000 are
in the hands of FARC guerrillas, 500 were seized by the paramilitaries of Autodifese Unite, 2,000 were taken by various unknown bands, and the rest are subdivided between the National Liberation Army and common criminals. “At least tell me if he’s okay,” pleads Juan Manuel, 6, who hasn’t seen his father, Julio Cesar Rios, since February 2002, when armed men took him from Guarne, in eastern Antioquia, the state where 21% of the kidnappings have taken place.
Eternal Suspense. As though they were swallowed by the forest, no one talks anymore about the 5425, no one reports on them or searches for them. They were kidnapped for ransom or to serve as exchange merchandise. The guerillas take prisoners only to use them as trade: civilians for guerrillas captured by the government and paramilitaries. FARC calls it “humanitarian exchange.” But the Uribe government refuses to negotiate, and up to now has done nothing to recover the victims. Time passes, the government promises: in the meantime, the victims survive somewhere, separated from their very lives.
No Truce. The only ones who have taken steps so far are the friends and families, isolated
but unwavering. They demand justice, clemency, dialogue. For the rest of Colombia,
the 5425 are simply more victims in an endless war that threatens everyone, every
day. If it weren’t for a few celebrities, such as French-Colombian Ingrid Betancourt,
whose family has been fighting for her freedom since February 23, 2002, the victims
would be completely forgotten by the government, the media, and national and international
institutions, no different from
the thousands killed every year, the hundreds threatened with death every month, the dozens persecuted every day.
Ojala! But this Christmas, the families forced to stumble in the darkness have at least a chance to speak with their lost ones. “El Colombiano”, a Medellin daily, has opened a section given over to messages from families to kidnap victims, “a breath of air in their prison.” Called “Liberta’, un grido di fede,” and available both in the paper version and on-line, the section includes direct, personal messages from families as well as general expressions of hope and solidarity from everyone else. “A friendly, hopeful greeting for everyone. May God give you strength not to give up. Wherever you are, Happy Christmas. Forza!” writes Amparo from Bogota’. “The way is hard but you can make it. Stay strong, it will be over soon. Never stop struggling. May God protect you and give you strength,” says Diana Cristina Cardona from Medellin. From New Jersey in the United States, Luis writes, “A special greeting for everyone, please don’t lose faith in God, great and powerful, and soon you will be free.”
Never Forget. But the life is hard. “I am forcing myself to make it to the day they free us,”
writes Elkin Hernandez Rivas, a lieutenant, kidnapped seven years ago, in the
last letter received by his mother, Magdalena, two years ago. “I want you to stay
proud of your son. Don’t suffer for m, worrying about what might happen. One day
I’ll be free and we’ll laugh about all this.” So Magdalena waits, ever-faithful.
But it isn’t easy. Gustavo Mocayo is the father of Pablo Emilio, seized on December
21, 1997. “We have been living without my son for almost eight years now, and
happiness has disappeared from my family. All is sadness. Our hearts
are dried out from weeping. Our children are rotting in the wilderness, but the government has forgotten them. Please don’t, don’t forget them.”
An Imperative. Olga Lucia Gomez, director of the Pais Libre Foundation, reminds us that kidnapping is not simply a crime of the past. “It is a continuing problem, growing every day. That’s why it’s so important to remember all the victims.” Colombia has more kidnappings than any other country in the world, so remembering is not only an imperative, it is a real humanitarian emergency.
Stella Spinelli
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