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When I first learned that Ingrid Betancourt had been taken hostage by a group of Colombian guerillas, and rescued six years after being held captive, I was not surprised.
For she is a concerned Colombian citizen who cares about and loves her country, and was trying to make a difference in a country where being kidnapped is a common aspect of life. What did surprise me was that she survived and lived to be reunited with her family and vice versa.
People, mainly women, who are suddenly taken away from their daily routine of civilized life and thrown into a situation where one is possibly being tortured, sexually assaulted, have the finer things in life removed, such as: toothpaste, toothbrush, a flush system, bath fixtures and other things that are too many to list here, plus the uncertainty of a release time, usually do not live to tell of their ordeal. Ingrid Betancourt, former Colombian politician and a woman did.
And that took a certain level of courage. The courage most individuals may not know they have until certain traumatic situations arise.
Courage to say to oneself when all is dark and your thoughts are the only luxury that you might consider to be your own, if you are being held hostage in a place surrounded by mainly men which may include other male hostages, captors, guards and other members of the guerilla organization, that I want to see my family again and for them to see me-alive.-
And that has happened indeed. Thanks to members of the Colombian Army and the Americans who may have assisted in the rescue mission.
But one has to wonder, being rescued and reunited with one’s family after being held captive for six years is one thing, but how does a woman begin to put six years of traumatic situations behind her. It may have taken courage to tolerate six years of trauma and uncertainty, but it will now take a next level of courage to say: I was there for six years, survived, and now it is time to move on.
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Peace and unity begin with all of us- Judy Ramsook
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