Singing the first lines of 'La Marseillaise'
Describing how Ingrid is chained by the neck
Luis Eladio Pérez is an ex-Senator of Colombia, who was taken hostage by the FARC on the 10th June 2001 and set free on the 28th of February 2008. He spent four of those years in the same camp as Ingrid Betancourt, in the Colombian jungle, and they became very close friends. He last saw Ingrid on the 4th February 2008, and is thus the person who brings us the latest eye-witness account of her hostage conditions and state of health.
While in Paris, Senator Pérez met with the members of the Support Committee for Ingrid Betancourt & the Other Hostages Held in Colombia – these are images of that meeting. He confirmed Ingrid’s very bad health, her demoralisation, and the dreadful conditions in which she is being held. He came across as a very humane and humble man, who is trying his best to help Ingrid and the other hostages find their freedom, and to try and settle the situation in Colombia. There were moments of great sadness (for example when the conditions of detention, such as being tied by the neck to posts using chains), and thankfully others when smiles were also possible (such as when he sang the first verses of the French national anthem ‘La Marseillaise’, which Ingrid had taught him). There was a real exchange between human beings, not all speaking the same language but finding means to communicate. Naturally, he did not disclose any information concerning the confidential discussions taking place.
In this dire situation, his plan is a very thin life-line for those being held and for their families.
The international community and especially the FARC and the governments of Colombia, Venezuela, France, the United States of America & the European Union need to make a real effort to get results at this fragile moment.
We as citizens of these countries have our role to play by showing our governments that we will not accept the cynicism of a Real-politik which will ultimately cost the lives of innocent men and women – by demonstrating our support for those held hostage, by showing those in power that they must listen to those who voted them into that power; we can make a difference.
On Sunday the 6th April, marches are being organised across France in support of Ingrid and the other hostages. Everyone attending is asked to wear white, as a symbol of hope. There isn’t much time left and these marches are important as a final civic and popular message to the FARC and governments that the current situation must be resolved and fast.
In Paris, the march sets off at 14h30 (2:30pm) in front of the Opera House of Paris (Opera Garnier) and shall end in front of the Elysée Palace, where the voice of ordinary people, that is to say our voice; shall be physically and symbolically presented in the form of the petition which close to 600,000 people have signed in France alone. If you are in Paris that day, please come join us and make your voice heard.
While in Paris, Senator Pérez met with the members of the Support Committee for Ingrid Betancourt & the Other Hostages Held in Colombia – these are images of that meeting. He confirmed Ingrid’s very bad health, her demoralisation, and the dreadful conditions in which she is being held. He came across as a very humane and humble man, who is trying his best to help Ingrid and the other hostages find their freedom, and to try and settle the situation in Colombia. There were moments of great sadness (for example when the conditions of detention, such as being tied by the neck to posts using chains), and thankfully others when smiles were also possible (such as when he sang the first verses of the French national anthem ‘La Marseillaise’, which Ingrid had taught him). There was a real exchange between human beings, not all speaking the same language but finding means to communicate. Naturally, he did not disclose any information concerning the confidential discussions taking place.
In this dire situation, his plan is a very thin life-line for those being held and for their families.
The international community and especially the FARC and the governments of Colombia, Venezuela, France, the United States of America & the European Union need to make a real effort to get results at this fragile moment.
We as citizens of these countries have our role to play by showing our governments that we will not accept the cynicism of a Real-politik which will ultimately cost the lives of innocent men and women – by demonstrating our support for those held hostage, by showing those in power that they must listen to those who voted them into that power; we can make a difference.
On Sunday the 6th April, marches are being organised across France in support of Ingrid and the other hostages. Everyone attending is asked to wear white, as a symbol of hope. There isn’t much time left and these marches are important as a final civic and popular message to the FARC and governments that the current situation must be resolved and fast.
In Paris, the march sets off at 14h30 (2:30pm) in front of the Opera House of Paris (Opera Garnier) and shall end in front of the Elysée Palace, where the voice of ordinary people, that is to say our voice; shall be physically and symbolically presented in the form of the petition which close to 600,000 people have signed in France alone. If you are in Paris that day, please come join us and make your voice heard.
Here is a translation of an article (22nd March 2008) taken from the official website agirpouringrid.com:
Ingrid Betancourt is doing « very badly » and has become discouraged, relates Luis Eladio Pérez
The Colombian ex-senator Luis Eladio Pérez, who was set-free on the 27th of February 2008 by the Colombian FARC guerrillas, confirms in an interview given to the Brazilian newspaper O Globo that the Franco-Colombian hostage Ingrid Betancourt is discouraged and doing “very badly”.
“She is doing very badly. I saw her for a few minutes when they were leading me back to freedom. She was extremely weak, thin, and worse; without the moral strength to go on. She knows that she could be the last to be set free and this worries her greatly”, confided Pérez.
Luis Eladio Pérez, who had been kept hostage by the FARC for seven years and held with Ingrid Betancourt for four of those years, spoke of how he had been held totally on his own for the first two years before joining other hostage camps.
“The first two other hostages I met, were Ingrid and Clara Rojas [who was set-free in January and was Ingrid Betancourt’s campaign director]. We had already met in the Colombian Senate and a close friendship grew between us. We created a real complicity in order to defend ourselves”, he added.
“One day, we attempted to escape and were recaptured. The punishment was very severe. They left us constantly chained to a tree. They punished us: Especially Ingrid. As she is better known, it is her who suffers the worst conditions.”
Certain guerrilla-fighters have even “attempted to sexually abuse Ingrid Betancourt”, confirmed the ex-senator without going into details.
“I always tried to protect her and show the guerrilla-fighters that she deserved their respect. Due to that, I encountered a great deal of difficulty. However, she [Ingrid] also helped me”, continued Luis Eladio Pérez, stressing that: “When I suffered a heart attack and three diabetic comas, she took care of me”.
Link to article: http://agirpouringrid.com/Ingrid-Betancourt-va-tres-mal-et.html
Link to my Ingrid flick photo sets: http://www.flickr.com/photos/h_de_c/collections/72157604218044587/
Photos: H de C
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