I first heard about Ingrid Betancourt in a 2004 documentary on CBC's The Passionate Eye called, The Kidnapping of Ingrid Betancourt. Her story saddened me in that there was no resolution at the end of the story. At the time CBC aired the production, two years after she had been kidnapped in 2002, Betancourt was still being held captive by the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia) Many believe it was her progressive views, and her running as the OXYGEN- Green Party candidate during the presidential campaign, that led to her disappearance three months before the Columbian elections were held.
Betancourt was freed this past July in a daring move to release her and 14 other hostages that were still being held captive. She had now been missing for over six years. When I heard of her freedom in the news, my memory brought me back to how I had felt after watching The Passionate Eye documentary. Her story finally had a positive conclusion.
Betancourt has written a book about her ordeal called, Even Silence Has An End. My one complaint is that the book's release has come when I cannot dedicate the time I would need to delve into its 544 pages. Red River College is my mistress at present. There are simply too many assignments to do, and assigned books to read, that a pleasure read (if this book could even be so called) is not possible. I will buy it, but the book will have to patiently wait.
The fact that Betancourt has beaten the odds and came out alive in this horror story is a testament of her determination to live. A happy ending to this story shouldn't have taken six years to be written, but I'm glad it has finally come.
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