« Top Military Official Cautions Against Opening a New Front in Iran; EU & Others Try Diplomacy
(Updated) Why Are Right-of-Center Bloggers So Silent On The Bush Torture Regime? »



They’re Home: Three American Hostages Rescued by Colombian Military

July 3rd, 2008
By DR. CLARISSA PINKOLA ESTÉS, Assistant Editor, TMV Columnist

Print Print

picture-17.png

So near and yet so far, for so long.

Fifteen hostages were rescued from FARC, the left wing guerilla organization in Columbia that has used abduction and holding of hostages to finance and further their bloody guerilla war.

Three American hostages, Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell were amongst those rescued.

The men who had been held hostage for five years, arrived safely in Texas late Wednesday after being rescued by Colombian military forces. The three men were military contractors for the US government reportedly doing photo surveillance of the cocaine trade. They were captured when their plane went down, and the pilot and a Colombian adviser were assassinated on the spot by FARC.

There have been numerous pleas from governments, heads of state, families from France, USA, Colombia and other countries to FARC to release their hostages, but to no avail.

The number of hostages still held by FARC currently number over 750 persons.

Below is a picture of another hostage freed today, Ingrid Betancourt who was seized six years ago while campaigning to become President of Colombia. She said, she did not at first realize that they were rescued by the national Colombian military; she thought they were being moved by FARC until she saw the commandante who had been her jailer for years, handcuffed and naked on the floor of the plane, and the leader of the national military announced who they were and that the hostages were now free. At the news conference held early this morning, Miss Betancourt made the Sign of the Cross with several others in military camouflage, thanking The Blessed Mother Mary for hearing her prayer to be freed.

foto19-full.jpeg

It might be interesting to see what Hugo Chavez of Venezuela has to say about Colombian military’s raid on the FARC camp… and how the world will respond to his role in this, if any. Today’s situation is not a release but a rescue, yet despite Chavez having made many enemies worldwide, he has also made public statements telling FARC they ought release their hostages.

It is notable that in the world of ‘old Communists’ …women often rise up to speak vociferously against the regime, and sometimes decide they want to, not just overthrow a junta, but also run the entire country. Miss Betancourt’s fate as hostage over the last six years is reminiscent of dictator’s Than Shwe of Burma’s constant holding the democratically elected Aun San Suu Kyi under arrest for 12 of the last 18 years.

There might be a long road ahead for the freed hostages. Coming suddenly home to their families, literally within 48 hours, will no doubt have a time ahead needed for psychological adjustment. The quickness of transition from dark jungle to 4th of July, can be a little like the ‘bends,’ psychologically. The kind of Post-trauma stress they will have endured, will differ in some details from those experienced by men in armed battle…but with family care, and psychological and spiritual care, they are likely to be able to make adjustments that will hold. There are some medical issues also; jungle living is hard, and adequate protein often hard to come by, and bad water too easily available.

On a very bright note: One of the former hostages has two children he has never seen: five year old sons.

Difficulties. But also happiness ahead.



This entry was posted on Thursday, July 3rd, 2008 at 3:21 am and is filed under Colombia, PTSD, Psychology, Hugo Chavez, Latin America (Central/South). You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Viewing 2 Comments

    • ^
    • v
    Wow! That's great and if Chavez had his hand in it I hope the world hears about it for he is much maligned in the mainstream press.

    While one can well imagine their trauma, at minimum for being held against their will, but they don't look so bad. I'm sure there is more to hear from them, in terms of their treatment. Still they don't look like they were subjected to American detention practices, Guantanamo and elsewhere.
    • ^
    • v
    American's should remember that Hugo Chavez has always had a clear policy towards the FARC. And it's not the confused cynical one presented in the American press.

    Castro sympathized with the Colombian ELN, yet convinced them to disarm and enter a peace process.

    Similarly, Chavez sympathized with the FARC, but always urged them to end the guerrilla war.

    But Chavez's task was more difficult than Castro's. Because the last time FARC voluntarily tried to form a political party (Patriotic Union Party)...their politicians were slaughtered by paramilitaries. And since then, they have degenerated into a bunch of paranoid unreasonable thugs.

    So you had Chavez making public calls to downgrade FARC to "belligerent" insurgent actors. Essentially asking the world to let the FARC keep weapons, in exchange for release of hostages and end to terror.

    I strongly urge American journalists to get a clue.
    They act as if Chavez's call for the FARC to end the guerilla war was "U TURN".

    In fact, as far back as 2005, Chavez condemned the Soviet Union & Che's tactics:
    .......
    http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/907
    .......
    "...we cannot resort to state capitalism, which would be the same perversion of the Soviet Union. We must reclaim socialism as a thesis, a project and a path, but a new type of socialism, a humanist one, which puts humans and not machines or the state ahead of everything."

    He added that in spite of his admiration for Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara, he said Che's methods are not applicable. "That thesis of one, two, or three Vietnams, did not work, especially in Venezuela."
    .........

    And even this January 2008, he re-affirmed his position on live television:
    ........
    http://www.cepr.net/index.php/op-eds-&-columns/...
    ........
    "I do not agree with the armed struggle, and that is one of the things that I want to talk to (FARC leader) Marulanda about."
    ........
 
close Reblog this comment
Powered by Disqus · Learn more
blog comments powered by Disqus

« Top Military Official Cautions Against Opening a New Front in Iran; EU & Others Try Diplomacy
(Updated) Why Are Right-of-Center Bloggers So Silent On The Bush Torture Regime? »


By posting comments on The Moderate Voice you are acknowledging and agreeing to the following general comments policy:

(1) The Moderate Voice's comments are hosted by Disqus (http://disqus.com). If your comment doesn't appear immediately, please be patient since it is an off-site system.

(2) All e-mail received from readers by The Moderate Voice is considered intended for publication unless otherwise indicated in the initial message from the writer. Please do not send us attachments unless you contact us and we agree to it.

(3)The Moderate Voice reserves the right to edit all e-mail and posted comments for content, clarity, and length.

(4) Our comment space is reserved for comments that relate to a post's topic. You should not reprint lengthy text from your own works or those of others, including news articles. You MAY link to them.

(5) Comments that are abusive, offensive, contain profane or racist material or violate the terms of service for this blog's host provider will be removed and the author(s) banned from future comments. Such comments also violate the very SPIRIT of this site -- which was created to encourage thoughtful and vigorous discussion among readers who may share differing viewpoints.

(6) All points of view are welcome on The Moderate Voice, with the following exceptions:

(a) Comments posted several times a day with the intent of dominating, re-directing or hijacking the thread by turning a discussion into the equivalent of a bitter shouting match.

(b) Comments posted several times a day that insult or call other commenters or blog writers names or repeatedly make the same point with the effect of or clear intent to annoy other commenters or blog writers.

(7) Name-calling, personal attacks, racist comments or use of profanity by any commenter, whether they are by persons who agree or disagree with the views expressed by The Moderate Voice will NOT be tolerated and will result in the deletion of the comment and the banning of the commenter's ISP address, without notice. In some cases a comment may be deleted and the writer will be given another chance. Commenters who virtually ASK The Moderate Voice to ban them by ignoring any warnings or daring TMV to ban them will quickly get their wish.

(8) Anonymous commenters should identify themselves with the same moniker, so readers know their comments are coming from a single individual. If they don't, they are subject to a banning.

(9)If we have problems with inappropriate or inflammatory comments from a commenter who it turns out gave a fake email address that person is subject to immediate banning.

(10) Quotes from material appearing on The Moderate Voice with attribution are allowed. Reprints are allowed only by permission from The Moderate Voice. You may request permission by e-mail.

(11) The Moderate Voice is a personal site. It is not the Government. It is NOT aligned with any political party. It is NOT promoting any specific candidate for office. It is not a public institution or a media organization. It is not a neutral site. It is intended to express and disseminate the authors' varying points of views. Writers on this weblog WILL take positions. It reserves the right to limit comments to those that, in its view, comport with its stated comment policy. Comments that do not comply are subject to deletion and banning of the author's ISP.

Disclaimer:

--Reading and posting comments at The Moderate Voice constitutes acknowledgment of and agreement to the terms outlined in this comment policy. This comment policy may be revised in part or in full at any time.

--All comments must comport with applicable state and federal laws. The Moderate Voice has no obigation to monitor, edit, censor, or take responsibility for comments. It may or may not act upon a violation of its comment policy once a suspected violation has been brought to its attention. Therefore, commenters are solely responsible for the content of their comments and should ensure that that their comments are lawful and fall within the stated guidelines of both The Moderate Voice and its hosting company.

--The Moderate Voice is not be responsible for injury or liability to any reader or commenter resulting from its own communications or those of commenters, that may be offensive, misleading, inaccurate, illegal, or otherwise unsuitable in the view of the reader. Readers and commenters further agree to indemnify and hold harmless The Moderate Voice from claims resulting from the use of any material appearing on The Moderate Voice which damages the reader, commenter or any other party.

--The Moderate Voice is not responsible for and might disagree with material posted in the comments section. While we strive for accuracy in our posts and DO correct errors, material posted by The Moderate Voice in its posts -- or those left by others in the comments section -- may or may not be accurate.

Read and Post at your own risk.