|
BOGOTA, COLOMBIA — Shortly after midnight in a nearly empty radio studio, Marta Gonzalez unfolded a piece of paper, leaned into the microphone, and read a message to her hostage husband. “I dreamed about you twice this week,” said Gonzalez, who tried to remain upbeat even as her eyes filled with tears. “It was so good to be with you, even if it was only an illusion.” Gonzalez’s letter was one of about 100 plaintive messages from the relatives of hostages broadcast during a recent edition of Voices of Kidnapping. The 14-year-old show airs on Bogota’s Caracol Radio station from midnight to 6 a.m. every Sunday. Even if it’s a one-way conversation during the graveyard shift, the show and two similar programs on other stations provide the only means for hundreds of hostages to stay in touch with their wives, children and relatives. Kidnappers often allow their hostages to listen to transistor radios, and those who have been rescued or released have described the programs as a morale booster and, at times, a life-saver. “I was always waiting for any kind of message from my family, any kind of connection with humanity,” said Keith Stansell, one of three Americans held hostage for five years before being rescued on July 2 by the Colombian army. Former hostage at helmReflecting Colombia’s chronic insecurity, Voices of Kidnapping is one of the longest-running programs on Caracol Radio. In fact, it was started by a former hostage. In 1994, Caracol broadcaster Herbin Hoyos was kidnapped by guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. Guerrillas dressed as civilians arrived at the radio station lobby, paged Hoyos, then pointed a gun at him and dragged him out the door. In a late-night interview during a pause in the program, Hoyos, 38, recalled his ordeal and the lessons he learned. Marching through the jungle, his loafers fell apart, but the FARC forced him to keep moving in his bare feet. Along the way, he met another hostage chained to a tree. He complained to Hoyos that Colombia’s journalists never did anything to help the hostages or their families. “That’s where the idea came from,” Hoyos said. Hoyos was rescued by the army after 17 days in captivity. The first edition of Voices of Kidnapping was broadcast a few weeks later on April 10, 1994. Today, with the FARC holding an estimated 700 hostages, the program receives far more messages than it can deliver. Getting a message on the air requires patience. Once they get through, some callers have to wait on the line for an hour or more to speak their piece. One of the most persistent callers was Yolanda Pulecio, the mother of former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt who was held for nearly seven years before she was rescued in the same operation that freed the Americans. “She would call from all over the world,” Hoyos said. “She would wait on the line for two hours to get a message to Ingrid.” ‘I owe you so much’When Betancourt was released, one of the first people she hugged upon her arrival at the Bogota airport was Hoyos. “To those of you who gave us time on the radio and allowed us to communicate with our families, I owe you so much,” Betancourt said. “We could dream. We could hope because we could hear our loved ones. … If it hadn’t been for you, I probably wouldn’t be alive.” Others, like Cesar Augusto Salcedo, show up at the Caracol studios in person to make sure their voices are heard. Salcedo’s brother, Robinson Salcedo, an army corporal, was kidnapped by the FARC a decade ago. “We want to make sure he knows that he’s not forgotten,” Salcedo said after providing his long-lost brother with a few snippets of family news. Hoyos offers some advice for first-time callers. Their messages must be short — under three minutes — so that as many as possible can be broadcast. He also urges people to be upbeat. Messenger for hostagesBut most of all, Hoyos warns them against giving away any clues to the guerrillas, who often demand huge ransom payments. “What you don’t want is a message saying, ‘Papa: I was in Miami and now I’m in Colombia and tomorrow we’re going to test drive our new car and then we’re going to play golf with the cousins,’ ” Hoyos said. “With that information, it will now cost three times as much to liberate the hostage.” Hoyos acts as more than just a messenger for the hostages. Once they’ve been freed, Hoyos often invites them to overfly the jungle where they were once held captive in an ultralight aircraft. The idea is to provide them with a psychological edge after so many years of being trapped. “From the air, the jungle looks inoffensive,” Hoyos said. “It helps them realize that they are really free.” Hoyos’ program has spawned imitators, namely The Night of Liberty that airs on rival RCN Radio. In a show of solidarity, Stansell and the other two former U.S. hostages, Marc Gonsalves and Thomas Howes, called the program from the United States to send messages to their colleagues left behind. “Please maintain your patience and faith. Never lose your desire to be free,” said Gonsalves, who called in from Miami. “Because look what happened to us. “In one moment we were hostages like you, then two minutes later we were free. The same thing could happen to you.” © http://www.golfonline.jp/ . All Rights Reserved. (???????) GolfOnline???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????712 AP2 ??????,R11S ??????
Related Articles -
golf, golfonline,
| 
