Colombian Politician Says Press Was Instrumental in Her Release from Capture

"It is because of the press all over the world, because of people like you, that I am alive," said Ingrid Betancourt, recounting her 6 1/2-year ordeal as a hostage in the Colombian jungle at the Club Sept. 22. "As a hostage, I was deprived of everything, even my name, but you kept my name alive."

Betancourt, 48, was a Colombian senator and anti-corruption activitist running for president in 2002 when she was captured by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a rebel group. During her captivity, she was often chained to a tree by the neck and bathed in a river filled with piranhas. In 2009 Colombian security forces rescued Betancourt and fourteen other hostages.

Writng the book, "Even Silence has and End, My Six Years of Captivity in the Colombian Jungle," was cathartic, she said. Betancourt said she had found it difficult to discuss her experiences with her family. "It was only through the book that I could tell my children what happened in the jungle," she said.

Asked by an audience member about future political goals, Betancourt replied, "I don't want to be a politician anymore. I have to reconstruct myself, to find a place for me."

After leaving the Colombian jungle with its tigers, snakes, and deadly insects, Betancourt described modern life as "a different kind of jungle, also scary and aggressive."

-- Eleanor Herman, [email protected]