Mother Talkers

The high cost of leading.

by tessajp

Sat Dec 29, 2007 at 05:13:44 PM PDT

Before Benazir Bhutto was assassinated, I had been following the story of another female leader who is still paying a very high price for her ambitions.  In 2002, Senator Ingrid Betancourt was running for the presidency of Colombia when she and her running mate, Clara Rojas, were kidnapped by the revolutionary guerrilla group known as FARC.

She's been in captivity ever since, and her family had had no "proof of life" since 2003, until this past November.

Ingrid Betancourt's letter

Reading the excerpts of her letter hurt.  As a mother, I keep going over all the different ways a mother can suffer in this situation.  It must be killing Ingrid to not see her children for all these years, even while hearing their voices on the radio, talking to her in captivity.  Ingrid's mother must have been doubly thrilled to finally hear from her daughter and yet be devastated to read such a painful letter.  To know your child is in such pain, and not be able to help her.  Just tear my heart out and throw it on the floor right now.

The politics around this situation are complicated, involving the Colombian president Alvaro Uribe, Hugo Chavez from Venezuela and Nicolas Sarkozy from France (Betancourt was born in France).  However, there has been a glimmer of hope for her running mate, Clara Rojas.

Mission begins to free Columbian hostages

Rojas' release has been dangled and dickered about for weeks.  It seems to be moving forward today, but I'm not holding my breathe.  

I've been thinking about Betancourt a lot since Bhutto's death.  Women have to brave quite a lot in this world to be leaders.  I admire every one of them who finds the courage to take on these roles.

UPDATE:  I was right.  The BBC is reporting that the mission has been postponed for the day. Mission delayed.

Tags: Ingrid Betancourt, women leaders (all tags)

Permalink | 4 comments

  • So sad (0 / 0)

    We know a great woman (our dd's spanish teacher) who was a univeristy professor and elected official in Columbia. She lost her second election, and soon after she had a daughter. Meanwhile her successfull opponent was kidnapped by FARC.

    That's when she decided to come to the U.S. to secure a more stable future for her daughter. It's easy to understand her decision in light of these kinds of situations.

    I, too, admire people who can persevere through such dangerous political environments.

    by sangfroid on Sat Dec 29, 2007 at 06:21:17 PM PDT

  • tears at the heartstrings (0 / 0)

    Apparently in response to this find, Betancourt's husband arranged to drop 22,000 photos of their children from an airplane over the Colombian jungle where she is thought to be held. Article here. A Christmas present, apparently.

    It seems such a contrast that in Western society, where Bratz dolls and Mommy Wars can seem like overwhelming concerns for women, there are other countries where daring to be a woman with political leadership aspirations can be a deadly choice.

    by Rachel on Sat Dec 29, 2007 at 06:36:26 PM PDT

Permalink | 4 comments