Kidnapped in Arauca
Dalton, Scott
Ruth Morris and I were on an assignment for the Los Angeles Times when the trouble started. On January 21, 2003, while traveling between the towns of Saravena and Tame in Arauca department,...
...You can't detain journalists," we both told him, our voices full of disbelief...
...If the FARC had taken you they might have killed you...
...We were told that their commander would like to see us...
...Just then, Gumfoot returned...
...At night, we often heard helicopters flying overhead, Usually, after such activity, we would move camp further up the mountain...
...We drove for more than two hours, stopping in many small towns...
...We were shown our sleeping quarters by a matronly 35year-old female rebel who said, "Don't worry, you're lucky you are with us...
...He then said, "You are being detained by the FARC's 45th Front...
...The area was too "hot," making it too dangerous to set us free...
...After an hour and a halfdrive to Saravena's airport, we boarded a plane for Bogota...
...We finally pulled to a stop under the shade of a tree in the sun-soaked savanna...
...Following a brief private discussion between the two commanders, the two FARC rebels departed...
...I explained how in neighboring countries like Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia, tourists pay big bucks to spend a week in the jungle...
...We hiked down the mountain again and Gumfoot turned us over to another commander...
...More than anything, I just wanted to end the suffering I knew my family was enduring...
...We remained at this location overnight...
...If you need anything to eat or drink, just ask...
...On January 21, 2003, while traveling between the towns of Saravena and Tame in Arauca department, we came across a guerrilla checkpoint...
...We were put in the back seat of a four-door SUV...
...You won't like this," he said, "You are being detained by the ELN for political reasons...
...Please get out of the car...
...Front...
...They have done it before...
...One of our captors told us that we shouldn't worry: "All experiences are good, even bad ones...
...he asked...
...It was during this time that some of our rebel guards tried to comfort us with a few words of wisdom...
...The next morning, the rebels ordered us to pack our things and we started down the mountain...
...been ordered to detain you...
...Our departure from the ELN was anti-climactic...
...One of the new arrivals introduced himself to us as Geronimo, the political commander of the FARC's 45th Front...
...There are consequences if you kidnap international journalists," Ruth replied...
...People approached the car and talked to the commander, asking favors and exchanging information...
...To which he laughed and asked, "What consequences...
...After a bumpy ride in an old truck and a 30-minute walk, we came to a small house...
...And oh, by the way, we will have a guard posted all night, so don't try to escape or we will have to shoot...
...It occurred to me that the government had a difficult task ahead...
...I tried to tell one rebel that he should start offering eco-tours of the Colombian jungle...
...We will move you now to a safe spot in the mountains...
...Both my sense of humor and the concept were lost on the rebel...
...The next morning, Commander Pablo told us that representatives of the Red Cross were on their way...
...We met with the ELN commander, Gumfoot, his nom de guerre, and he politely asked us to wait while he sought permission to send us on our way...
...We moved camp six times during the 11-day ordeal...
...An hour later, a Jeep Cherokee pulled up...
...One day we talked by radio with a different ELN commander who told us that we were going to be released...
...Two men dressed in civilian clothing and carrying AK47s climbed out and talked briefly to one of the rebels who was watching us...
...Commander Pablo signed an official form turning us over to the Red Cross people and we climbed into the back of their vehicle...
...Gumfoot then walked Scott Dalton is a photojournalist who has worked in Colombia for the past four years...
...I tried to clarify that these eco-tours would have to be voluntary, no guns allowed...
...We will take good care of you...
...over to us and announced: "I have...
...Gumfoot returned the following morning...
...To win over these areas from rebel control, it would also have to win the confidence of the people who live here-people who have never had any contact with the police or military, people who have no faith in the government and people who have always turned to the rebels for help...
...This was disheartening because every move up the mountain seemed to take us further away from freedom...
...We hiked half-heartedly back up the mountain and did not hear from Gumfoot again for four days...
...Finally, Gumfoot arrived and told us to pack our things because we were going to be released...
...A group of men approached the car and announced: "We are from the FARC's 45th Front and the ELN's Domingo Lain Front...
...And when the tourists wanted to go home, that they be free to leave...
...After a half-hour wait, we were led to a thatched hut and introduced to Commander Pablo, leader of the ELN's Eastern ELN rebels sit next to Scott Dalton as he waits to be released to the Red Cross on the final day of his 11-day ordeal...
...Why not...
...Two hours later, we met Gumfoot in a clearing and, to our dismay, he told us that we were not going to be released...
Vol. 37 • January 2004 • No. 4
